In our previous report on ASUS ZenFone AR, it was confirmed by ASUS CEO Jerry Shen that the smartphone would be going on sale in the home market of Taiwan starting from the middle of this month. An official invitation from ASUS confirms that it will be launching on June 14 in Taiwan.

ASUS had announced the ZenFone AR at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in January this year. It has been nearly six months since its launch and the smartphone is yet to reach the hands of the customers. Since the Taiwanese firm has started sending media invites for the launch event of ZenFone AR, finally its arrival seems imminent.

The ASUS ZenFone AR is the first smartphone to support Google Tango AR as well as Google Daydream VR. On its rear, there is a tri-camera system that includes a 23-megapixel Sony IMX318 sensor coupled with motion tracking and depth measuring sensors.

Read More: ASUS ZenPad 3S 8.0, ZenPad 10 Z301MFL and Z301ML Tablets Unveiled at Computex 2017

The triple cameras of the ZenFone AR allow it support 3D mapping.  GAP, a clothing merchandise firm had demonstrated its AR app earlier this year. It showed that a Google Tango enabled phone will enable the user to try their merchandise on a virtual mannequin with the body that is similar to the user. The ZenFone AR is also the world’s first smartphone with 8 GB of RAM.

The probable reason behind the delay of the arrival of the ZenFone AR is that not many Tango apps were available for it. Our last month’s report states that there are 100 Tango apps available and the company would be soon adding 1,000 Tango apps for the users of ZenFone AR.

As far as the U.S. arrival of the ZenFone AR is concerned, it is expected to be available by next month. Verizon will be the only U.S. carrier that would be selling the ZenFone AR. An unlocked version of ZenFone AR is also expected to be available in the U.S. through third-party retailers.

The ZenFone AR will be coming in two variants, one featuring an 8 GB of RAM and the other one has 6 GB of RAM. It is likely that ASUS would be releasing 6 RAM variant in the U.S.

Again, there is no information on the pricing of the ASUS ZenFone AR. Shen has claimed that the ZenFone AR won’t be priced higher than the Samsung Galaxy S8 which indicates that the phone would be priced under $799.

(via)

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Google had confirmed earlier in this month during the Google I/O 2017 event that the ASUS ZenFone AR would be launching in summer this year. However, the exact timeframe of its arrival and the regions that will be receiving it were not confirmed. During an interview with Engadget, ASUS CEO Jerry Shen confirmed that the timeframe on when it will be arriving in the home country of Taiwan and the U.S.

The ASUS ZenFone AR was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in January this year. However, at the time of unveiling, ASUS did not confirm on its release. As mentioned above, its summer arrival was confirmed earlier in this month.  Shen has confirmed that ZenFone AR will be going on sale in Taiwan in mid-June.

As far as the U.S. release is concerned, it is confirmed to be available for buying in July. Verizon will be the exclusive carrier of ZenFone AR in the U.S.  Apart from ASUS, third-party retailers will be also selling the ZenFone AR in the stateside.

Read More: ASUS X00KD Seen on TENAA With Dual Rear Cameras, 720p Display & 4020mAh Battery

The ASUS ZenFone AR powered with Snapdragon 821 chipset is the first smartphone to come with 8 GB of RAM. However, the USP of the phone is that it is the first smartphone that is enabled Google Tango Augmented Reality and Google Daydream Virtual Reality.  The Lenovo Phab Pro 2 from last year was the first Tango-enabled smartphone. It did not carry support for Daydream VR.

There are three cameras on the rear side of the ZenFone AR for motion tracking, depth measuring and room mapping. As humans can do, these sensors allow the ZenFone AR to 3D mapping. Earlier this year, GAP, a clothing chain retail firm demonstrated how this technology works. It showed its app could let a Tango enabled smartphone user to try their merchandise on a virtual mannequin with a body that matches with that of the user.

Currently, there are 100 Tango apps available for ZenFone AR. Shen has confirmed that there would over 1,000 Tango apps available for ZenFone AR users. Other specs of ZenFone AR include QHD 5.7-inch AMOLED screen, 64 GB / 128 GB storage options. It is packed with a 3,300mAh battery.

The pricing of ZenFone AR is still under the wraps, but Shen has said that it won’t be costing more than the Galaxy S8. It indicates that the Tango AR and Daydream VR enabled smartphone would be priced less than $799.

(source)

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One of the products Xiaomi unveiled at this year’s CES was the Mi Router HD. Its been over a month since the announcement and it hasn’t been on sale yet. It appears that will be changing soon.

According to a Weibo post by the manager of Xiaomi Router, Thomas Tang (@唐thomas), the Mi Router HD may be available for purchase soon. His post which loosely translates into “the old has gone, the new is coming” is accompanied by an image of the router section of Xiaomi’s official website. Included in the list of routers is the Mi Router HD in pink. As at the time of writing this post, the new router is still not listed on the site, so the image is actually a teaser for what is to come. Some sources say the router may be launched next week Tuesday when Xiaomi announces the Pinecone processor.

The Mi Router HD apart from being available in new colors (grey and pink), it brings a number of new additions. There are now four PCB antennas, a new 8TB model, and they have replaced the Broadcom chip with one from Qualcomm.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi 5C “Meri” Shows Upon Geekbench Again: Runs Nougat

New features added include Dropbox syncing and the ability to pair it with your Sonos audio system for local audio playback. The pricing details of the Mi Router HD announced at CES says the 1TB version will sell for $200 and the 8TB version will sell for $500. Notwithstanding, it should sell for less in its home country.

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The ZTE Hawkeye is a crowd sourced smartphone born from ZTE’s Project CSX  (Crowd Sourced X) where ‘X’ is the mobile device you want ZTE to build next. In this case X stands for Hawkeye.

The ZTE Hawkeye was unveiled at this year’s edition of CES and we got to learn of some of its major features. There is the eye-tracking feature labelled Senseye which lets you scroll through webpages using only your eyes and the self-adhesive back that lets you stick the phone up on walls for a hands-free usage. Today ZTE has unveiled the technical details of the Hawkeye.

The phone will have a 5.5-inch display, 3GB RAM, 32GB ROM, a snapdragon 625 processor and a 3000mAh battery. It will have Quick Charge 2.0 support, a USB Type-C port, and dual hybrid SIM slots.

Just like the ZTE Blade V8 and Blade V8 Pro, the ZTE Hawkeye will also have dual rear cameras. One will be a 13MP sensor and the other will be a 12MP shooter and both cameras will have optical image stabilization. Don’t be confused, we know renders of the phone released by the company shows a phone with a single rear camera but ZTE has confirmed that it will indeed have dual-cameras.

The Hawkeye will have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and will ship with Android Nougat out of the box. ZTE has also provided the 4G LTE bands the Hawkeye will support, so if your operator uses any of these bands (B2/B4/B5/B12(MFBI)/B7/B13/B66), you might want to set your sights on the ZTE Hawkeye.

READ MORE: The ZTE Blade V8 is Coming to China in March

The phone is listed on Kickstarter for $199. So if you are interested, you should go back it up. Do note that if the project doesn’t meet its $500,000 goal by February 19, 2017 it will not be funded. So as nice as the specs of the ZTE Hawkeye may sound, it may still not see the light of day.

(Source)

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ZTE announced its dual-camera phone the ZTE Blade V8 at CES 2017. There was no mention of a release date or pricing details at the launch but today we have got news about the former.

The ZTE Blade V8 will be launched in China, Germany, and Spain in March but if you are in Japan or Russia, you will be able to get your hands on the phone earlier than that as it will launch in both countries in February.

The ZTE Blade V8 has a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 435 SoC, a 13MP shooter in front, and a 13MP+2MP dual camera combo that are spaced so far apart that many of us will agree is the farthest distance between two sensors. The LED flash sits in between both sensors, not directly in the middle but a little to the left. Asides taking pictures with bokeh effect, the cameras on the Blade V8 can also be used to take 3D images

The Blade V8 will be available in two storage variants: a 2GB + 16GB model and a 3GB+32GB version. There is however a SD card slot which takes up to 256GB cards. Both will have a 2730mAh battery and a fingerprint scanner mounted in front. The phone will also ship with ZTE’s Mi Favor 4.0 which is based on Android 7.0 Nougat.

READ MORE: ZTE Hawkeye is ZTE’s Crowdsourced Smartphone, Now Up for Pre-Order at $199

There is still no price yet but we expect it to be lesser than the V8 Pro which has a 5.5-inch FHD display, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, dual 13MP rear cameras, an 8MP front camera and a 3140mAh battery and is priced at $238.45 on Amazon.

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Although Nokia had unveiled its first smartphone under HMD Global which signalled the return of the Nokia brand, many are still expectant of that true flagship smartphone that we had all been waiting for all these while. Indeed, during the launch of the Nokia 6 in China, HMD did tease that a true flagship device would be coming our way on February 26 at the Mobile World Congress 2017.

Not much is known about the expected flagship device but it has been revealed that it is known with the codename Nokia Supreme and may likely enter the market as Nokia 8, continuing the naming tradition of the Nokia 6. Curiously, the purported flagship was said to have been on display at Qualcomm’s booth at CES 2017, but only a few noticed it.

Read More: Nokia Hints at A Snapdragon 835 Phone Launching at MWC 2017

On the specifications, the leak reveals that the Nokia 8 would be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chip. Perhaps, that it is the reason it found its way into Qualcomm’s booth at CES. The flagship device is also expected with a large 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with QHD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution. The display is a flat-screen and not a curved display.

https://youtu.be/RbQSJMFwZvY

In addition, HMD is also said to be putting together a Snapdragon 821-powered version of the flagship device with a slightly cheaper price tag. Going further, the device is also said to sport a powerful 24MP rear camera with OIS, and super EIS. There is also a 12MP sensor up front for selfie snapshots. On the memory aspect, the Nokia 8 is rumored to pack just two storage versions, one with 64GB storage and another with 128GB storage, both of which are expandable via microSD up to 256GB. It is expected that the Nokia Supreme will come pre-installed with Android 7.0 Nougat, since the Nokia 6 ships with Google’s latest mobile OS.

(source)

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Gaming PC manufacturing company, Razer, exhibited some very cool devices at the just concluded Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. One of its products called Project Valerie is the world’s first laptop with triple (4K) displays that caught the eye of several attendees. Sadly, two Project Valerie prototypes were stolen at the event.

The CEO of the company, Min-Liang Tan announced the theft on Facebook. The prototypes were stolen at Razer’s CES press room at about 1600hrs on Sunday, January 8, 2017. In his initial Facebook post, the products stolen were not identified but now he has confirmed that they are actually the Valerie laptop. .

Mr. Tan says he is not ruling out industrial espionage in this case as that is seen as cheating and the company does not tolerate that. He says the penalty for the crime is grievous and considers the person who stole the prototypes as not being smart.

Razer is offering a $25,000 (~¥173,370) reward to anyone who has information that will help them identify and catch the culprit. The company says the weight of the information provided will determine if the informant gets any reward and how much they get. Hence, Razer says it may only pay a portion of the reward offered. Any information regarding the theft should be sent to legal@razerzone.com. The reward offer is good for one year starting from the date announced unless the company decides to extend it.

READ MORE: Apple to Launch Three New iPad Models in Q2 2017 Says Analyst

This is however not the first time Razer will face such a problem. back in 2011, two prototype Razer Blade laptops were stolen at the company’s Research and Development lab in San Francisco.

Razer was founded in 1998 and it makes a plethora of gaming accessories, tablets, wearables and computers, some of which have received rave reviews.

(Sources: 1 and 2)

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Even if you are not a Xiaomi fan, you should recognize it’s Mi Bunny mascot. The Mi Bunny has now evolved from being a mascot to being a smart assistant speaker named Kuri.

Kuri was released at this year’s edition of CES which has seen a lot of manufacturers including automobile makers debut products that have voice control or some sort of artificial intelligent assistant built-in.

The smart speaker works as a kids’ companion that reads stories out loud to them and helps them develop their speech and social interaction. Xiaomi says it can read from a database of 10,000 different books. In addition to that, you can also use it send and read messages on the WeChat messaging app and use it to access Xiaomi’s voice assistant.

When you talk to Kuri it’s ears lights up, and while it’s facial expression is sort of fixed it is welcoming and will be loved by kids. Kuri gets better at speech recognition as interactions become more frequent and you can also pair it with the Kuri companion app.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Gets Three New Colors: Pink, Green and Purple

Kuri is about 20-inch tall and is covered in food grade AB casing that is resistant to wear from being tossed around by toddlers. There is an 1800mAh battery which should last for up to 7-hours on a single charge.

It costs just ¥199 ($29) but will only be available in China like it’s other products, the Pearl White Mi MIX, the Mi TV 4, and the Mi Router HD launched at CES.

(Source)

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LG is taking television to the next level by bringing in a technology we ordinarily would have thought is for the future. As they say, the future is now, and the Korean tech giant is proving that with the unveiling of its latest Smart OLED TV dubbed LG W7 “wallpaper” OLED television at CES 2017.

Yes, the new LG television is as thin as a wallpaper, literally! It has a thickness of just 2.57mm on one of its model which is 65-inch in size. The other models comes in 77 inches in size. Despite the thin build, the W7 is a full 4K HDR TV with no backlight but with the latest high-end picture quality.

Another awesome feature of the LG W7 OLED TV is that it can be attached directly to a wall using magnetic brackets, thus no traditional wall mount is needed. The SmartTV also comes with a huge companion sound bar that is attached with a thin-but-wide 82-inch ribbon cable. The sound bar sits behind the TV screen and it features Dolby Atmos sound. At the back of the sound bar, lies all the HDMI ports and connectivity ports for the W7. The LG W7 OLED TV uses a modular design which means the motherboard is positioned separate from the panel, a design which made the thin build possible.

The LG W7 OLED TV isn’t just a demo or a concept on display, but is a product which is set to hit the market later this year. LG is yet to announce the price tag, though, but we don’t expect it to come cheap.

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Chinese camera maker YI only has a few products to its name, the YI 4K Action Camera, YI 4K Action Camera 2 and a few more, but the company has garnered an enviable reputation for quality. Its cameras are even touted as the Go Pro killer and the company became solid that it didn’t need the Xiaomi brand attached to its name any more. Right now, the company has added another feather to its record, as it announced the YI 4K+ Action Camera today at CES 2017.

The YI 4K+ Action camera is reputed as the world’s first camera capable of capturing 4K video at 60 frames per second and it is said to be double of what the action-packed Go Pro Hero 5 Black is capable of shooting. That is not only where the YI Action cam comes first, but also in the aspect of the processor it packs. The YI 4K+ Action Camera is also the first to feature an Ambarella H2 System-on-Chip processor which offers a maximum bit rate of 120Mbps.

Read Also: YI 4k Action Camera Review – The GoPro Killer for Half the Price

The Action camera is also touted to feature electronic image stabilization (EIS), live streaming capability, well filtered audio output in outdoors and also support for Virtual Reality (VR). The Smart camera also come with USB 3.0 and USB Type-C interface and other features.

It’s amazing that despite the well-packed features, the YI 4K+ Action Camera and the previous gen 4K Action camera all have the same size and design. The company left off short of announcing the price of the Action cam and availability details. But as usual, it should be available in China sometime soon.

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Xiaomi finally held the much touted CES 2017 news conference where it launched three new products. A white pearl version of the Mi Mix, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4, and the Xiaomi Router HD were all unveiled by the company. Xiaomi also displayed a variety of new color variants for the Mi Note 2 which was hitherto available only in black and silver colors.

From the exhibition, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 can be spotted adorning pink, green and purple coating on its body. It wasn’t disclosed if the new color versions were just for exhibition purpose or if they would indeed go on sale in the near future. But there seem to be no difference in the specifications of this new color versions and the ones that were initially released.

Related: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Teardown: What Lies Inside It?

If ever the Mi Note 2 would come in pink, green or purple colors, it is likely to drop in China only. The company didn’t say anything about whether the trio of products released would be available outside of China anytime soon. You can take a tour of the Mi Note 2 images from down below.

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Intel has announced a new gadget called Compute Card at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017. It is a wonderful device that can prevent appliances from becoming obsolete.

These days there are numerous appliances that come with computing features such as smart TVs and refrigerators. Since technology is always evolving, smart devices tend to go obsolete as newer devices are unveiled.

For instance, a smart TV purchased may become obsolete after a year or two. Moreover, there is no easy way to upgrade such electronic devices. To get a faster TV or to add newer features, users need to invest money in buying a whole new one. Here is where the Intel Compute Card comes into play that saves electronic devices from going obsolete.

Related: Intel Kaby Lake Processors Officially Unveiled for Desktop, Performance Laptops

The Intel Compute Card is a credit card sized device that can be easily added to a smart device to upgrade it. The Intel Compute Card is equipped with a motherboard, RAM, storage, Wi-Fi connectivity with flexible I/O options and the 7^th generation Intel Kaby Lake processor. Its thickness is only 5 mm.

A smart device that has a slot for Intel Compute Card can be upgraded instantly. It is like a smart card that will only work when it is plugged into a slot of a bigger device. At present, the device is not meant for upgrading PCs. However, it can be used on wide range of devices like refrigerators, smart TVs, CCTV cameras, smart kiosks and IoT gateways.

According to Intel’s press release, “Device makers simply design a standard Intel Compute Card slot into their device and then utilize the best Intel Compute Card for their performance and price needs. This reduces the time and resources needed to design and validate the compute block and helps speed up innovation to bring the power of intelligence into an ever wider range of devices.’

Intel has confirmed that it is working with leading global companies like Dell, HP, Lenovo and Sharp to take advantage of the upgradeability offered by Intel Compute Card. It will be available for purchase with a range of processor variants by mid-2017.

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Technically, LeEco owns Coolpad now since they are the majority shareholder in the company, so this can be said to be a LeEco launch of some sort. The unlocked smartphone market in the US is important to manufacturers who are able to grab a share of it. Coolpad has seen the money to be made in that category and has come up with the Coolpad Conjr (pronounced as conjure).

The Conjr has a beautiful aluminium body with a 5-inch 720p display, 3GB of RAM, 16G of storage that can be expanded via a MicrosSD slot, and a 13MP rear camera. There is an 8MP selfie camera with LED flash as well, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor that can scan wet and dusty fingers, and a rather disappointing MT6735 quad-core processor. The Conjr has LTE band support for AT&T and T-Mobile, dual-SIM slots, a 2500mAh battery, and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Coolpad’s Cool UI 8.0 out of the box.

READ MORE: LeEco’s Android Powered Smart Bikes to Hit US Roads by Q2 2017

The Coolpad Conjr is priced at $179.99 and comes bundled with a pair of Beyerdynamic earphones. Already available for pre-order on Newegg, it is also already on Amazon with a January 19 release date.

(Source)

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Xiaomi just concluded its CES presentation and the first product it unveiled was the white variant of its concept bezel-less phone, the Xiaomi Mi MIX.

Over the past couple of weeks we had heard rumors and seen leaked images of a white variant of the Xiaomi Mi MIX but tonight’s launch was the confirmation we needed.

Sources had said the white variant was going to use a different material other than ceramic since there is a long and difficult production process involved in crafting the body but surprisingly, this version is also made out of ceramic. So it is either Xiaomi has solved the production issue or  it wants to stick to ceramic.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X in the Works? Beefed-Up Edition of Redmi Note 4 to Rival Meizu Note?

The specs of the Mi MIX still remains the same. The screen is still a 6.4-inches FHD Sharp display with a 17:9 aspect ratio. There is a Snapdragon 821 SoC on board, 6GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, a 16MP rear camera with EIS that shoots 4K videos, and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. There is also a HD audio processor and a 4400mAh battery.

The white Xiaomi Mi MIX is said to ship later this year according to a tweet posted by Xiaomi Vice-President Hugo Barra. No details were also mentioned about the pricing.

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Razer has garnered a reputation for developing gaming laptops and they are not new to making headlines at CES. The company has today announced a new concept laptop that it tagged Project Valerie. This new concept laptop is unique not just for its sturdy hardware but for the fact that it comes with not one, not two but three displays.

The Project Valerie may likely tow the line of Project Fiona, its earlier concept laptop that later came out as Razer Edge. As for the specs and hardware, each of the three displays measures 17.3 inches in size and they all have 4K resolution each. The two side displays retract and deploy from behind the central display automatically and they align side by side to create a 180-degree viewing area. The implication of this is that they all don’t show one image unlike other display connections. Rather you get a continuous display as if it’s all on one display.

This awesome ability is powered by NVIDIA’s Surround View technology, which enables programs to spread a single image across multiple monitors. Also there are no issues of wires clogging up as the screens retract and deploy because all the wiring are internal.

Read More: Samsung’s First Folding Smartphone, the Galaxy X, Arriving Q3-Q4 2017

Curiously, Razer left much to our imagination as they didn’t disclose much about the specs like the processor, GPU and memory. They did disclose, though, that the Project Valerie uses an all-aluminum case and Razer’s short-throw keyboard suitable for hard core gaming. Also the device has a hardware lineup suited to meet the requirements for using HTC Vive and Oculus Rift with it. As stated earlier, Project Valerie is a concept gadget and so may not see the light of day, just like many products that would be unveiled at CES 2017. Except the product is received with los of enthusiasm and backing, then we might just see the device materializing into a consumer product.

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For the first time, Xiaomi was present at CES today held in Las Vegas. This was naturally a big milestone for the company as well as its fans and a big platform for the Chinese smartphone company to announce new products. As expected, the Xiaomi Mi Mix did get a white version, which to be precise is a pearl white version. But along with this new color, Xiaomi announced two new products, the Xiaomi Mi TV 4 and the Xiaomi Mi Router HD. Here we talk about the brand new and interesting Mi TV 4.

First of all, continuing with its tradition, the 65-inch Xiaomi Mi TV 4 will feature a modular design. So, the motherboard, sound system, and the large display are three separate components which can be replaced separately. This is indeed an innovative design making sure that you don’t have to shell out a lot of money to upgrade your smart TV. Just replacing the motherboard with a smarter one is enough to bring your TV up to date.

But we have already seen modular TV’s from Xiaomi before. What’s really interesting about the Mi TV 4 is its super sleek metal body. The TV comes with a 4.9mm body, that’s thinner than most of the smartphones that are in the market. Its sleek metal body looks elegant in the pictures and even in real life (the TV was shown off during the event). But just being sleek is not enough, so Xiaomi decided to make the TV frameless as well. The combination of a sleek body and a frameless display indeed makes it very beautiful. The company has even thought about those who don’t want to fix the TV onto a wall. The Mi TV 4 comes with a transparent stand to blend well with the background for unobtrusive viewing.

Then there’s the Patchwall software, which is a deep learning AI system embedded right into the TV’s OS. What this basically does is give out the most relevant suggestions for you. Different users will get different suggestions based on their likes and dislikes and Hugo Barra even went on to say “it’s a substantial improvement over any current content UI”. Some of the highlighted features of software include smart sizing i.e. the size of the recommendation tile will be based on its level of relevancy, infinite recommendations scrolling etc.

For sound, the Mi TV 4 comes with 10 speakers right inside the Mi TV Bar, 2 other satellite speakers, and a subwoofer. It is also the first Xiaomi TV to come with the Dolby Atmos Sound support.

All this for under $2000, which is an impressive price tag. There are two other sizes available, 49-inch and 55-inch.

RELATED: Xiaomi Follows Suit, Increases Prices of Its Mi TVs

Now is the time to reveal its release date and shipping details. This is the funny part. Xiaomi announced and showed its new Mi TV 4 in Las Vegas today, but it didn’t mention any details about its shipping in the US. It’s confirmed to be coming to China later this year, but for fans who were waiting for a US launch of a major Xiaomi product, their wait continues….

Check out a couple more pictures of the Mi TV 4 below.

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We all love to have our gadgets work for us whenever we need them but these batteries that can’t last forever just won’t allow us do that. Again, using a charging cable to fuel up the battery also pose its own challenge, most especially limiting our movement to a particular radius if you actually want to keep it charging and still operating the gadget. That is where wireless charging comes in handy, but we still haven’t got a truly wireless charging device that can charge multiple gadgets all at the same time and don’t need any wire at all or charging pad.

US-based tech company Energous had promised to make its truly wireless charging device dubbed WattUp wire-free charging technology that would charge all our gadgets but that promise is yet to materialize till now. However, Energous CEO Steve Rizzone, in a phone call to Verge ahead of CES, has reaffirmed that the wireless charging transmitters is still in the works and that it might start shipping by the end of 2017.

The charging transmitter was first unveiled at CES 2015 and was supposed to ship that same year, but according to the CEO, Energous signed a “key strategic partnership” just a month after the convention, leading to a renewed focus on miniaturizing the technology before shipping it. The partnership gave Energous’ mystery partner the right to be the first to ship its charging technology inside of phones, laptops, tablets, and certain wearables and accessories, so Energous’ initial plan for battery phone cases had to be put on hold.

There are speculations that the mystery partner is Apple and even though Energous is yet to disclose the identity of its partner, the CEO lent credence to the speculations by hinting that the partnership is with “one of the largest consumer electronic companies in the world. I cannot tell you who it is, but I can virtual guarantee that you have products from this company on your person, sitting on your desk, or at home.”

Read Also: Wireless Charging Pad Working on the All-Metal Huawei Mate 9 Spotted

If truly Apple is the key partner, then chances are that we might really be seeing the WattUp Wire-Free charging technology before the end of this year. Don’t jump up for joy just yet, the technology still has a long way to go before it get wider accessibility. First, devices have got to support the technology and then there will be a transmitter that would be installed in every home or office where the devices can then be connected to the transmitter. Moreover, the company has said it isn’t manufacturing any of the gadgets itself rather it will sell the radios and technology to companies that are interested in having them in their own gadgets, transmitters, or charging pads. So, it is still doubtful whether we’ll see devices charging wirelessly this year. Perhaps, its is still a technology for the future?

(source)

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China’s innovative tech company Xiaomi is making its debut on CES this year and the company looks set to take on the international scene using CES 2017 as a spring board. Xiaomi had hinted last year, when it announced it would be participating in CES 2017, that it would release an innovative product that illustrates how it is pushing the boundaries of innovation.

Earlier on also, the company’s VP Hugo Barra had announced they would be releasing  a product during the tech show. The company also released series of teasers that gave clues as to the product expected. There are indications, however, that the company is planning a more revolutionary product than the Mi Mix. The Xiaomi Mix revolutionize the idea of bezel-less smartphone that was hitherto thought to be impossible to mass produce. But Xiaomi is touting that they have more exciting products in their arsenal.

No doubt the company is built around innovation and it is very likely that there might be more than one product coming. The Xiaomi TV Weibo page re-shared a poster publicizing the launch event and then added that perhaps a new Xiaomi TV may be coming as well. So, perhaps a new Xiaomi TV may be one of the upcoming product. There are rumors of a white Xiaomi Mix in the works, and Xiaomi is even conducting a poll to know which one fans prefer and surprisingly, the result so far show the white Mi Mix is preferred by most of the respondents.

Read More: Xiaomi to Unveil Yi Erida Drone and Yi 4K+ Action Cam at CES 2017

There is the likelihood of a new software product also coming as the company also shared the image of a smartphone running two different OS at the same time. The company had also announced that it would be launching the Yi Erida drone and Yi 4K action camera at CES 2017. The launch event is scheduled for tomorrow 6th January at 3 pm and Xiaomi has hinted that it would be broadcast live on several channels in China including Xiaomi TV.

(source)

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Few months back, ZTE decided to go in the direction of crowd-sourcing funds for its smartphone project. Xiaomi has successfully been exploiting that avenue in China to release a barrage of smarthome products. But ZTE’s model was initiated on Kickstarter in the US and is labelled Project CSX. Now, ZTE has used the opportunity of CES 2017 to unmask the device and it goes by the name- ZTE Hawkeye.

Aptly named Hawkeye, the phone prides in its visual ease it brings to the table. First of all, the phone has a adhesive body that can stick on a wall, glass and other surfaces, thus allowing the user some level of hands free operation. The adhesive back may be in form of a removable casing in the long run, so you get to remove it when it is not needed. Even if it turns out to be in form of a casing, it won’t remove a bit from the cool design we see on the device.

More amazing is the Senseye feature which allows you to scroll down and navigate through websites on the phone by eye movement. The Senseye uses the front camera to track the eye motion and then translate it to a software command like scrolling up, down, left or right. It is accurate at up to three lines.

The phone is still a work in progress as the company has not fixed a date when it would be officially launched. But in line with Xiaomi’s crowdfunding pattern, the ZTE Hawkeye is up for pre-order, apparently in a bid to rake in more funds for final mass production. The pre-order is ongoing on Kickstarter and the price is just $199. That might likely be a price tag for the early birds , so it is not certain if that would be the final price on launch day.

There is a dearth of details about the specifications and features of the Hawkeye but at least we know what the device looks like now and a few specs have popped up on the Crowdsourcing website. What we also know is that the ZTE Hawkeye sports a rear mounted fingerprint sensor in addition to other features that are not yet revealed. Sure, we are likely to get a decent chip, RAM size and storage capacity on the device, considering the Senseye software feature already inside.

Read Also: ZTE Blade V8 Pro Pre-order Begins In the U.S, Features Dual-Camera with $229 Pricing

According to the details, the ZTE Hawkeye sports a 5.5-inch FHD display and dual rear cameras with enhanced image and zoom capabilities. It is a dual SIM smartphone that supports multiple bands, meaning it is already unlocked for use anywhere in the world. The device is also touted to pack a large battery with quick charging capabilities.There is also a Hi-Fi audio on the device as well as an expandable memory. The size of the memory isn’t revealed yet, as well as the processor onboard. The device runs the latest Android 7.0 Nougat OS and it is upgradable to the latest version when available.

Already, three different colors have been spotted which includes black, blue and green but since it is likely going to use a plastic finish, the final colors might be broadened in the long run. Even at just the three colors exhibited, the Hawkeye looks quite attractive, with a design that heralds ZTE’s ability to design sleek, beautiful handsets, all for just $199 USD. You can check out the video teaser from down below showing how the Senseye and adhesive features work. Also, do follow Gizmochina’s CES 2017 Hub for latest CES 2017 update.

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ZTE has officially confirmed at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 that it will be soon selling its Blade series in the U.S. The first in the series to makes its debut in the U.S. is ZTE Blade V8 Pro.

The ZTE Blade V8 Pro has a 5.5-inch display that produces a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The Snapdragon 625 SoC featuring 2.0 GHz octa-core processor and 3 GB of RAM are present under the hood of Blade V8 Pro.

The native storage of the smartphone is 32 GB and it supports up to 256 GB of microSD card on its external storage. The microSD card can be added to the second SIM slot of the hybrid SIM tray.

The USP of this budget-friendly smartphone is its 13-megapixel dual camera that is accompanied with features like phase detection autofocus and dual LED flash. Its selfie camera is of 8-megapixel.

It features a front-facing fingerprint scanner and it also features a USB Type-C port. Other connectivity features include Wi-Fi 802.11ac, v4.2 Bluetooth, and NFC. It is loaded Android Marshmallow OS. There is no confirmation on whether it will be upgraded to Nougat OS.

The ZTE Blade V8 Pro measures 156 x 77 x 9.1 mm and its weight is 185 grams. The device houses a 3,140 mAh battery with fast charging support.

ZTE Blade V8 Pro Price, Pre-orders

Since the Blade V8 Pro is an unlocked smartphone, it will support all networks in the U.S. It will be available with a pricing of $229. Apart from ZTA USA’s online store, it can be preordered through retailers like Amazon, B&H and Newegg.

ZTE USA CEO and chairman, Lixin Cheng has stated in a press release, “first launched in Asia, the Blade series has expanded to countries throughout Europe and Mexico due to growing consumer demands.”

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Asus ZenFone AR that is built for augmented reality is the first Tango enabled smartphone in the world that carries support for Daydream VR. The smartphone has been unleashed at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 tech exhibition. It was launched alongside Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom.

World’s  First Tango, Daydream Ready Smartphone

As mentioned above, the Taiwanese tech company has managed to unleash the ZenFone AR that supports Google Tango augmented reality technology though its TriCam system featuring three cameras for motion tracking, depth measuring and room mapping.

Tango with it set of sensors can measure space and motion like humans do. At present, there are only 35 AR apps available, but more apps are expected to roll out later this year.

At the launch event, Asus also demoed how the ZenFone AR can be used through GAP AR app to understand how garments fit on a model. The first AR smartphone, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro launched in 2016 does not support Daydream VR. Asus ZenFone AR is also Google Daydream ready smartphone through which users can enjoy high-quality immersive virtual reality.

As of this writing, Tango AR and Daydream VR experience cannot be combined on Asus ZenFone AR. In other words, Daydream apps can be used only when the smartphone is present inside a Daydream VR headset and Tango apps can be used only when it is in Tango Mode.

Related: Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom Featuring Dual Cameras with 2.3X Zoom, 4 GB RAM, 5,000 mAh Battery is Official

Asus ZenFone 3 Specifications

The Asus ZenFone AR is fitted with a 5.7-inch quad HD display. It offers a screen-to-body ratio of 79 percent. It is powered by Snapdragon 821 chipset.

The ZenFone AR is also the first smartphone to come with 8 GB of RAM. It also comes in a 6 GB RAM model. The smartphone comes in four internal storage choices of 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB. It also carries support for external storage through microSD card.

The complicated set of cameras at its rear features a 23-megapixel high resolution camera with Sony IMX sensor and f/2.0 aperture. It comes with features like 4-axis OIS, EIS, RAW photography and dual LED flash. The 8-megapixel f/2.0 aperture selfie camera is also coupled with dual-LED real tone flash.

It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat customized with Zen UI 3.0. Other features include a USB Type-C port and a fingerprint scanner. It houses a 3,300 mAh battery with fast charging support.

Asus ZenFone 3 Price, Release Date

The Asus ZenFone AR release date is slated to happen in Q2 2017. As of this writing, there is no confirmation on which markets will be receiving it. Also, the ZenFone AR pricing has not been officially announced yet.

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Asus has taken off covers from its camera-centric smartphone, the ZenFone 3 Zoom, at the ongoing CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 event.

The Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom has a successor for the original ZenFone Zoom that was launched in January 2015. It has arrived to join its other family members such as ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Laser, ZenFone 3 Ultra and ZenFone 3 Deluxe.

The ZenFone 3 Zoom sports a dual camera on its rear panel. Among the two cameras, the main camera is of 12-megapixel and there is a secondary camera of 12-megapixel that features 2.3X zoom lens.

The main camera is equipped with Sony IMX 362 and a f/1.7 aperture. The cameras are driven by SuperPixel technology from Asus along with TriTech autofocus system. It carries support for features like 4-axis OIS, EIS, laser autofocus and RAW photography.

The Portrait Mode feature that is available on iPhone 7 which makes the background out of focus for sharper photo of the subject will be arriving to ZenFone 3 Zoom through a software update. Its selfie camera is of 13-megapixel and it feature Sony IMX 214 sensor along with a f/2.0 aperture.

Related: Asus ZenFone AR: World’s First Tango & Daydream Ready Smartphone with SD 821, 8 GB RAM Unveiled at CES 2017

It features a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display and is powered by Snapdragon 625 chipset which clearly indicates it is an upper-midrange smartphone. The display is shielded by Gorilla Glass 5.

The chipset is supported by 4 GB of RAM and its native storage is 128 GB. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS flavored with Zen UI. The smartphone is expected to receive Android 7.0 Nougat update later this year.

Apart from dual cameras, the rear panel of Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom also features a fingerprint scanner. It has a very slim profile of 7.99 mm and it weighs 170 grams. It has a massive 5,000 mAh battery and it comes in color choices like Black, Silver, and Rose Gold.

The pricing of Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom was not announced at CES 2017. It is scheduled to be available for purchase by February this year.

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LG Electronics is showcasing a bunch of wireless wearable audio products at this year’s edition of CES. Two of which are the  LG Tone Studio Wearable Speakers and LG Tone Free Earphones. The Tone is LG’s line of wireless bluetooth headphones and according to LG has sold 10 million headphones as at July, 2015.

LG Tone Studio Wearable Speakers

The Tone Studio Wearable Speaker fits around the neck, granting the wearer a sort of personal surround sound experience. Sounds are pumped out through the two full range speakers on top and the two vibrating ones at the bottom but you can also make use of the retractable earbuds for a more personal experience by simply flicking a switch.

The speaker has a Hi-Fi Digital to Analog Converter that boosts the audio quality. LG says you can also pair two units of the Tone Studio Wearable Speaker in case you and a partner want to watch a movie or listen to a song together.

LG Tone Free Earphones

This is a pair of completely wireless earbuds that comes with a neck band that doubles as a storage and charging solution. So you can leave the optional charging case at home and take just the neck band and earbuds along and not have to worry about charging or losing them. All you have to do is take off the earbuds and plug them into the neck band and your earbuds are safe and charging. LG says you can even answer or ignore calls on the Tone Free Earphones via voice commands alone.

READ MORE: LG All Day Gram Isn’t Only Lightweight But Has A 24-Hour Battery Life

No price details or release dates were released for the two products but we expect LG to make an announcement once they are available for purchase.

(Source)

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There are uncountable fitness trackers in the market right now, most of them have to be worn on your wrist like a watch while a few are integrated into other accessories like your clothes, headband, or shoes. But what if you want something more discreet that is visible in plain sight but still kind of hidden as well? Then you might want to consider the Motiv Ring.

The Motiv Ring apart from being different in the sense that you wear it on your finger like a regular ring, also measures your fitness by focusing on your Active Minutes. Active minutes are the amount of time you spend exerting energy during intense activities more strenuous than your average walks. So activities like brisk walking and running count.

The Motiv Ring still tracks your steps, measures your heart rate, and expended calories but it places active minutes above all these and assists you in achieving the 150 active minutes/week goal.

The Motiv Ring has a bluetooth sensor, an optical rate sensor, a 3-axis accelerometer and a lithium ion battery enclosed in a titanium shell. Motiv says the ring should last between 3 to 5 days  on a single charge depending on how active the wearer is.

You might be wondering how the ring charges. All you have to do is  raise it up to a lantern and recite the Green Lantern Corps oath  plug in a magnetic charger that attaches to the inside of the ring on one end and plug the other end into a USB port. There is a key chain charger included in the box as well. Charging time takes 90 minutes and there is a LED indicator that alerts you when the battery is low or when the ring is syncing or updating.

The Motiv Ring is waterproof up to 160 feet or 5 ATM, so you do not need to worry about taking it for a swim.

READ MORE: Meizu Band Review: Awesome Cheap Fitness Tracker

If you want to order one, it’ll cost you $200 but it won’t ship till Spring of this year. Motiv will send a ring sizing kit after you pre-order so that you can check which of the sizes fits perfectly. A code on the sizing kit will be used to complete the purchase on their website or app where you will also be able to choose if you want your ring in Slate Gray or Rose Gold.

The Motiv Ring is currently compatible with only iPhone 5S and newer devices running iOS 9 or above. An android companion app is said to be in the pipeline.

(Source)

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Selfie sticks are old-school already and selfie-drones are here to replace them. One of the products showcased at this year’s on-going Consumer Electronic Show is the Hover Camera Passport (made by Zero Zero Robotics): a selfie-drone that identifies its owner and automatically start recording or taking photos.

The Hover Camera Passport was actually first announced last year. Then, you had to use the companion app to select an object you wanted the drone to track. But now, all you have to do is register your face via the app  during the initial setup and when next you bring out your drone, it scans for your face, locks on to it (and the rest of your body) and starts following and recording you. Want to take a selfie? All you have to do is raise your hand till the LED flashes

Hover Camera Passport Design and Specs

The Hover Camera Passport is lightweight and really portable. It weighs just 238 grams (242g including the battery) and its dimensions are 182 x 132 x 33 mm. Sporting a carbon fiber cage-like design protecting the quad-rotors that keep it airborne, the drone is also foldable and can easily fit into your bag.

There is a Snapdragon 801 SoC clocked at 2.3GHz that powers the drone. The Hover Camera Passport has a f/2.0 13MP camera that can record 4K videos at 30fps but also sports another camera underneath it that is used to calculate it’s speed and position to help it maintain balance while hovering.

The Hover Camera Passport isn’t a perfect device yet. Like most drones, battery life is still on the low side. You can get only 10-minutes of flying time from the 1360mAh battery before you are prompted with a low battery warning.

Hover Camera Passport Price

The Hover Camera Passport is currently priced at $599 which is pricey but the good thing is that it’s available right now and you can purchase one on their official website.

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Innovative tech start-up Faraday Future has finally unveiled its first production car which it calls the FF91, in Las Vegas ahead of CES 2017. The Faraday Future FF91 electric car, whose production was backed by LeEco was exhibited live before a packed arena of tech enthusiasts and reporters and the company even demonstrated the prowess and features of the car. LeEco president Jia Yueting was there live actively involved in he exhibition.

The FF91 has an autonomous driving feature, something Faraday Future had not mentioned in the past. The self-driving feature allows for the driver to alight from the car and then send the car to go park itself as well as summon the car when needed. The company showed a video of the car searching for a parking spot and parking itself when it found one. This it was able to achieve using the avalanche of sensors, cameras, and radar which the car comes with.

Another highlight of the Faraday Future FF91 electric car is its speed. The car is touted as being able to hit 60 mph in just 2.39 seconds, a few miliseconds faster than the Tesla Model S. A video of the FF91 beating the Model S in a race was also shown. It was not just video sessions all through, as Faraday Future also demonstrated the car’s full acceleration on stage.

Related: Faraday Future ELectric Car Likely Price Revealed

Aside that, the electric car also has an endurance range of 378 miles as against the 315 miles the Tesla Model S is capable of. In addition, the car has a lot of extra tweaking like a dual antenna that allows for Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity. There is also a facial recognition which allows the owner into the car without the need for the car key. More so, the car is not crammed up as there is enough space inside of up to 151 cubic feet.

See Also: LeTV CEO Backed Faraday Future Unveils Concept Electric Sports Car, FFZERO1

Don’t get too excited, as the Faraday future FF91 electric car will not ship until next year, 2018. However, interested buyers can register for the car now with a deposit of just $5,000. The final price tag slammed on this innovative car isn’t known yet and its still not known if the car can successfully take on the Tesla Model S and Model X.

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Thanks to a previous leak, we already knew a lot about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset before its official unveil. Now that Qualcomm has officially revealed all the details about the new chipset at CES 2017, we can confirm that the details leaked before were true. Along with the improvement in general performance, which we see in every new iteration of Snapdragon chips, the Snapdragon 835 will make sure that it improves VR experience as well as efficiency. The chip consumes 50 percent less power as compared to Snapdragon 801 which was released in 2014 and up to 25 less power as compared to last year’s Snapdragon 820, thanks to its more efficient 10nm manufacturing node.

As for the main specs, the Snapdragon 835 features two clusters, a performance cluster with four cores clocked up to 2.45GHz and an efficiency cluster with four cores clocked up to 1.9GHz. The chip comes with faster 3D graphics and more colors, improving VR and AR support. It features the new Adreno 540 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, DX12 and Vulkan. Thanks to it’s improved VR capabilities, Qualcomm reveals that the chip can be found in many dedicated VR headsets. One such example is the new mixed reality headset from the wearables company ODG, which features the new SD835.

The new chip supports Quick Charge 4.0 which is 20 percent faster than QC 3.0 and is better equipped to protect the phone from overcharging. The company claims that the tech will provide up to 5 hours of usage in just 5 minutes of charging. Other improvements in the chip include enhanced ‘true to life’ sound, native support for optical zoom and new age autofocus, electronic image stabilization, and support for Ultra HD 4K Premium playback (including HDR 10).

RELATED: ASUS could beat Xiaomi and Samsung to release the first Snapdragon 835 Flagship

The Snapdragon 835 comes with Qualcomm Location which supports major systems such as GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS. As for connectivity, the chip comes with Snapdragon X16 LTE model with Cat 16 LTE support, 802.11ad multi-gigabit Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.

You can read more about the features of the new SD835 from here.

Also, you can also read more stories from CES 2017 here.

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LeEco has unveiled two new smart bikes powered with Android at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017. The Smart Road Bike and Smart Mountain Bike will be coming to the U.S. by Q2 this year.

The China-based tech company had showcased the Android powered bikes at a press conference in the U.S. At that time, the company had not revealed many details. However, the specifications and features of both bikes have been announced at CES 2017.

Both the bikes are powered by Snapdragon 410 chipset and they also feature 4-inch touchscreens. A 6,000 mAh removable and rechargeable battery is present on the bikes. The Android Marshmallow OS is customized with BikeOS from LeEco.

The BikeOS makes it easier for users to track their rides, health data and physical and share the information to their friends. Both the bikes have some more common features such as fingerprint scanner, bike security tracker, inbuilt alarm, GPS/GLONASS, Here Maps, walkie-talkie, music player 30-speed shift, lights, horn and a barometer.

Both Smart Road Bike and Smart Mountain Bike are equipped with Toray T700 carbon fiber frames and handlebars. They also feature 11-speed drivetrain.

Related: LeEco’s Financial Troubles Continue, Defaults in Payment For EPL Broadcast

The Smart Road Bike is designed for daily commute on streets as it weighs 18.5 pounds whereas the weight of Smart Mountain Bike meant for cycling in rough terrain is 26.9 pounds. The two bikes have respective seats, wheels and carbon fiber frames for the type of rides they have been designed for.

LeEco has not confirmed the pricing of its new super bikes for the U.S. audience. However, the company has been known for launching products with aggressive pricing, both bikes are expected to come with attractive pricing. The company has been selling similar Android powered bikes with a price range of $800 to $6,000.

As far as the availability is concerned, the Smart Road and Smart Mountain Bikes are expected to be available for purchase by the second quarter of this year.

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Huawei, over the weekend, teased what is billed to be the launch of a new interesting Honor phone that would drop on January 3 in the US ahead of CES 2017. Turns out the expected smartphone is the dual camera-packing, budget Huawei Honor 6X that was launched in China a few months back.

The Honor 6X is an upgraded version of the equally spectacular Honor 5X which was launched in 2015 with all-metal body, well studded specs lineup and yet a cheap $157 price tag. But then Huawei launched the Honor 6X with an upgraded specs tablet and the mid-ranger even packs a stunning dual-lens camera at the rear, yet was placed in the budget price category.

Design & Hardwares – Honor 6X

Talking about the design, the Huawei Honor 6X features an all metallic built, with 2.5D glass on the front. The phone has smooth and well chamfered edges with less design bezels at the sides, giving it a premium flagship look. It also has a compact body with a dimension of 150.9 x 72.6 x 8.2mm and weighing in  at 162 grams.

Read Also: Huawei Honor S1 Smartwatch Launched Priced at 699 Yuan ($104)

As for the specs, the Honor 6X is powered by the Kirin 655 octa-core chipset clocked at 2.1GHz with Mali-T830 MP2 GPU which is a decent offering for a budget smartphone. The device sports a 5.5-inch display with 1080p resolution.  Only the 3GB + 32GB storage version is available for both markets right now, but Huawei has said the 4GB RAM version will hit select markets in due course.

Going further, the phone features a dual camera setup at the rear consisting of one 12MP primary sensor and another 2MP secondary sensor. Huawei teased a photo captured by the Honor 6X’s rear cameras at dusk and the image was crisp clear, meaning it packs a powerful sensor onboard. Up front, there is an 8MP camera. Inside, the phone features a decent 3340mAh battery. As for the software, the device runs on Android 6 Marshmallow with Emotion UI 4.1 on top. Other features include fingerprint sensor at the back, dual SIM dual standby, 4G LTE, WI-Fi n and GPS.

Pricing

The Honor 6X comes in five different colors namely gold, rose gold, silver, gray, and navy. As for the price in the EU and US, the Honor 6X starts at $249 in the US for the 3GB RAM version. This is slightly higher than the $149 price tag it clutched on launch day in China a few months back. Pre-orders will open at Honor’s web portal on January 4, while the official sales would kick off on January 15. When the 4GB version enters the market, it will be priced at $300. Meanwhile customers in the U.S. can get the Honor 6X 3GB for a reduced price of $200 during flash sales at 10 a.m. (PT )on January 10, 17, 24, and 31.

Related: Honor 6X With Dual Cameras & Kirin 655 Official, Starts At Just $149

For Europe, the Honor 6X will be available in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Russia and others with sales starting January 4th for €249.

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Human interface solution developer Synaptics has announced a new multi-factor biometric platform that can be used on smartphones, notebook PCs and tablets. The engine was developed in collaboration with KeyLemon, another facial recognition company.

The new platform is coming ahead of the CES 2017 and is said to use both fingerprint and facial recognition, thus allowing mobile devices to be unlocked in several ways, based on the user’s preference. Apart from the feature of unlocking the device, the platform also provides some level of security for financial transactions as well as unlocking of other sensitive information in the device because users will be required to go through two modes of authentication.

Read Also: Asus Could Beat Samsung & Xiaomi To Release The First Snapdragon 835 Flagship

One good thing about the system is that it features anti-spoof technology and uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to differentiate between the real owner of the device and any other imitation. So, it doesn’t only take note of the facial features but reflex actions like eye blinking and pattern of  head movement in order to prevent spoofing or imitation.

Synaptics has hinted that it seeks to expand the platform to include additional biometric and security factors. The company also went on to introduce a fingerprint sensor technology which allows for scanning of the fingerprint through glass, thus opening up the potential for button-free display designs with embedded fingerprint recognition sensors. This isn’t new though as we’ve already got the Xiaomi Mi 5S with underglass  ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

Related: Synaptics Announces Its Own Under-Glass Fingerprint Scanner

Since Synaptics sells its patents and inventions to smartphone and tablet makers, the new technology could find its way inside smartphones in the near future. As to when exactly, that we cannot say.

(via)

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SpeedX, a smart bike company that launched its first bike the SpeedX Leopard in March last year is back with another one called the SpeedX Unicorn. The SpeedX Unicorn was unveiled today at CES.

The Unicorn is an upgrade to last year’s Leopard road bike and boasts some new and interesting features. There is a detachable computer on the stem of the bike that runs a custom version of android and sports a 2.2-inch display. The computer displays your current, average, and maximum speed allowing you to measure your performance.

SpeedX says the new Speedforce computer apart from being visible under direct sunlight also has a strong battery life, lasting for more than 20 hours on a single charge. You also don’t need to take your hand off the bars to switch the screen as there re wireless buttons embedded in each handlebar.

The major upgrade in the SpeedX Unicorn is the integrated power meter which helps cyclists measure the effort on each ride. Other bikes require you to buy a power meter separately but SpeedX already has one built in.

Want to buy the SpeedX Unicorn? Then you’ll have to back it up on Kickstarter like their last bike the Leopard, which if you still remember is the most funded bike campaign on Kickstarter. The SpeedX Unicorn has three models: the Unicorn Di2, The Unicorn Pro, and the Unicorn X.

The lower-priced Unicorn Di2 has a Fizik R3 saddle, a pair of Xero SpeedX Carbon wheels and a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset for $3,499. The more expensive Unicorn Pro has a Fizik R5 saddle and a SRAM eTap Hydro groupset and costs $4,599. The Unicorn X priced at $5,899 has a Fizik R7 saddle and a pair of Zipp 303 wheels.

Backing it up on Kickstarter will get you a discount. The Unicorn Di2 is $3,199 for the early backers after which it will sell for $3,299; the Unicorn Pro is $3999 for the early birds and will sell for $4099 when all the early bird units are out of stock; while the Unicorn X is $5,299 for the early bird and $5,399 for the special price.

Just to let you know, the units set aside for the early bird price for all three models will soon be out of stock. Early birds will get their bikes by April while those who buy at the special price will get theirs in May.

You can check out the Kickstarter here.

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Launched along with its other CES 2017 surprises, Lenovo took the wraps off its Smart Storage device. The Lenovo Smart storage is a storage device that offers up to 6TB storage space and comes as a smart gadget with Dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Smart storage can be said to be ultra-smart as it also features a facial recognition for better sorting of synced photographs based on the faces in the photos in addition to the dual-badn Wi-Fi that allows peer-to-peer access.

Read Also: Lenovo Miix 720 2-in-1 PC with Active Pen 2 unveiled, Surface Pro Killer!

Powering the Smart storage is an Intel Celeron N3060 dual-core processor with a clock frequency of 1.6GHz. The processor is backed by 2GB of RAM and there is 8GB of internal storage. The unit takes a 3.5-inch SATA hard drive and can offer 2TB of storage as well as up to 6TB. There is a pair of USB 3.0 ports onbaord for connecting other devices as well as a button to upload stuffs and another to reset the device. There is also an RJ45 1000M port on the device.

The functions offered by the Lenovo Smart Storage are enormous. It can be used to watch movies over Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) platform and it also supports wireless data transfer between devices. If the wireless data connectivity is running at snail speed, you can also use a wired connection by connecting the two devices via USB ports. There is also the issue of confidentiality as files can be kept private and secured and it also auto Sync if that function is set up, and this enables the device transfer data to the hard drive automatically.

Related: Lenovo Smart Assistant With Amazon Alexa Announced

The Smart storage also enables users to print photos stored inside using Kite Photo Service and it is also compatible with the Lenovo Smart App. Talking about the price, the Lenovo Smart Storage device is priced at $139.99 USD and will be available for purchase in May, 2017.

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Lenovo has unveiled a new verson of the Miix 700 2-in-1 tablet which was released last year at CES 2016. The Lenovo Miix 720 unveiled just before CES 2017 takes on the Microsoft Surface Pro and it even takes the notch higher when compared to previous Miix tablets.

The Lenovo Miix 720 is actually a detachable PC that boots Windows 10 form the go. The gadget has a design where it easily transforms from a laptop design to a tablet just by detaching some parts. The tablet PC also comes with Lenovo’s Active Pen 2 and has a light weight design. The Lenovo tablet laptop is touted as an all-purpose digital vehicle and besides it being light weight, the stylus can be used for hands-on creations.

RELATED: Lenovo Smart Assistant With Amazon Alexa Announced

On the hardware, the Lenovo Miix 720 features a 12-inch touchscreen display with QHD+ resolution (aka 2880 x 1920 pixels). Lenovo touts the display as being ultra crisp with “graphics-enriched pitch”.  The tablet weights just 2.4lbs and is somewhat thin at 14.6mm of thickness.

Still on the hardware, the Miix 720 is powered by the 7th generation Intel Core i7 “Kabu Lake” processor, tagging along with an Intel HD 620 graphics card.There is a 16GB of RAM onboard and a storage of up to 1TB. The device also carries a facial recognition feature and a powerful battery that can last up tp 8 hours of usage. Other features include a USB port, Thunderbolt 3, a rear camera and a kick-stand that can extend up to 150-degrees.

The new Active Pen 2 which comes with the Miix 720 is said to be ultra-sensitive with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The keyboard is backlit, so you don’t have to worry about operating the device in the dark.

Read More: Lenovo Phab2 Pro AR Phone Launched in China For 3999 Yuan ($575)

The Lenovo Miix 730 2-in-1 Windows PC carries a price tag of $999.99 USD and would become available for purchase in April starting at $999.99. The Active Pen is sold separately and costs just $59.99 USD. It will be available from February 2017.

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When Amazon released the Amazon Echo back in 2015, everyone was blown away. The speaker with a built-in smart assistant called Alexa performed a variety of functions. You could ask it questions, order items from Amazon’s website, set alarms and even control your other smart electronics with it. Other companies such as Google seeing how successful the Echo is launched their own version called Google Home with Google’s Assistant baked in.

But what if you do not want to buy Google’s Home and you don’t like Amazon’s Echo because it’s only available in black and white? Lenovo has got you covered. The PC manufacturer just launched its own smart home speaker before CES 2017, called the Lenovo Smart Assistant which comes in very cool colors and the best thing about it is that it has Amazon’s Alexa built-in.

Lenovo Smart Assistant Design

Lenovo’s Smart Assistant can be said to be a cross between the Echo and Google Home. The top half looks like an Echo and the lower half like the Google Home’s replaceable base. The top has just a single button but has a circular speaker grille similar to that of the Echo, although just one set of holes in the Lenovo.

The top part has a ‘floating design” from the rest of the body and has an aluminium frame around it. Just below it is the remaining part of the first half that has Lenovo’s branding hanging like a banner outside a castle. The lower half is the part that looks like the Google Home with its fabric design which we believe is covering the speaker(s). While the Google Home has a removable base, the Lenovo Smart Assistant isn’t and you are stuck with whatever color you purchase.

The underside of the speaker has a cut-out groove for the power cord and a reset button that can be activated using a sim ejector tool or office pin.

RELATED: Lenovo has just unveiled the stylus-equipped Microsoft Surface Killer

Lenovo Smart Assistant Features

The Lenovo Smart Assistant equipped with eight 360° far-field microphones with noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation is designed to pick up users’ voice commands from up to 5 meters away. Lenovo says there is a special Harman Kardon Edition of the Smart Assistant for those who want premium audio quality when streaming music.

The Smart Assistant not only answers questions and takes commands but can also be used to control other Lenovo smart home devices as well as a number of existing 3rd part products.

Lenovo Smart Assistant Pricing and Availability

The Lenovo Smart Assistant will be available in May 2017 for $129.99 in White with either a Light Gray, Green, or Orange base and Black for $179.99 if you want the Harman Kardon Edition.

Note that our CES coverage can be read at CES 2017 Hub

(Sources: 1 and 2)

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Xiaomi has once again teased the unveiling of a new innovative product during a Xiaomi news conference holding at CES 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. The recent teaser is coming on the heels of the one earlier teased by Xiaomi VP, Hugo Barra. Mr Barra’s teaser did no good in enabling us know what the product will likely be.

Going by the information contained in the teased post, the new technology from Xiaomi would be unveiled officially on January 6, 2017 at 3.00 for the world to witness. While we cannot really pinpoint what the so called new innovative technology from China is, we can only take a cue from the content of the teased image.

The poster contained some set of programming code using the C programming language which means the product has something to do with computer programming, perhaps on mobile devices. Perhaps this could be a new operating system, it could be AI, it could be something out of this world!

Read More: Xiaomi to Unveil Yi Erida Drone and Yi 4K+ Action Cam at CES 2017

Xiaomi is an innovative start up, so it is always striving to improve its standing and considering the company’s interest to enter the US market, this could be a perfect spring board to achieve that. Already the company has got the Yi Erida drone an Yi 4K+ action cam under its sleeves for release in CES 2017. However, as to what the product really is, we’ll have to wait till January 6 to find out.

(source)

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Asus is expected to unleash new smartphones at the upcoming CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 event. Qualcomm and a famous leakster have both revealed that the Asus ZenFone AR is slated to get announced on Jan. 4

Google Tango Augmented Reality platform has been developed by Google. The Asus ZenFone AR has been in the rumors since several weeks. Qualcomm has now spilled the beans on the key features of Asus ZenFone AR.

On the Qualcomm blog post that carries a publishing date of Jan. 4 reads that the Asus ZenFone AR is powered by Snapdragon 821 processor. It also revealed that it is the first mobile device ever to be enabled with Tango augmented reality as well as support Daydream mobile virtual reality.

The blog post has been taken down, but its cache image reveals the experience ZenFone AR will deliver. The post states that, “with Zenfone AR and the Daydream View headset and controller, you’ll be able to explore new worlds with apps like Google Street View and Fantastic Beasts, dive into your personal VR cinema with YouTube, Netflix, Hulu and HBO, and get your game on with Gunjack 2, LEGO BrickHeadz, Need for Speed and dozens other titles.”

Even the well-known leakster, Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) has tweeted Asus ZenFone AR press renders before its official announcement on Wednesday. In the press renders, the display of the smartphone carries Jan. 4 date. This is also an indication that the Asus ZenFone AR is slated for a Jan. 4 announcement.

Related: ASUS X00GD Shows Up AT TENAA: Sports 4850mAh Battery and Runs Android Nougat

The CES 2017 runs from Jan. 5 to 8 in Las Vegas. However, the press events will be on Jan. 3 and 4 which indicates that several announcements will be done on these dates.

The Asus ZenFone AR specifications are not available yet. However, with Daydream VR onboard, it is expected to come preinstalled with Android 7.0 Nougat. Asus CEO, Jerry Shen has stated that ZenFone AR will deliver advanced performance with competitive pricing.

The first Google Tango smartphone is the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro that was unleashed in November 2016 with features like 6.4-inch quad HD screen, Snapdragon 652 SoC and 4 GB of RAM.

Its other specs include Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 16-megapixel camera enable with features like PDAD, depth and motion tracking sensors, 8-megapixel frontal camera, fingerprint scanner, a 4,050 mAh battery with fast charging support.

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Battery life for notebook computers have improved in recent years but that doesn’t mean there is still no room for improvement. When LG introduced the LG Gram back in 2015, their aim was to make Windows PCs lighter than the MacBook Air. But why stop at just being light? The new LG Gram line heading to CES 2017 adds battery life to its selling points and has a model called the LG All Day Gram that boasts a 24-hour battery life!!!

LG is launching a total of 8 new models but only the 13.3-inch model with an Intel Core-i3 processor and a 60Wh battery lasts for a full day on a single charge. The LG All Day Gram might be the champ but two other models also boast impressive battery life as well. The 14 and 15.6-inch models which have higher specs will last for 23 and 22 hours respectively, which is still freaking awesome.

The new LG Gram laptops are still light. Save for the 15.6-inch model, the rest weigh less than the 980g of 2015’s model. The 24-hour battery monster weighs 940g and the 14-inch version weighs 970g. Not light enough for you? Then you might want to check out the ultra-lightweight division which has a 13.3-inch model that weighs 830g and a 14-inch model that weighs 860g.

READ MORE: LG G6 Leaks: 3D Render Video, No Modular Design, Non-Removable battery 

LG has provided the entire Gram line with 7th-Gen Intel core processors, DDR4 RAMs, FHD screens, and SSDs ranging from 256GB to 512GB. All those specs, long battery life, and light weight comes at a price. The Gram starts at $1,100 and moves all the way up to $2,200.

(Source)

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Xiaomi is heading to CES and we all are excited about it. Xiaomi’s Vice-President, Hugo Barra knows we are pretty excited about it and he has posted an image teasing us of their new product launching at the event.

The image has the word WBHLITCEK written against a black background and also has a countdown to the product launch. if you look at the word closely, you’ll see that the alphabets are either white or black. Spelling out the white alphabets gives you WHITE and the rest gives you BLACK. Do you have any idea what the words hint at?

Some of the comments on Weibo where the image was first posted say the word(s) probably hints at the two colors of the Xiaomi Mi MIX. The Mi MIX is already available in black and we have seen photographs of a white version.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi 6 Said To Look Like a Sized-Down Version of the Mi Note 2

We however think it hints at the colors of a different product entirely and not the Xiaomi Mi MIX. The poster says there are four more days before the product launch, but chances are that more teasers will be released before then.

Apart from this mysterious product, Xiaomi will be announcing a new drone, the Yi Erida, and a Yi  4K+ action camera.

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Xiaomi already announced it’s making its first appearance at CES next year, but the announcement didn’t end there. The phone manufacturer also added that they plan to launch a new product at the event. We don’t know what the product is but it seems there will be more than one device making an appearance at the event seeing as Xiaomi just announced that it will be launching the Yi Erida drone and Yi 4K+ action camera.

Apart from phones, Xiaomi makes a bunch of other stuffs, part of which includes smart bikes, a smart electric scooter, a drone and action cameras. Earlier this year, Xiaomi launched the Mi Drone, a first from the company. Less than a year later, the company will be adding the Yi Erida drone to the line-up.

The Yi Erida will be equipped with a Yi 4K action camera that can record for 2 hours on a single charge, and will also have a tri-rotor design. The drone will be able to fly at speeds of up to 75mph (120km/h) and have a flying time of 40 minutes. It will also be fitted with a gimbal system that lets you record steady videos while flying. The Yi Erida will have advanced radar and sensor systems, manual camera controls, and can be controlled via a mobile app which Xiaomi says will make remotes obsolete.

READ MORE:  Xiaomi Mi 6 Specs and Release Details Leaked

The Yi 4K+ action camera on the other hand is an upgrade to this year’s Yi 4K camera. The major change is the ability to record 4K videos at 60fps which no action camera in the market can boast  of right now. The increase in frame rate will let you record fast moving objects in a smoother way than what you can currently achieve with other action cameras.

Which of these products are you excited about? Let us know in the comment box below.

Source

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HTC might not be doing so well in the smartphone market but their HTC Vive VR headset is currently the best device you can get if you are considering getting into PC-connected virtual reality.

HTC first announced the Vive at 2015 edition of MWC, but it wasn’t available for purchase until April of this year. Now it appears that the Taiwanese company might announce the Vive 2 at next year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Reports from local media in Taiwan, the HTC Vive 2 will be able to sync wirelessly with compatible PCs out of the box. It will also have its refresh rate bumped from 90Hz to 120Hz and its resolution raised from 1080 x 1200 for each eye to 4K per eye.

READ MORE: HTC One X10 Specifications, Pricing, Leaked Photos Surface; launch Date in January 2017

If the HTC Vive 2 does get announced next week, then we should expect the original HTC Vive to get a discount.

Source

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