Although we have seen a lot of smartphone releases in the first half of 2015 from Xiaomi, the company still has a lot in store. Lin Bin, the President of Xiaomi had earlier revealed that the company will release several new smartphones in the second half of 2015. We expect at least two launches in the second half, the Xiaomi Mi4c, the domestic variant of the Mi4i with Snapdragon 808 and the Xiaomi Mi5 flagship. But it looks like the company may have yet another device in store for its fans.

A new device with the model number 2014512 got certification on August 31. When we checked out the pictures as well as the connectivity details, the model had the exact same design as the Redmi 2. Now, why would the same model pass through TENAA again? The specs are not available at the moment, but its likely that this is yet another variant of the Redmi 2. Remember the Redmi 2A, the company’s cheapest smartphone with a Leadcore SoC? Well, given that the low-end segment is covered, this could be a slightly beefed-up variant in the Redmi series.

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At present, the Redmi 2 model features a quad-core 1.2GHZ Snapdragon 410 chipset with 2GB / 2GB RAM options. This particular Redmi 2 variant could upgrade the processor, probably with the mid-range Snapdragon 615. The price tag could be around 599 Yuan for 1GB version and 699 yuan for the 2GB version. This is a possibility given that the 799 Yuan Redmi Note 2 features the octa-core Helio X10 MT6795 chipset.

Well, as we mentioned above, this is just a possibility. We can’t say for sure where this device will be positioned. For that we will have to wait for its specs and pricing. So, best we wait for more details about the phone’s specs in the coming days.

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It has been a busy month for Chinese cell phone manufacturer, OPPO, as the company has been preparing its first releases of the year. Last week, the OPPO U3 received its TENAA network license. This phone may be the world’s thinnest 4X optical zoom phone, measuring just 9mm in thickness. Yesterday, there was also a leak online that says that the U3 could be priced at 2798 RMB or 451 USD. There is also OPPO’s other new release, the OPPO R1C.

A few days ago, we reported that the OPPO R1C would be launched on January 14, 2005. In addition, several photos of the phone were posted online a few days ago showing that it will sport a sapphire glass panel. That is right! OPPO’s first release of the year has made its debut. This phone, not surprisingly, costs 2499 RMB and will go on sale at 10:00 AM on January 20. Those interested would have to pre-order.

The most remarkable thing about this phone is its back. You can see your reflection at every angle. Overall, it looks great. There is a sapphire edition as well has a white version. As for connectivity, it is a 4G cell phone that also has support for dual SIM cards.

As for its specifications, the OPPO R1C boasts a thickness of about 6.85mm. It uses a 5-inch 720p display screen. As for its CPU, the R1C uses Qualcomm’s 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 64-bit octa-core processor. As for memory, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, which can be expanded to 128GB. It also sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera (Sony IMX214, with a f/2.0 aperture). It is also powered by a 2420mAh battery and its operating system is the Android 4.4-based Color OS 2.0.1.

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It is 2015 and we can expect many cell phone companies around the world to start making their first releases of the year. For example, there is Xiaomi which will launch the follow-up to its Red Mi cell phone, the Xiaomi Red Mi  note2, on January 15.

It also looks like OPPO will be busy the day before Xiaomi’s big day. Today, the company released a new poster on its official Weibo account, once again, confirming that it will release its first smart phone of the year on January 14. This will most likely be the OPPO R8207, otherwise known as the OPPO R1C 4G smart phone.

In addition, new photos of OPPO’s upcoming smart phone have been leaked on the internet. The biggest feature of the OPPO R1C appears to be that its back will sport a sapphire glass panel, which looks nicer than the OPPO R5’s glass panel. In addition, reports say that the OPPO R1C specifications will not be that different from many other phones that are out right now. It will sport a 5-inch 720p display screen. It will also run using the 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. As for memory, it has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM which can be increased to 128GB with a memory card. It also sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera.

2014 was quite a year for OPPO. Their big hit of the year was the OPPO N3. This powerful 4G smart phone is most notable for sporting a motorized rotating camera. The OPPO N3 was released last year alongside the OPPO R5 which is considered to be one of the thinnest cell phones there is to date. It has a thickness of only 4.85mm.

Having released such big hits last year, can OPPO’s 2015 releases live up to their predecessors?

Source: MyDriver, ITHome

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It has been quite a week for Vivo. Two days ago, they launched the world’s thinnest cell phone, the Vivo X5 Max which is only 4.75mm thick.

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.

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Today, Vivo introduced what is now the world’s slimmest cell phone at 4.75mm—the Vivo X5 Max 4G smart phone. The company took great steps to make a phone as slim such as them. For example, they created a motherboard for the Vivo X5Max that is only 1.7mm.

In addition, it uses a 3.98mm chassis which is the thinnest in the industry right now. As for the screen, the Vivo X5 Max sports a 5.5-inch 1080p super AMOLED display screen and is also the world’s thinnest screen with a thickness of only 1.36mm.

It also uses the world’s thinnest speaker box (2.45mm) and has excellent sound quality. It has a dual SIM slots. One is for a Micro-SIM card while the other is for a nano-SIM card or TF card. Users can just decide for themselves which card to put in. It is also worth pointing out that this phone sports a 3.5mm earphone jack.

Next, let us move our attention to the Vivo X5 Max’s core specifications. Its CPU 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 expanded to 128GB with an expansion card. You can also take photos using the Vivo X5 Max’s dual cameras. It sports a 5mp front-facing camera and 13mp rear-facing camera which has the Sony IMX214 sensor.

Furthermore, KTV fanatics should be happy with this phone. This phone has a Karaoke function and uses the YAMAHA YSS-205X CHIP. This phone supports all kinds of Apps that can give you a great karaoke experience. It also supports Hi-Fi 2.0.

Let us not forget its operating system. The Vivo X5 Max comes pre-installed with the Android 4.4.4-based Funtouch OS 2.0. This phone goes on sale on December 22 for 2998 RMB (485.64 USD).

Here’s our exclusive hands on video of the device.

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Analyst Bo Jiutang, announced in his Weibo account that Xiaomi was already preparing the Xiaomi Red Mi2 and that it will use a processor that is part of the Snapdragon 600 series. Since Qualcomm has already stopped production for the Snapdragon 600 recently, it is likely that the Red Mi2 will use the new 64-bit Snapdragon 615 octa-core chipset.

It was also leaked that the Red Mi2 will cost around 1000 RMB (162.63 USD), have a 5.5-inch 1080p display screen, a 13mp camera, and 2GB RAM.

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