GSMArena

[GSMArena]

OmniVison might not be a household brand name, but chances are you might have used a device equipped with one of its 8MP sensors at one time or another, it is a popular selfie shooter choice. The company is also behind the camera equipment used in Google's spatial mapping project Tango, so the expertise is definitely there.The manufacturer's latest addition to the sensor lineup is the OV13870, as already mentioned a 13MP sensor. This might not sound all that impressive in terms of resolution, but the reality is that on mobile, manufacturers have started focusing a lot more on expanding the size of sensor pixels to improve overall quality and OmniVision is following to the trend.The OV13870 has a new 1.25-micron PureCel®Plus-S pixel architecture. It is said to deliver best-in-class performance with major improvements to low-light photography and reduction is crosstalk. All this is packaged within a relatively small module, maintaining an optical format of 1/2.6-inches and a total height of 5.2mm, ideal for thin smartphones. It also has dual camera compatibility, which is perfect for use in multiple aperture setups like the one on the LG G5 for example.On the specs side of things, the OV13870 can capture 13MP still at a rate of 45 fps and is also capable of ultra-high resolution 4K2K video at 60 FPS, 1080p full high definition (HD) at 240 FPS, or 720p HD at 300 FPS with binning and cropping.OmniVision says the OV13870 is currently available for sampling and should enter mass production in Q2...


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LG G5 to launch in India in the next quarter
LG has announced that it will be releasing the G5 in India in the next quarter.Speaking about the device, Mr Amit Gujral, Marketing Head - Mobiles, LG India, said "We are really happy to see all the positivity around the LG G5 ever since its global unveil at the MWC. In fact, in a survey conducted in Korea the LG G5 topped consumer preference leaving its closest competitors trailing far behind. We hope to make this available to users in India very soon and are optimistic that consumers will love its revolutionary design and features."The G5 is the company's latest flagship smartphone with a unique modular design that allows the users to swap out the bottom portion for a camera grip with an extended battery or a H-Fi DAC and amplifier with B&O Play. It also features two cameras at the back, one with a particularly wide-angle lens.More details about the launch will be released at a later...


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Ulefone Power has a 6,050mAh battery, metal frame and wooden back for $180
While the established manufacturers got caught up in a race towards thin phones, battery capacities have suffered. Meanwhile, a clutch of lesser-known makers has realized there is untapped potential in this niche, and they've been coming out with monstrous battery capacities and attractive designs.Take Ulefone, for instance, the maker of the Ulefone Power. The phone packs a massive 6,050mAh Sony battery, over twice the iPhone 6s Plus battery capacity. The battery promises four days of normal use, 63 hours of talk time and 75 days of standby.Quick Charge tech is enabled and will fill up the whole battery in 2 hours. A 30-minute charge should be enough to last a typical day while a 5-minute charge is sufficient for 2 hours of talking.The Ulefone Power has a metal frame around its 5.5" 1080p display (which sits behind 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3). For the back, you have a choice of abrasion-proof material or wood. There is even a fingerprint reader located on the back.Here's a hands-on we managed to find:The phone comes with a 13MP Sony camera (IMX214, f/1.8 lens) with 1080p video capture with Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) and a dual-LED flash. The front camera is a 5MP shooter.The Power runs Android 5.1 (to be updated to 6.0 Marshmallow) on a 1.3GHz Mediatek octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and a hybrid card slot - two microSIMs or SIM + microSD. There's LTE connectivity (150Mbps) and an IR blaster.The best part is that the Ulefone Power is already available on certain online stores as a gray import for merely $180, and that's with all Google services preinstalled. Wow, Chinese manufacturers are really into changing the smartphone market. This phone seems like a great deal even if you factor in the fact that there will probably be no aftersales...


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[GSMArena]

MWC is still underway and the show floor will remain open to visitors up until March 2, but thankfully, announces are now finished, so we can all take a little rest from the bombardment of new devices and reevaluate the experience a little better. If you think you might have missed some handset announcement or are simply looking for an orderly recap, the table below should be for you. It also comes complete with links to out respective hands-on reviews..news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 25%; text-align: center;}.news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 75%;}.news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; }#review-body .news-item .n-right h2,.reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px;}.n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%;}.news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc;}.news-item p { margin-left: 0; }.n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 325px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: text-bottom;}.n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000;}.flat-button{ text-align:center; text-decoration: none !important; font: 400 22px Google-Oswald,Arial !important; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; padding: 20px 60px !important; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px 0; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -ms-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; color: #fff !important;}.flat-button-1 { background: #0CADA7;}.flat-button-1:hover { background: #0A948F; color: #666666 !important;}.flat-button-2 { background: #FF7E47;}.flat-button-2:hover { background: #EE7440; color: #666666 !important;}.n-right .rank-info { display: inline-block; font-family: "Google-Oswald",i€‹Arial,i€‹sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 100;}.n-right .rank-info .current-rank { font-size: 23px;}.circle { background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #8fb28f; border-radius: 50%; height: 23px; width: 23px; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px;}.arrow { width: 0; height: 0; border-style: solid; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px;}.arrow-up { border-width: 0 15px 25px 15px; border-color: transparent transparent #0cada7 transparent;}.arrow-down { border-width: 25px 15px 0 15px; border-color: #ff7e47 transparent transparent transparent;} Alcatel Idol 4 specs hands-on Alcatel Idol 4s specs hands-on Alcatel Pop 4 specs hands-on Alcatel Pop 4+ specs hands-on Alcatel Pop 4S specs hands-on Samsung Galaxy S7 specs hands-on Samsung Galaxy S7 edge specs hands-on LG G5 specs hands-on ZTE Blade V7 specs hands-on ZTE Blade V7 Lite specs hands-on HTC One X9 specs hands-on HTC Desire 825 specs hands-on HTC Desire 630 specs hands-on HTC Desire 530 specs hands-on Sony Xperia X specs hands-on Sony Xperia XA specs hands-on Sony Xperia X Performance specs hands-on Cat S60 specs hands-on Gionee S8 specs hands-on Acer Liquid Jade...


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Chart Topper: The Gionee Marathon M5 battery life test is in
Gionee Marathon M5 is one truly fascinating device. This chubby fella is heavy at 211g for a reason - the 5.5" smartphone is powered by a massive Li-Po 6,020 mAh. The mid-range chipset in charge of the Marathon M5 isn't popular as a power efficient silicone, but considering the battery size and the modest quad-core processor, it shouldn't matter that much.The M5 utilizes a 5.5" AMOLED screen, which may affect the power performance, too, as the AMOLEDs turned out not that great performance on previous Gionee smartphones.Enough with the introductions, let's get down to business, shall we?Gionee has rated the M5 capable of making 68 hours of 2G calls and 28 hours when hooked on to a 3G network. In our testing the M5 lasted 38 hours worth of calltime on a 3G network.JRGRAPH_EXPANDABLE_VERSION = true;.jrGraphContainer { background: none !important; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee !important;}.jrGraph { padding-left: 0 !important; left: 96px !important;}Talk time Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 46:44h Gionee Marathon M5 38:07h Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 33:20h Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 33:19h Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) 32:54h Xiaomi Redmi 3 32:53h Oppo R7 Plus 30:46h OnePlus 2 30:29h Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 30:29h Motorola DROID Turbo 30:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 29:46h Huawei Honor 5X 29:40h HTC One (M8) for Windows 28:34h Samsung Galaxy Note5 28:34h Nokia Lumia 1520 28:34h Samsung Galaxy Note 4 28:31h Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE 28:25h Sony Xperia Z5 Compact 28:23h Huawei G8 27:44h Samsung Galaxy S5 27:37h Sony Xperia Z1 26:53h Huawei Mate 8 26:45h Samsung Galaxy S6 active 26:29h Motorola Moto X Play 26:28h Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) 26:01h Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 25:45h LG G3 25:38h LG G Pro 2 25:37h LG G Flex 25:19h Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 25:16h LG G2 25:15h Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 25:12h Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12h BlackBerry Passport 25:12h Samsung Galaxy A7 25:12h Motorola Nexus 6 25:03h Alcatel Hero 25:02h Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos 25:02h Samsung Galaxy A8 25:02h Oppo N1 25:01h Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 24:52h Sony Xperia Z Ultra 24:23h Oppo R7s 24:03h Apple iPhone 6 Plus 23:49h LG AKA 23:20h Sony Xperia Z3 23:13h Meizu PRO 5 23:10h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 23:09h Oppo R7 22:58h Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 22:42h Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 22:36h Motorola Moto X Style 22:23h ZTE Nubia Z9 22:20h Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 22:16h HTC One Max 22:13h Sony Xperia Z2 22:13h Nokia Lumia 1020 22:13h Nokia Lumia 1320 22:13h Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 22:13h Lenovo ZUK Z1 22:13h Sony Xperia C3 Dual 22:11h Meizu MX4 Pro 22:09h Yota YotaPhone 2 22:09h Samsung ATIV SE 22:05h Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek) 22:02h Xiaomi Redmi Note 21:41h Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 21:39h Motorola RAZR MAXX 21:18h Xiaomi Mi 4i 21:02h Meizu m2 note 20:55h Huawei Nexus 6P 20:50h LG Optimus G Pro E985 ...


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Weekly poll: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs. Sony Xperia X Performance
Xiaomi traditionally serves the Asian market, but there's talk that the new Xiaomi Mi 5 will be its first phone to officially launch internationally. Sony, meanwhile, said the Xperia X Performance will definitely launch in Asia while its European availability is still being sussed out.Both phones stick to the 5" 1080p format (the Mi 5 is 5.15", but close enough). They bring powerful Snapdragon 820 chipsets and a heavy focus on camera - 16MP OIS for the Xiaomi, 23MP for the Sony.The Xperia X Performance is waterproof (only one in the current X lineup) and features Sony's traditional front-facing stereo speakers. This model has an option for a beautiful brushed metal back.The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a glass/metal build as standard, but the premium Pro model will use ceramics and have a roomy 128GB storage option (there's no microSD slot here).Both companies stepped up their design game, but spotty availability may hamper their growth. Still, if it was available in your region which one would you pick - the Xiaomi Mi 5 or the Sony Xperia X Performance?Think about it and cast your vote, you have a week to...


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Experience MWC in Barcelona in a 4K time lapse video
MWC is a truly amazing event not only for the sea of tech announcements that take place at the venue but also for the amazing experiences the Barcelona gatherings provide every year. We really feel blessed to be able to see the show floor for ourselves, and while we take pride in reporting on the news and informing you on all the novelties in the tech world, our work doesn't really convey the true experience at MWC. We could have tried to convey our personal impressions, but we thought it would be more fitting to the GSMArena spirit to show you around the event floor and Barcelona itself in a short 4K timelapse video. We hope you like our quick timelapse and be sure to leave us you comments and suggestions about our MWC coverage this...


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February security update starts hitting Samsung's flagship devices
Samsung has announced that it has started rolling out the latest Android security update to its "major flagship models." The update includes patches from both Google and Samsung.What's worth mentioning here is that the South Korean company didn't explicitly mention which of its flagship devices are getting the update, although reports say the list includes the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6 family, Galaxy Note 4 and Note5, as well as the Tab S and Tab S2.Of the devices mentioned above, the Galaxy Tab S2 has already started receiving the February security update. In addition, handsets from Huawei, Motorola, and BlackBerry, as well as Nexus devices have also received the...


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WhatsApp to remove BlackBerry from its list of supported mobile platforms this year
Popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp has announced that it will be ending support for all versions of BlackBerry OS - including BlackBerry 10 - by the end of 2016.Other platforms that will be removed from WhatsApp's support list include Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, and Windows Phone 7.1. WhatsApp says it wants to focus on platforms that the vast majority of people use."While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," the company said in a blog post. "If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using...


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64GB ZTE Axon Pro now selling for $324 in US
The 64GB variant of Axon's ZTE Pro smartphone has received a price cut in the United States, where B&H Photo is currently selling the model for $323.95. Those purchasing the device from the retailer will also get a gift card worth $50.ZTE is officially selling the 64GB version for around $380 in the country, meaning B&H photo is offering over $50 direct discount, which coupled with the included gift card takes the total discount figure to over $100. Available color options include silver, gold, and blue.Amazon also has the device listed for around $325, but the blue color variant is currently out of stock.Source (B&H) | Amazon |...


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New OnePlus X update is aimed at fixing image corruption issue with device's camera
A month after the OxygenOS 2.2.0 update started rolling out to the OnePlus X, the company has pushed out another update that it says includes a hotfix for an image corruption issue with the device's camera. The issue in question has been reported by some users following the last update.The update weighs in at 9.5MB. It's an incremental roll-out, meaning it may take some time before the update hits your device if it hasn't already. "We will try to cover everyone within the next 48 hours," OnePlus said in a post on its official forum.For those who aren't already aware, the last month's OxygenOS 2.2.0 update brought along things like manual mode and save to SD card option in Camera App, USSD bug fix for India. as well as some other...


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Android 6.0 factory image for Moto X Pure Edition (2015) now available for download
Motorola started rolling out the Moto X Pure Edition Marshmallow update back in December last year. Now, a couple of months after that, the first Android 6.0 factory image for the device has been made available for download.The image carries a build number of MPH24.49-18_18, and to download it you need to first request access to a Google Drive folder, something which you can only do after logging in with a Motorola or Google account (head to the Source link below).In case you missed, the Moto X Pure Edition has also started receiving the latest Android security update which brings up the handset's security patch level to February 1, 2016.Source |...


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No SD820-powered LG G5 for Latin America; SD652 version will be available there
Remember the LG H840 which was spotted on GFXBench earlier this month with Snapdragon 652 chipset and 3GB RAM? We initially thought that it could be a 'lite' variant of LG's latest G5 flagship, but turns out it's a special LG G5 model aimed at specific markets.While LG made no mention of an SD652-powered G5 at this year's MWC (where the flagship was unveiled), it has now come to light such a souped-down variant exists and will be available in Latin America at-least.Confirming that Latin Americans won't officially get the standard SD820 G5, LG's Sales manager for Chile, Cristián Correa, said that the decision was taken based on the feedback they received from several operators in the region as well as keeping in mind the currency appreciation in Latin America.What's more, the LG 360 virtual reality headset - one of G5's friends - will also not be available in the region. Correa cited Latin America's lack of interest in VR as the reason behind the move.Via...


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Samsung reportedly manufacturing 17.2 million S7 units before April
The highly anticipated Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are expecting to break last year's initial number of Galaxy S6 units in the first three months following its announcement.A Korean media outlet reports that Samsung is preparing to manufacturer a total of 17.2 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge units by April of this year.Samsung is really hoping to break its previous record set by the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge which sold roughly 15.8 million units in its first three months after launch with the second most successful device title held by the Galaxy S4 selling just over 15.2 million units in its initial sale period.Also, the company has reportedly changed its ratio of S7 and S7 edge where the S6 was manufactured 4:1 with the S6 edge constantly in short supply. This time around, Samsung wants to use a 6:4 ratio since it was not able to predict the roaring demand that the S6 edge had last year.Samsung hopes the overwhelming reception to the Galaxy S7's announcement this year at MWC is indication to the S7 and S7 edge's success and should break the S6's record for the first three months of sales.Source |...


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Modder improved cooling for Nexus 6P, warranty voided undoubtedly
Senior XDA member Gorgtech performed a hard modification to his warranty-less Nexus 5 and 7 so decided to do the same to his Nexus 6P whose warranty was voided as well.An XDA thread shows the tedious and difficult disassembly of the Nexus 6P, starting with carefully heating and removing the camera glass, which takes a steady hand and lots of patience.Gorgtech then removes the entire rear panel which looks even more difficult than the camera hump's glass. Once the more problematic parts were out of the way, screws and clips hold the boards in place.The post shows you where to add thermal paste to improve the cooling ability of the Nexus 6P, ultimately reducing the amount of thermal throttling of the roaring Snapdragon 810 chip.Head over to the XDA thread if you're feeling indubitably adventurous. I've repaired and ruined a bunch of devices in my day, but I will not likely try such a modification. Maybe if I still have the phone after my factory warranty expires, I MIGHT consider it.Source |...


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Sprint decided to bring back the 2 year contract, but why?
The American wireless industry has been phasing out the traditional 2 year contract in light of phones coming out more frequently and customers becoming disgruntled at being stuck with a 1-2 year old phone until next year.Sprint hasn't been doing particularly well in the past few years and continues to lose customers to other carriers. Since then they've been downsizing and cutting costs anywhere they could, they even removed Sprint's own in-house repair centers from several stores in the beginning of the month. Sprint also gave store employees more cleaning duties to cut store maintenance costs.The other 3 major carriers have already gotten rid of new 2 year contracts (unless you have a grandfathered 2 year agreement, you'd still have the option of renewing), so why did Sprint decide to bring back the 2 year contract?Perhaps Sprint is in desperate need of customers that it needs to sell service to every customer it possibly can. The older generation of customers might still be oriented with a 2 year contract. Here's what I mean:The customer is attracted to the idea of slapping down one or two-hundred dollars and walking home with a brand new phone that he or she now owns (with the only caveat being that they were obligated to fulfill this contract for 24 months). The thing is, a 2 year contract for 1GB of data is $65.00 plus taxes and regulatory fees while a 24 month finance plan with the same amount of data is $64.34, plus taxes and fees (a difference of just 66 cents). The advantage of one over the other is one keeps you stuck with a phone while the other allows you to switch phones after 12 monthly payments.Maybe this group of customers is scared off when finding out their financed phone will cost six to seven-hundred dollars (total amount paid after 24 months) and are too stubborn to understand how a lease or financing program will benefit them, or let them switch phones more often, than a 2 year commitment.Maybe I'm totally off. Maybe it's a stubborn executive that wants to bring back the 2 year contract.For the American wireless industry and competition's sake, let's hope Sprint can turn it around and take it back to the good ol' days of 2010-2011 when Sprint launched the first 4G WiMax network in the world and thrived with phones like the Samsung Moment and the HTC EVO 4G was Sprint's thriving star.Source |...


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Verizon gifts free Gear S2 or Gear VR for every Galaxy S7 pre-order
You may already know that Samsung is throwing in a free Gear VR headset with every Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge pre-order, regardless of market. However, US carrier Verizon has managed to best even this offer.If you pre-order either of Samsung's newest flagship smartphones, Big Red will give you a free Gear VR or a free Gear S2 smartwatch. This is great news for people who aren't that much into VR at this point, and who consider a smartwatch a much more useful gift in such a circumstance. It's also worth pointing out that the Gear S2 has a higher retail value compared to the VR headset.To take advantage of this promo, you need to pre-order the S7 or S7 edge from Verizon and get it on device payments before March 18. Then you register your new device at this website by March 31. After verification of the offer claim, you will receive your free Gear S2 or Gear VR in around 4 to 6 weeks.Source |...


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[GSMArena]

Acer has already showcased the Liquid Jade Primo a few times - at IFA last year, then at CES and at MWC. Yet now after many months of talking about it, the company finally seems intent on actually launching the handset running Windows 10 Mobile. The Jade Primo's release should happen next month. In the meantime, its maker has created a new promo video for the device, one that clearly positions the Jade Primo as a workhorse.That means businesses might be the primary intended customers for this smartphone, which is a trend we're seeing more and more of in the world of Windows 10 Mobile (most recently with the Microsoft Lumia 650 and the HP Elite x3, for example). Bottom line, the Jade Primo will help you get work done, especially thanks to its support for the Continuum feature in Windows 10.As a quick reminder, the phone comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera with dual-LED flash, an 8 MP secondary cam, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 chipset at the helm, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 2,800 mAh...


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Google Inbox gets new snooze options
Inbox, Google's pretty radical reinterpretation of the Gmail interface, is getting an update over the next week or so. And it's all about making its snooze functionality work better for more people. The snooze menu has also received a redesign of sorts.First off, you'll be able to choose from two new snooze times when you want to put certain things off for a while - "later this week" and "this weekend". These have apparently been highly requested through the Inbox feedback process, and they should decrease the use of custom-set snooze times.Finally, you can now choose what your "weekend" days actually are, similarly to how you can set your preferred morning time to receive emails. This is easy and straightforward to set up, as you can see in the second screenshot above, and should work well with the custom snooze time of "this weekend" of course. It's also clearly going to be extremely useful for those who live in places where the weekend isn't made up of Saturday and Sunday.Source |...


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Asus will send out Marshmallow updates in Q2, here's the full list of devices getting them
Last November, Asus outed a list of devices that it would update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Unfortunately, no timeline for update rollouts was mentioned at that point. And here we are more than three months later, and Asus has yet to push the new software to any of its wares.The good news is that now we finally have a (very rough) timeline to speak of. Asus will send out Marshmallow updates during the second quarter of this year, so from April to June. The company has revised its list of devices getting the Marshmallow treat, adding three smartphones that weren't in the initial roster.These are the ZenFone Max ZC550KL, the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE551KL, and the ZenFone Zoom ZX551ML. They join the following devices which were already slated to receive the update: PadFone S PF500KL, ZenFone Selfie ZD551KL, ZenFone 2 (ZE550ML and ZE551ML), ZenFone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML, ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition ZE551ML, and ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KG, ZE500KL, ZE550KL, ZE600KL, and ZE601KL).Source |...


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LG Nexus 5X is now the cheapest it's ever been at $269.99
The smaller and more mid-range of the two Nexus smartphones unveiled last year is now cheaper than it's ever been. One seller on eBay is offering brand new, unlocked LG Nexus 5X units (with 16GB of storage) for just $269.99.That's $10 less than what was asked for the phone in another promotional offer earlier this month, also on eBay. And the $269.99 price will save you $30 compared to Google's official pricing for the device.If you're interested, keep in mind that there's apparently a limited amount of units up for grabs at this price, so better hurry if you want to pick one up. The white model is sold out already, so you can only choose from the Carbon and Quartz hues. Shipping is free, and done from New Hampshire, which means you shouldn't get a sales tax no matter where you are in the...


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New 4-inch Apple device now rumored to be called iPhone SE
March is only a few days away now, and that means we're ever closer to Apple's much rumored spring event during which a new 4-inch iPhone is set to become official. Alleged details about this handset have been leaking for a long time, but perhaps the most disputed aspect of it has intriguingly been the name.We've so far heard it could be called iPhone 7c, or the iPhone 6c, or the iPhone 5se. And today a new report claims it will be none of those. Instead, Apple is likely to choose to call it iPhone SE. "SE" will apparently stand for "special edition", if the unnamed sources behind this one are to be believed.If this is true, then it will be interesting to see what a possible successor to the iPhone SE will be called, if there will ever be one. iPhone SE2? iPhone SEs? The New iPhone SE? It's anyone's guess at this point.Anyway, the iPhone SE's pricing will match that of the iPhone 5s (pictured above), it's been revealed. It will look identical to that handset, except for slightly curved edges around its sides. It will come with the A9 chipset, an "upgraded" 8 MP main camera, NFC and Apple Pay support, as well as the latest Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and LTE radios. It will be offered with either 16 or 64GB of storage.Apple's event during which the iPhone SE will be announced might take place on March 15 or March 22, according to some contradictory rumors we've heard. In either case, it's availability should follow mere days after the unveiling. A new 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be revealed on the same...


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[GSMArena]

Google has posted a new Android advertisement on its YouTube channel. Its moto is "be together, not the same" and animated rock, paper, and scissors help deliver the message.Here is the commercial itself.Two months ago Google had a similar ad under the same moto. It's called Android Fingerprints and here it is, if you need a...


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Samsung rises to fourth in the chip race, Qualcomm still leads
Samsung has increased its smartphone SoC share, and it's now in the Top 5 application processors designers in the world. Thanks to its Exynos expansion to the mid and low tier smartphones, the Exynos chips shipped in 2015 were about 500 million units or about 15% of the total shipped Samsung smartphones.Qualcomm keeps the leading spot, followed by Apple's solutions while the third spot is occupied by the MT silicones offered by MediaTek. Samsung's Exynos platform has now ensured the maker the fourth spot, pushing down Spredtrum at the fifth place.With the new Samsung Galaxy S7 series and other upcoming Samsung smartphones in 2016, there is a good chance Samsung solidifies and even improves its standing.Source •...


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Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro stops by AnTuTu, confirms specs
The Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro is apparently nearing official status if benchmark listings are any indication. After it was spotted on GFXBench earlier this month, the upgraded variant of Samsung's 6-incher has now made its way to AnTuTu, confirming the key upgrades over the vanilla A9 (2016).For one, the 13MP primary camera gets a bump to 16MP, so the A9 Pro won't have the same sensor as the rest of the A (2016) lineup. You'd also be getting higher-res selfies than on the regular A9 - 8MP vs. 5MP. Befitting the Pro moniker, RAM is also a gig more, at 4GB.Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro on AntutuThe rest is all the same as the Galaxy A9, meaning a Snapdragon 652 chipset and 32GB of storage. The older GFXBench listing put screen size at 5.5 inches, but we all know how benchmarks can get that particular bit wrong. We'd say that 6 inches is the safe bet here, even if AnTuTu stays mum on the matter.Source |...


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HTC announces international pricing for the Vive VR headset
HTC already announced what the Vive VR headset is going to cost you in the US at launch (which is $799, in case you missed it). Now the company has also revealed what the device will set you back in other regions of the world.The company has listed all the regions that will be getting the device, most of which are European countries. In those regions, including countries like Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, the Vive will be sold at €899.In Australia, the Vive is priced at US $899. In Canada it is CAD 1149, in UK it is £689, in China it is CNY 6,888, and in Japan it is JPY 111,999.You can get the full list in the link...


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Xiaomi Mi 5 scores over 14 million registrations for its first sale
Xiaomi announced its newest flagship - the Mi 5 - at MWC last week. The device is all set to go on sale in China starting March 1 - tomorrow. In case you're wondering how many people have registered for tomorrow's sale, the figure stands at over 14 million. This was revealed by the Chinese company itself.That's quite impressive, and is even said to be a new record for the company as the milestone was achieved in less than a week after the $300 handset was unveiled.As for the sale, it begins 10AM China time, and will see the company offering only the white color variants of the 3GB/32GB and 3GB/64GB models. There's currently no word on when other versions, including the higher-end ceramic back variant will be available for...


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Teaser confirms camera-centric Oppo R9
Oppo has released a new teaser that confirms the existence of the rumored R9 smartphone. It seems to be a camera-centric device given that the Chinese text in the teaser translates as "This time, it is worth and other '9' point. #OPPO New camera phone R9 #."Sadly nothing else was revealed, but given that the Chinese company has finally confirmed the handset, we expect to see more teasers and leaks in the coming days. A leak last year suggested that the device looks almost identical to the iPhone 6s Plus.Specs-wise, from what all has been rumored until now, the Oppo R9 will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 SoC and sport a 6-inch (1440 x 2560 pixel resolution) display. It will come with 3GB or 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable internal memory.In terms of camera, the handset will feature 21MP rear unit and a 13MP front shooter. Packing in a 3,700 mAh battery, the R9 will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow...


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Microsoft Band 2 receives an official price cut, now available for $175
If you recall, Microsoft was offering a $50 discount on its Band 2 fitness wearable until February 20. However, if for some reason you failed to take advantage of that promo, here's a new deal: the device is now officially available for $174.99.Yes, the new deal is an even better one, as the total discount in this case comes out to be $75 - Microsoft usually sells the wearable for $249.99. The promo runs through March 26 9pm PST, and is available for purchases made through online as well as retail Microsoft stores in the US.Aside from Microsoft, third party retailer Best Buy also has the device listed for $174.99.Source (Microsoft US) | Best...


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T-Mobile Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-orders shipping already
While Samsung's newest flagships - the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge - are officially scheduled to go on sale starting March 11, looks like a few lucky people in the US will have their pre-orders delivered before that date.One of the country's "big four" carriers, T-Mobile, has already started shipping the pre-orders - many of those who pre-ordered the device(s) are getting their shipment notifications. Last year too, a few lucky ones got their T-Mobile Galaxy S6 pre-orders delivered before time.In case you missed, the South Korean company's mobile chief Koh Dong-jin recently revealed that the Galaxy S7 flagship will be available in 60 countries in the first wave of its global launch.Via...


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Microsoft Lumia 640 now available for less than $30 in US
The Microsoft Lumia 640 has received yet another price cut in the United States, where retailers including Best Buy and Walmart are now selling the device for $29.99. The model on offer (color option: black) is available via AT&T's GoPhone prepaid service.A quick look at the Microsoft's US Store website reveals that the Redmond, Washington-based company is offering the black-colored AT&T variant for $29, but sadly the handset is currently out of stock. If you recall, an official price cut earlier this month saw the device coming down to $49.For those who aren't already aware, the phone is in the list of Lumia devices that are set to receive the Windows 10 Mobile update - in fact, T-Mobile Poland already started rolling out the update to Lumia 640 units on its network last month.Source (Best Buy) | Walmart | Windows US...


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Best Apps and Games of the Week
These are some of the best apps and games of this week.SparkSpark is a beautiful and powerful email app for the iPhone, which is now available on the iPad. The app makes good use of the iPad's big display, with multiple panes, including an additional bar on the left with shortcuts for your calendars, attachments, inboxes, etc. There is also a Watch app now, and a sync feature that syncs mail between your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.iOSPhotofyPhotofy is an image editing app for iOS that is now also available on Android. Although there are many photo editing apps out there, Photofy is tastefully designed. The main feature, among the usual editing options, is the ton of template texts in beautiful fonts that you can place on your images. Or if you want, you can type out your own. The app is free but with an in-app purchase you can access all the templates and filters.iOS • AndroidPeachPeach is a new social network similar to Twitter. You update your status and and can see what your friends are up to. There is no traditional timeline as on Twitter or Facebook. You see your list of friends with their last status below their name and you click on their name to see a reverse chronological view of their timeline. It has some cool features, such as typing GIF and the title to search for the GIF and then directly post it. The app was previously iOS-only but is now available on Android.iOS • AndroidBackdropsBackdrops is a wallpaper app for Android. The app is well designed and features some beautiful images in high resolution.AndroidThe Walking Dead: MichonneThe Walking Dead: Michonne is a three part mini-series in The Walking Dead series, based on a comic book series of the same name. It explores what happens to Michonne's character after she disappears between issues #126 and #139. The first episode is out now and the remaining will be released every month from now.iOS • AndroidAssassin's Creed IdentityIdentity is a new Assassin's Creed game made specifically for the mobile platform. Although it is claimed to be an RPG game, it is mostly action-adventure. The good thing about Identity is that it feels, for the most parts, like a full-fledged Assassin's Creed game and not like a watered down mobile version. There are plenty of missions to play, lots of things to do, and the it looks great, too.iOSLove You To BitsLove You To Bits is a point and click adventure game. The game involves solving simple environmental puzzles to progress onto the next level. It's quite fun and really well animated. Worth a look, especially if you have...


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Jaybird X2 review
IntroductionThe Jaybird X2 is a pair of wireless Bluetooth earphones designed for fitness enthusiasts. The headset is the successor to the company's Jaybird BlueBuds X. In reality, the two models aren't all that different, but that's not such a bad thing as the BlueBuds X is one of highest rated Bluetooth earphones around.The premise is simple; the X2 is a headset designed primarily to be worn while working out and as such has a very minimal footprint and try to get out of your way as much as possible. In that pursuit, they have all the electronics built within the speaker enclosures themselves, while also being sweat-resistant and designed not to pop out while you're running. Oh, and you can take calls on them easily.But you could have gotten all that from their website. Let's see what the headset is like in real life.DesignThe design of the X2 is nearly identical to that of the original BlueBuds X. It's a roughly two feet long thin flat cable with speakers on either end. Not the first product to use this design but before I get into anything else, let's just stop for a second and appreciate how the engineers managed to fit so much into such a small form factor.When you first try to put them on, you realize there is no marking for left and right speakers. It is because the earphones are designed to be worn both in an under-the-ear and an over-the-ear style and because the drivers are angled inwards, you have to switch them around when you move from one to the other position.Unfortunately, this results in an immediate problem, and that is the channels don't switch when you wear them upside down. It's only when you wear them in an under-ear style do you get the correct channel for each ear. It is not so much of a problem if you are listening to music, but using them for watching videos with stereo sound is downright confusing at times.The fancy retail carrying box fits all the bits and pieceOnce you figure out the left speaker from the right (the right one is the one with the controls near it), you then have to consider choosing between six different ear tips. Three of these are silicone, and the other three are Comply foam ear tips. For those not familiar with foam ear tips, you first have to squeeze them before inserting in your ears and once inside, the foam expands and takes the shape of your inner ear, which gives a tighter seal and is more comfortable on your ears. The foam ear tips also lack the annoying suction pump feeling of traditional silicone ear tips when you insert or remove them and are more comfortable. The problem is the foam can be damaged easily and isn't exactly sweat resistant, so for working out, it would be preferable to use the silicone ear tips.The other thing you have to consider putting on are the ear fins, which fit inside your outer ear and keep the earphones securely in place. In my testing, I found the Jaybird X2 to sit quite firmly in my ears, and I didn't have to worry about them popping out every few minutes.The last thing you would have to consider is the cord management clips. You get three with the earphones, of which one is spare. Even though the cable between the speakers is not long, you can still make it shorter by running it through the clips. It's important not to make it too short because, as I found out, it can severely restrict your sideways head movement and also makes it harder to use the controls. I found I could skip using these, and it was still fine.Coming to the earphones, they are made entirely out of plastic and come in a variety of colors. They are slightly longer than most earphones, as you can imagine, but not so long that they stick out too much from the side of your head (although you do feel them if you place your head sideways on a pillow while wearing them).The right speaker has a flap on the back with the microUSB port for charging, and also an LED status indicator.The charging port and the remote controlBelow the right speaker is the remote control. It has three buttons that can do various functions. The middle button is for power and also play/pause, and the other two are for volume or for skipping tracks. How the controls work isn't immediately apparent, and there is no user guide in the box either, which means you have to head over to the website for the details.Once you...


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Weekend poll: LG G5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
If you think about it, Samsung and LG are to "blame" for the current dominance of huge-screen handsets. Samsung got the ball rolling with the Note, LG killed off the phone/phablet distinction with the G3.This year, however, both companies pulled back and their new flagships are smaller than their predecessors: from 5.7" S6 edge+ to 5.5" S7 edge, from 5.5" G4 to 5.3" LG G5. Their screens have another thing in common too, Always On mode.The two diverge when it comes to the camera. The G5 has a secondary wide-angle camera while Samsung focused on low-light shooting and ultra-fast focus locks.The Galaxy S7 edge is not nearly as locked down as the S6 before it. No, you still can't change the battery, but you get your microSD slot back and water resistance too (IP68).The LG G5 went all metal and LG used a unique process to hide the unsightly antenna lines. The killer feature, however, is modularity - currently, a camera battery grip (with extra hardware controls) and a hi-fi DAC from Bang & Olufsen give you the option to upgrade your G5 even after purchasing it.Well, you've probably read our thoughts on the LG G5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, now we want to hear what you think. Vote away!You have until next weekend to...


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Chart Topper: The Gionee Marathon M5 battery life test is in
Gionee Marathon M5 is one truly fascinating device. This chubby fella is heavy at 211g for a reason - the 5.5" smartphone is powered by a massive Li-Po 6,020 mAh. The mid-range chipset in charge of the Marathon M5 isn't popular as a power efficient silicone, but considering the battery size and the modest quad-core processor, it shouldn't matter that much.The M5 utilizes a 5.5" AMOLED screen, which may affect the power performance, too, as the AMOLEDs turned out not that great performance on previous Gionee smartphones.Enough with the introductions, let's get down to business, shall we?Gionee has rated the M5 capable of making 68 hours of 2G calls and 28 hours when hooked on to a 3G network. In our testing the M5 lasted 38 hours worth of calltime on a 3G network.JRGRAPH_EXPANDABLE_VERSION = true;.jrGraphContainer { background: none !important; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee !important;}.jrGraph { padding-left: 0 !important; left: 96px !important;}Talk time Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 46:44h Gionee Marathon M5 38:07h Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 33:20h Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 33:19h Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) 32:54h Xiaomi Redmi 3 32:53h Oppo R7 Plus 30:46h OnePlus 2 30:29h Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 30:29h Motorola DROID Turbo 30:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 29:46h Huawei Honor 5X 29:40h HTC One (M8) for Windows 28:34h Samsung Galaxy Note5 28:34h Nokia Lumia 1520 28:34h Samsung Galaxy Note 4 28:31h Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE 28:25h Sony Xperia Z5 Compact 28:23h Huawei G8 27:44h Samsung Galaxy S5 27:37h Sony Xperia Z1 26:53h Huawei Mate 8 26:45h Samsung Galaxy S6 active 26:29h Motorola Moto X Play 26:28h Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) 26:01h Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 25:45h LG G3 25:38h LG G Pro 2 25:37h LG G Flex 25:19h Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 25:16h LG G2 25:15h Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 25:12h Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12h BlackBerry Passport 25:12h Samsung Galaxy A7 25:12h Motorola Nexus 6 25:03h Alcatel Hero 25:02h Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos 25:02h Samsung Galaxy A8 25:02h Oppo N1 25:01h Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 24:52h Sony Xperia Z Ultra 24:23h Oppo R7s 24:03h Apple iPhone 6 Plus 23:49h LG AKA 23:20h Sony Xperia Z3 23:13h Meizu PRO 5 23:10h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 23:09h Oppo R7 22:58h Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 22:42h Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 22:36h Motorola Moto X Style 22:23h ZTE Nubia Z9 22:20h Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 22:16h HTC One Max 22:13h Sony Xperia Z2 22:13h Nokia Lumia 1020 22:13h Nokia Lumia 1320 22:13h Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 22:13h Lenovo ZUK Z1 22:13h Sony Xperia C3 Dual 22:11h Meizu MX4 Pro 22:09h Yota YotaPhone 2 22:09h Samsung ATIV SE 22:05h Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek) 22:02h Xiaomi Redmi Note 21:41h Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 21:39h Motorola RAZR MAXX 21:18h Xiaomi Mi 4i 21:02h Meizu m2 note 20:55h Huawei Nexus 6P 20:50h LG Optimus G Pro E985 ...


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Weekly poll: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs. Sony Xperia X Performance
Xiaomi traditionally serves the Asian market, but there's talk that the new Xiaomi Mi 5 will be its first phone to officially launch internationally. Sony, meanwhile, said the Xperia X Performance will definitely launch in Asia while its European availability is still being sussed out.Both phones stick to the 5" 1080p format (the Mi 5 is 5.15", but close enough). They bring powerful Snapdragon 820 chipsets and a heavy focus on camera - 16MP OIS for the Xiaomi, 23MP for the Sony.The Xperia X Performance is waterproof (only one in the current X lineup) and features Sony's traditional front-facing stereo speakers. This model has an option for a beautiful brushed metal back.The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a glass/metal build as standard, but the premium Pro model will use ceramics and have a roomy 128GB storage option (there's no microSD slot here).Both companies stepped up their design game, but spotty availability may hamper their growth. Still, if it was available in your region which one would you pick - the Xiaomi Mi 5 or the Sony Xperia X Performance?Think about it and cast your vote, you have a week to...


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Experience MWC in Barcelona in a 4K time lapse video
MWC is a truly amazing event not only for the sea of tech announcements that take place at the venue but also for the amazing experiences the Barcelona gatherings provide every year. We really feel blessed to be able to see the show floor for ourselves, and while we take pride in reporting on the news and informing you on all the novelties in the tech world, our work doesn't really convey the true experience at MWC. We could have tried to convey our personal impressions, but we thought it would be more fitting to the GSMArena spirit to show you around the event floor and Barcelona itself in a short 4K timelapse video. We hope you like our quick timelapse and be sure to leave us you comments and suggestions about our MWC coverage this...


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[GSMArena]

Samsung has announced that it has started rolling out the latest Android security update to its "major flagship models." The update includes patches from both Google and Samsung.What's worth mentioning here is that the South Korean company didn't explicitly mention which of its flagship devices are getting the update, although reports say the list includes the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6 family, Galaxy Note 4 and Note5, as well as the Tab S and Tab S2.Of the devices mentioned above, the Galaxy Tab S2 has already started receiving the February security update. In addition, handsets from Huawei, Motorola, and BlackBerry, as well as Nexus devices have also received the...


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WhatsApp to remove BlackBerry from its list of supported mobile platforms this year
Popular mobile messaging service WhatsApp has announced that it will be ending support for all versions of BlackBerry OS - including BlackBerry 10 - by the end of 2016.Other platforms that will be removed from WhatsApp's support list include Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, and Windows Phone 7.1. WhatsApp says it wants to focus on platforms that the vast majority of people use."While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," the company said in a blog post. "If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using...


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64GB ZTE Axon Pro now selling for $324 in US
The 64GB variant of Axon's ZTE Pro smartphone has received a price cut in the United States, where B&H Photo is currently selling the model for $323.95. Those purchasing the device from the retailer will also get a gift card worth $50.ZTE is officially selling the 64GB version for around $380 in the country, meaning B&H photo is offering over $50 direct discount, which coupled with the included gift card takes the total discount figure to over $100. Available color options include silver, gold, and blue.Amazon also has the device listed for around $325, but the blue color variant is currently out of stock.Source (B&H) | Amazon |...


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New OnePlus X update is aimed at fixing image corruption issue with device's camera
A month after the OxygenOS 2.2.0 update started rolling out to the OnePlus X, the company has pushed out another update that it says includes a hotfix for an image corruption issue with the device's camera. The issue in question has been reported by some users following the last update.The update weighs in at 9.5MB. It's an incremental roll-out, meaning it may take some time before the update hits your device if it hasn't already. "We will try to cover everyone within the next 48 hours," OnePlus said in a post on its official forum.For those who aren't already aware, the last month's OxygenOS 2.2.0 update brought along things like manual mode and save to SD card option in Camera App, USSD bug fix for India. as well as some other...


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[GSMArena]

BlackBerry has rolled updates to several key apps for the Priv, now available on the Google Play Store. Camera, Launcher and Keyboard have been improved, with new features and refinements making their way to BlackBerry's first Android-running smartphone. Camera has been graced with a slow motion video recording mode, which shoots at 120fps, and plays back at 30fps, so you're getting 1/4x speed videos. BlackBerry doesn't state the resolution, but it's likely 720p. Launcher now gets Recent, Personal and Work views, as well as other minor tweaks like shortcut removal with a flick and grayed out app icons when you remove the microSD card the app has been installed on. Keyboard has seen improvements in prediction where it can now learn words and numbers, as well as sift through emails and social messages to better understand its user. You can view the complete list of updates in the links to the Play Store below, but only those with a Priv can actually reap the benefits. Source 1 2 3 |...


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HTC One M10 name confirmed, camera sample shown
Bit by bit, the HTC One M10 is coming together, and today there are two more of pieces of the puzzle. For starters, the name One M10 has been confirmed, unofficially of course, sending HTC's flagship line into double digits. The name was dug up in the drop-down list of devices in an HTC online survey form. Moving on, we get a camera sample to try and judge just how compelling the shooter is. It's a single shot, and a dirty keyboard isn't the most exciting subject matter, but it does seem to resolve plenty of detail in the letter markings and grime between the keys. HTC One M10 camera sample (click for full size) That is, where it's properly focused, because the wide f/1.9 aperture and near subject make for a pretty shallow depth of field. We do say "wide" and while it is an definitive improvement over the f/2.2 glass of the One M9, HTC is still playing catch-up with main rivals - the LG G5 has an f/1.8 aperture, while the Samsung Galaxy S7 is even brighter at f/1.7. It is on par with Samsung's offering in focal length though, with a generously wide 26mm equivalent, but in this respect you can't really compete with the G5 and the super-wide half of its dual-camera setup. The image is shot in 16:9 aspect and has a resolution of 2,250 x 4,000px. In 4:3 aspect it would make for a 3,000 x 4,000px 12MP image, right in line with previous rumors. For all we know, the HTC One M10 will be announced on April 11, and while all of the above looks believable, we'd hold off on buying decisions until it's official. Via (in...


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Native PSP store shutting down on March 31, Sony announces
Just days after it came to light that Sony has stopped shipping the PlayStation TV in Japan, the company has announced that it is closing down its native PSP store this month - March 31 to be more specific. Update: Native PSP store to close on 3/31. Content purchases still accessible at https://t.co/luJeIk6YxT. More info: https://t.co/vBJvdJR1pG— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 29, 2016 "On March 31, 2016, the PlayStationStore for PlayStationPortable (PSP) system in the SCEA region will be closed," Sony said in a blog post. "PSP system users will be able to purchase PSP content from the web-based PlayStation Store at store.playstation.com, and also access past purchases from the Download list on their PSP system." Users, however, will still be able to make in-game purchases from their PSP system even after March 31, the Japanese company...


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Motorola Droid Turbo 2 Marshmallow update starts rolling out today
Verizon first started pushing out the Android 6.0 update to the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 earlier last month, but the roll-out was halted shortly thereafter (update details were pulled from their website) due to unknown reasons. The good news is that the software update page is live again on Verizon's website, and the carrier now says the update will start hitting the Turbo 2 units on its network today - March 1. The update will be rolled out in two parts, with the first one bumping the software version to 23.31.24, and the second part - which actually brings Marshmallow - arriving as 24.14.10. In case you don't already know, the update was already being soak tested for the past few days. Head to the Source link below for more...


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Google accepts 'some responsibility' after self-driving car causes its first crash
One of the Google's self-driving cars met with a minor accident earlier last month when it hit the side of a bus. It's not like the company's autonomous vehicles haven't been involved in accidents before, but what makes this particular incident important is the fact that this was the first time a Google car actually 'caused' the crash. The crash took place in Mountain View on the Valentine's Day. Google says the accident happened when one of its self-driving Lexus RX450h - which the company claims was traveling at less than 2 miles per hour - tried to get around some sandbags in a wide lane. "We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadn't moved, there wouldn't have been a collision. That said, our test driver believed the bus was going to slow or stop to allow us to merge into the traffic, and that there would be sufficient space to do that." The bus was said to be moving at about 15 miles per hour. Google said it has made "refinements" to their software following the incident. "From now on, our cars will more deeply understand that buses (and other large vehicles) are less likely to yield to us than other types of vehicles, and we hope to handle situations like this more gracefully in the...


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Snapchat apologizes for revealing employee data after being hit by phishing attack
Snapchat has revealed that it was the target of a phishing attack that saw the ephemeral messaging company revealing payroll information about its employees. The company, however, said that none of its servers were breached and user data was also unaffected. "The bad news is that a number of our employees have now had their identity compromised. And for that, we're just impossibly sorry," Snapchat said in a blog post, where-in it also detailed the entire incident (head to the Source link below). Snapchat said the incident was immediately reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the affected employees have already been offered two years of free identity-theft insurance and monitoring by the...


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Verizon BlackBerry Priv could be available to pre-order this week
Looks like Verizon will begin taking pre-orders for the BlackBerry Priv this week. Replying to a user query on Twitter, Jeffrey Nelson - who is the VP of Communications for Verizon's consumer and enterprise businesses - effectively confirmed that pre-orders will go live on March 3. @tvnzs @BlackBerry @VerizonNews fingers crossed!— Jeffrey Nelson (@JNels) February 29, 2016 This comes less than a couple of months after Nelson revealed that Verizon will start carrying the Android-powered handset "by the end of March (if not sooner)." The Verizon variant was certified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December. Reports say the carrier will start selling the device on March 11, which is the same day when Samsung's newest flagships - the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge - will be released worldwide. Source |...


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Early mockups speculate Android N UI changes
Android Police reports that it was able to get a hold of some Android N screenshots way ahead of Google I/O when the developer previews should be released. Since the screenshots were not allowed to be reposted, there were a few mockups which roughly describe the alleged changes in for Android. Starting off with the notification toggles, there will be a new paged interface while also making the customization process of the toggles easier for the user. Along with different looking app notifications in the main notification shade, there is a row of quick toggles just under the status bar which reminds us of the Ice Cream Sandwich days. These mockups are reportedly based on early Android N screenshots and could vary by the time the developer previews are available for all to download. Source |...


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Lucky customer gets Galaxy S7 edge early, screenshots galore
As T-Mobile does all the time, it ships phones early to customers who pre-ordered them. T-Mobile has been delivering phones early for pre-orders as far back as the Galaxy Note 4 with many customers already receiving shipping confirmations for their new pre-ordered Galaxy phones. Click the image to see more screenshots. XDA member: altimax98 was among the very first to take delivery of a T-Mobile Snapdragon-powered S7 edge unit and has generously shared screen shots throughout the new TouchWiz/Marshmallow interface. The UI is not far off from the updated Marshmallow UIs that have been rolling out to newer Galaxy phones within the past month or so. Check out the XDA post to see the Marshmallow-y goodness on the Galaxy S7...


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Google's online store now sells third party VR headsets
Google has expanded its online hardware store in the US today, by adding a brand new category: VR. This isn't very surprising given how popular VR headsets are becoming (or, rather, how much their makers would like them to be popular). You can of course purchase Google's own Cardboard viewer, which is literally made out of cardboard, for $15 (or $25 for a two-pack). But the search giant has also added two third party VR headsets to its roster. The Mattel View-Master is basically a plastic version of the Cardboard design, which means it should be more durable. It's priced at $29.99 and it comes with a preview reel of special content. Finally, the Goggle Tech C1-Glass looks like an odd pair of, well, goggles. It's highly portable, apparently. On the flip side, it doesn't block the light around you, so overall it's less immersive than the others. You can pick one up for $14.99. Source | Via 1 • Via...


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UK: Get a black Lumia 950 or 950 XL on an O2 contract, receive a £75 Amazon gift card
If you're interested in Microsoft's top of the line Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL but don't want to pay the full price, there's always the option of grabbing one with an operator contract in the UK. And if you choose O2 as your network and black as the color of the phone, there's an interesting deal to be had over at Amazon. Pick a plan starting at £27.50 per month and you can get either the Lumia 950 or the Lumia 950 XL for free. Furthermore, you'll receive a £75 Amazon gift card for no additional cost. The gift card can be yours even if you opt for a more expensive contract, which you might want to do since the cheapest option only has 1GB of data (along with unlimited minutes and texts). You can go up to £39 per month and receive 10GB of data. The plans are identical for both handsets, rather intriguingly. There's no telling how long this offer will last (as per Amazon's terms and conditions it shouldn't even be available anymore, but it is), so make sure you act quick if it seems like a good deal. Source 1 • Source 2 |...


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Lenovo is working on a 4.7-inch ZUK smartphone, rumor claims
A new rumor out of China today claims that Lenovo's sub-brand ZUK is busy working on a 'mini' smartphone of its own. This will apparently come with a 4.7-inch 720p touchscreen, thus appealing primarily to people who consider most of today's handsets too big to handle properly. The small ZUK device will be offered in two hardware options, with either 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, or 3GB of RAM and 32GB of space. It's said to employ MediaTek's Helio P10 chipset, which comes with an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU that can be clocked at up to 2 GHz, and the Mali-T860MP2 GPU. The phone will have a fingerprint scanner, though its placement is unclear for now. Also not known at this point is whether Lenovo will choose to simply shrink the Z1's design (shown in the image above) for this 'mini' handset, or go with something new. Other details haven't been leaked yet unfortunately, so it's impossible to tell if the international version will run Cyanogen OS (like is the case with the Z1). And pricing is still a mystery too. Hopefully this wasn't just a baseless rumor and more information about the 'mini' ZUK phone will emerge...


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16GB Moto G (3rd gen) is only $199.99 until March 7
Motorola is currently running a promotional offer for the 16GB version of its 3rd generation Moto G smartphone. This is available to you if you're in the US and use Motorola's official online store to purchase the handset (and customize it using MotoMaker if you want to). The 16GB Moto G (3rd gen) is being sold for just $199.99 until 10:59 am CT on March 7. This is $20 less than what the smartphone's normal price is. And obviously there are no carrier contracts to sign here, as the unit you buy comes unlocked. The device has 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 SoC at the helm (with a 1.4 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU), a microSD card slot, a 13 MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, a 5 MP selfie cam, and a 2,470 mAh battery. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow (following an update that should pop up right when you turn the phone on for the first time). Source |...


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Oppo R9 will be announced on March 17
Earlier today a teaser confirmed that Oppo is getting ready to launch the Oppo R9, a possible successor to the R7 duo from last year. One thing that hasn't so far been clear is when exactly the new device will be announced. Thankfully, that's now been revealed thanks to Oppo itself. The Chinese company has plastered a very large number of ads all over subway and bus stations in China, ads that look like this one: The ads state that there will be an event on March 17, during which Oppo will out a handset that has "9" in the name. So that pretty much settles it. Unlike its predecessors, the R9 is rumored to sport some very high-end specs. It should be marketed as Oppo's top camera phone, and may include support for the company's recently unveiled Super VOOC fast charging. The Oppo R9 will allegedly have a 6-inch QHD touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera, a 13 MP selfie snapper, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset, 3 or 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,700 mAh battery. It should run Android 6.0 Marshmallow from day one, and could look almost identical to Apple's iPhone 6s...


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Google Maps for iOS is getting the detours feature that landed on Android in October
Last October, Google added a new feature to its Maps app for Android. This allows you to easily add detours (or quick pit stops) to your route, without ever having to leave the navigation view. And now the same functionality is finally arriving inside Google Maps for iOS. It will be available everywhere Google offers navigation (which means more than 100 countries and territories worldwide). You invoke the new feature by tapping the magnifying glass at the top right of the screen whenever you're in navigation mode. This will give you a list of options, as seen in the first screenshot above. If what you're looking for isn't a gas station, restaurant, grocery store, or coffee shop, just use the last field to search a specific name or another category. Search results show you how much time you'll lose by picking that detour, as well as ratings for each place. This is meant to help you quickly choose where you want to...


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Acer won't bring the Liquid Jade 2 to the UK but will sell the Jade Primo
Last week at MWC in Barcelona Acer announced the Android-running version of its much-hyped Jade Primo smartphone (which runs Windows 10 Mobile). The Android device is called Liquid Jade 2, and we have some bad news if you live in the UK and want one. It turns out that Acer will not officially be selling the Liquid Jade 2 in the UK. While an actual reason for this hasn't been given, we assume the company knows this handset wouldn't gather a lot of interest, in a sea of pretty similar Android-running offerings. The flip side of all this is that Acer is apparently anxious to be bringing the Jade Primo to the UK. It will be sold both directly to enterprise customers, but also to consumers who want it. The Primo supports Microsoft's Continuum feature in Windows 10. An exact release date for the phone isn't available yet, but we assume it's going to be in stores pretty...


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Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition now up for pe-order
Microsoft has announced that the developer edition of its HoloLens augmented reality headset is now available to pre-order. Carrying a $3,000 price tag, the Windows 10 device will begin shipping in the US and Canada on March 30, which is inline with the time-frame announced last year. "Developers who purchase HoloLens will have immediate access to hundreds of UWP apps through the Windows Store - great and familiar apps like OneDrive, Maps, Remote Desktop, People, Movies & TV, Groove Music and Microsoft Office apps,"Microsoft said in a blog post. "The Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition also gives developers access to a showcase of holographic app experiences to help get them started." There is, however, currently no information on exactly when the consumer version of the device will go on...


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Leap Year sale makes five top-rated iOS apps free, today only
Apple wants to emphasize the fact that 2016 is a leap year, so it's created a new app sale for iOS. As a consequence, five highly-rated apps for the company's mobile operating system are now free. If you get all of them, you save $15. The main caveat is that this deal is only available today - since February 29 is a day that only exists every four years and all that. The apps in question are Spark Camera, Tayasui Sketches+, Bridge Constructor, Super Sharp, and Windy Sleep Relax Meditate. Bridge Constructor and Super Sharp are games, while Spark Camera is obviously a camera app. Sketches+ lets you create drawings and take notes, and Windy is all about white noise sounds that calm your mind. You can find all of these in the iTunes App Store,...


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Upcoming 7-inch Galaxy Tab A and Galaxy Tab E portrayed in leaked press renders
Samsung is apparently going to unveil a couple of new 7-inch tablets soon. One will be sold as the Galaxy Tab A, while the other will bear Galaxy Tab E branding. The latter device has been leaking a lot lately, with full specs having been outed as well as a round of renders allegedly showing it. Earlier today prolific leaker Evan Blass, also known as @evleaks, has decided to make things interesting and out a new set of press renders for the 7-inch Tab E. However, accompanying it in the image you can see below is the upcoming 7-inch Galaxy Tab A. The Tab A is to the left in these shots, while the right side belongs to the Tab E. What's immediately obvious is that the E models have larger side bezels. The backs of the upcoming Tab A and Tab E devices are pretty much interchangeable. Their specs could be similar too, but that's not certain yet. The Tab E is supposedly coming with a 7-inch 1,280x800 touchscreen, a 1.3 GHz processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 8GB of built-in storage. It will also get a 4G-capable iteration. It will be headed to the US alongside other...


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[GSMArena]

HTC is now taking pre-orders for the Steam-powered Vive VR headset, as promised. Earlier today we told you about the international pricing of the HTC Vive - the VR headset costs $799 in the USA, €899 in Europe, $817 in Australia, CAD 1,149 in Canada, £689 in the UK, and CNY 6,888 in China. The pre-orders are opened to everyone, and you can place your order for the Vive right now. Most of the markets will be getting the Vive this April while the first units in Australia will be dispatched in May. Beware of the shipping costs, though, as they turned out to be quite steep. You will have to add €60 for shipping in Europe, $110 in Australia, £58 for the UK, $30 in the USA. If you want to pre-order your HTC Vive, you should head to official store. HTC...


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[GSMArena]

Microsoft has announced that two of its biggest gaming franchises will be making the jump from Xbox to Windows 10. The company announced a Windows 10 version of the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and Forza Motorsport 6: Apex. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is the remastered version of the original Gears of War game that was recently released on the Xbox One. Although the original game did release on PC, this new version features updated graphics and can go up to 4K, provided you have the right hardware. Forza Motorsport 6: Apex is a slightly stripped down version of the game that is available on Xbox One, but like Gears of War, also gets the full 4K treatment on PC. It will be free to download. Both games will be sold through the company's Windows 10 Store only, which means there will be some limitations, such as a permanent fullscreen mode and always-on v-sync. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is available for purchase right now on the store, while Apex will be released in Spring 2016. The company also announced that the future Forza games will be released on both Xbox and Windows...


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Android and TouchWiz take 8GB of your Samsung Galaxy S7 storage
We all know when we buy a new smartphone, be it 16, 32, 64, or even 128GB, it actually offers less memory because of the formatting. The 16GB storage suddenly becomes 14GB; those 32GB turn out 29GB, 64GB equal 58GB, and so on. There is also the fact that a considerable amount of storage will be occupied by the operating system itself. And by the end of the day, we usually lose a significant portion of the storage even before we open the box. That's the reason we try to fill our phone specs with the actual available storage to the user. And now we can shed some light on the Galaxy S7 series and its internal storage. As it turns out, the Android OS and TouchWiz launcher occupy 8GB of storage Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. This is upon the first run, even before you begin to setup your phone with accounts, apps, etc. The typical smartphone user also fills a few GBs the moment he starts updating apps and restoring purchases. And those precious 32GB will be halved in no time. Luckily, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge offer microSD expansion and the option to move apps to the SD card. Hopefully, this information helps you make the right decision - maybe you should consider waiting for the 64GB models, or purchasing a fast microSD card. Source •...


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SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD now even cheaper at $80 on Amazon
SanDisk's largest microSD card has been discounted further on US Amazon and now the 200GB Ultra goes for a very reasonable $79.99. That's an additional $10 discount compared to the price a couple of weeks ago, and a generous $170 off its prohibitive $249.99 MSRP. Naturally the other storage options aren't selling for full price, but the 128GB is $5 costlier than the last time we reported, now $50. For the price of the 200GB card you could get three 64GB cards and have $11 to spare, but the 200GB all at once does seem a lot more convenient. SanDisk's Ultra badge doesn't mean much in terms of transfer speeds though, and the 200GB card is the fastest at 90MB/s, the 64GB is rated at up to 80MB/s, while the 128GB version is the most sluggish at 48MB/s. Regardless of size and speed, they are all water proof, temperature proof, shock proof, X-ray proof and magnet proof, all sorts of proof. Source |...


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Huawei holding a March 9 event in Berlin, P9 expected
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei is holding an event in Berlin next week. The company has posted a teaser image for the event which is scheduled for March 9 in the German capital. Aside from the date and city, the teaser doesn't reveal anything else about the event. However, it does show beer being poured in a glass, although we're not sure what it has to do with the event, especially the word 'Beer' below the glass. If at all it's a smartphone-related event, then the Huawei P9 will most likely be the star given that the device has been the subject of several leaks and rumors in the past few weeks, and not to mention that there have already been rumors that it would be unveiled in March 2016. Its rumored specifications include Kirin 950 CPU, 5.2-inch 1080p display, 3GB RAM, and 3,900mAh battery. The handset is also said to come in as many as four...


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WhatsApp update adds PDF sharing
WhatsApp is now rolling out an update for the Android and iOS versions of the app that adds document sharing. More specifically, PDF sharing. You can now press the attachment sharing button to see the option to attach documents. On Android it will show your file manager to attach any local PDF files you may have. On iPhone, it will let you attach files from other storage apps, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. The update is now rolling out and should be available to everyone...


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$800 HTC Vive scores 15,000 pre-orders in 10 minutes
HTC's Steam-powered Vive VR headset, which went on pre-order earlier this week, received 15,000 pre-orders in just 10 minutes. The revelation was made by Shen Ye, a VR product specialist at the Taiwan-based company. Woah, more than 15k units in less than 10min — Shen Ye (@shen) February 29, 2016 That's quite impressive given that the headset costs a whopping $800 in the US (€899 in Europe). HTC CEO Cher Wang also took to Twitter to share what she said was an "overwhelming response to the start of pre-orders." Super excited at the overwhelming response to the start of pre-orders!@htcvive @shen @PeterFrolund pic.twitter.com/mUpovMjYtL— Cher Wang (@CherWang) February 29, 2016 The HTC Vive is the second major VR headset that went on pre-order sale this year. Back in January, Rift from Facebook-backed Oculus VR was also made available to pre-order - the $600 device begins shipping March 28. Source 1...


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Sprint and AT&T also start shipping Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-orders
T-Mobile became the first carrier in the US to start shipping Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-orders ahead of the devices' official launch. In fact, some of the magenta carrier's customers who pre-ordered the flagships have already received their units. Now, it is being reported that a couple of other major US carriers - AT&T and Sprint - have also begun shipping the pre-orders. In all, three of the 'Big Four' cell phone carriers in the country have now started shipping the latest Samsung flagships. There's currently no word on whether or not Verizon has commenced its Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-order shipments. In case you aren't already aware, the devices are officially set to go on sale starting March 11, and will be available in 60 countries in the first wave of their global...


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Second-gen Motorola Moto G getting Android 6.0 in US
Earlier last month, Motorola started pushing the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update to the second-generation Motorola Moto G in India and Brazil. And now, the update has started rolling out in the United States. Aside from the usual Marshmallow goodies, including Doze, Google Now on Tap, and redesigned app permissions, the update also includes the Android security patch for the month of January. In case you want to take a look, the Android 6.0 update release notes for the Moto G 2014 are already available on Motorola's India support website - head to the Motorola link below. Motorola US is yet to officially confirm the roll-out. Via |...


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Samsung Pay adoption is growing much faster than Apple Pay did
A new report from Bloomberg has reported that Samsung Pay is being adopted very quickly compared to Apple Pay did when it first launched. "Samsung has signed up 5 million users and processed more than $500 million in transactions since debuting in the U.S. in September." Samsung has differentiated itself from the other mobile payment solutions with its acquisition of Loop Pay. This technology simulates the magnetic strip on a credit card and does not require an NFC terminal. Basically, Samsung Pay is accepted anywhere a regular card swipe can be accepted which dramatically increases the number of merchants who accept Samsung Pay. In Samsung's latest ad, actor and comedian Hannibal Buress takes his Galaxy phone to a Deli in New York City, (a city with many places that only accept cash and barely even take credit cards) he baffles employees in the deli when he taps his phone and the card goes through. As said in the report, there has to be something better for the consumer to embrace mobile payments vs traditional cash and credit card transactions made with plastic cards. Something really needs to take the mobile payment industry by storm in order to see an even wider adoption. Source |...


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Cyanogenmod 13 nightlies to begin supporting fingerprint scanner on Galaxy S5
The XDA community is always hard at work. From reviving older phones to run the latest Android versions to providing the most feature-rich ROMs for all kinds of phones to building a bounty fund for rooting Verizon devices, XDA is home to some of the best Android developers and ROM builders for our (free) flashing pleasure. Mokee ROM for the Galaxy S5 has finally added support for the built-in fingerprint scanner on an AOSP ROM nonetheless. The news is that Cyanogenmod, among the biggest names in aftermarket ROMs, will include fingerprint scanner support on future Cyanogenmod 13 nightlies for the Galaxy S5 thanks to the Mokee ROM developers. For those of you who like to flash your Galaxy S5, expect to see more AOSP ROMs adopting this scanner support. Source...


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6.0 Update to Huawei Watch enables internal speaker, rolling out now
If you hadn't known it before, the Huawei Watch has a built in speaker that has been completely ignored for a long time, even the company did not acknowledge its existence when the smart watch was first released. Thanks to a new update for the watch itself, the Huawei Watch will be updated to Android 6.0 Marshmallow where the internal speaker will be enabled on Huawei's watch to allow users to make and receive calls with audio routed directly through the watch. Over the next few days, users should start seeing the update pop up on their Huawei Watches. The new update brings new support for sending messages through the watch for WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber, Telegram, and Nextplus, new gestures for navigating the watch, battery life improvements, Ability to play sounds on watches with speakers, and more language options in Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Polish, Dutch and Thai. Source |...


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Leaked photos of Huawei P9 confirm earlier renders
Venture Beat was able to get its hands on the unreleased device by Huawei: the Huawei P9. The photos show that the device will feature a dual-camera set up and will be offered in at least 4 different variants, reports say. The camera setup looks like it might have a laser-focus sensor right under the flash and a side-by-side camera setup to refocus after taking shots, adjust appeared aperture, and apply filters. This dual-setup is said to become a feature for Huawei's future P devices. The Huawei P9 also features a Kirin 950 CPU, Mali-T880 GPU, 3GB of RAM, and a 3900mAh battery. The P9 will also have a 5.2 inch screen with a 1080p resolution. Leaked photos of the Huawei P8 The underside of the device has one speaker grille and a bottom-positioned headphone jack. The Huawei P9 also features a USB Type-C port for charging and transmitting data. These leaks of the device confirm leaked renders from a few months back. Earlier rumors of the Huawei P9 have suggested its launch date to be this month while others say it might be in Q2 of this year. Source |...


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Pebble Time and Time Round get permanent $50 price cuts
Today Pebble has announced some good news for prospective buyers of its smartwatches. Both the Time and the Time Round have received a permanent $50 price cut. This means the official price for the Pebble Time is now $149.99, whereas the Pebble Time Round is now sold for $199.99. Sure, we've seen them going for even less from time to time, but this is no limited-time offer or anything like that. Pricing has changed in the Eurozone as well, where the Time is now listed for €169.95, and the Time Round goes for €229.95. In the UK, the Pebble Time now costs £149.99, while the Time Round is £179.99. If you placed an order for one of these two smartwatches (on pebble.com) on or after January 21, and paid the old prices, you'll be refunded the difference if you contact the company. Full instructions for this are available at the Source link...


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Upcoming 7-inch Galaxy Tab A is on pre-order in Poland already
The yet-unofficial Samsung SM-T280 tablet has been in the news a lot over the past few weeks. Most of the time, it's been thought to be sold by the Korean company as the 7-inch version of the Galaxy Tab E. However, it now looks like it will be called Galaxy Tab A instead. That's because a Polish online retailer has already listed the SM-T280 up for pre-order. And it's calling it Tab A indeed. The device is priced at PLN 599, which at the moment translates into approximately $150 or €138. The tablet will apparently become available on March 8, which is exactly one week from today. This Galaxy Tab A comes with a 7-inch 1,280x800 touchscreen, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage, a 5 MP rear camera, a 2 MP front-facing unit, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 4,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. Its dimensions are 186.9 x 108.8 x 8.7 mm, and it weighs 283g. Its specs line up perfectly with past leaks, if you ignore the fact that the rumors got the name wrong. Now that it's already up for pre-order in the EU, perhaps Samsung will finally announce it soon. Thanks for the tip, Kozo! Source (in...


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Samsung will launch its own leasing program for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge on March 11
Ever since September of 2015, Samsung has been rumored to be thinking about 'emulating' Apple once more, this time regarding a leasing program for its devices. This hasn't actually become reality yet, but according to a new report out of South Korea that's going to change very soon. Samsung hasn't stopped working on its leasing program, and will in fact be launching it on March 11, on the day when the Galaxy S7 (pictured below) and S7 edge go on sale. For starters, those will be the only two devices that you'll be able to grab through the leasing scheme. The biggest caveat, however, is the fact that for the time being Samsung will only offer the leasing option in South Korea. And only through its own physical stores. The program will require eager customers to sign a two-year monthly installment plan. However, you are able to upgrade your device after just 12 months if you so wish, without having to complete the remaining payments. Since the scheme will be offered directly by Samsung, people who go this route will be able to choose any one of the three Korean carriers for a service agreement. Right now it's unclear when (or if) Samsung plans to take this leasing program global, but perhaps the Korean release is just a test run, and if everything goes well we might see the same thing offered...


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Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge pre-orders break records
According to an unofficial report, Samsung is having a blast with the pre-orders of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. The phone is up for pre-order in 60 markets and according to Eldar Murtazin in Russia the two phones are enjoying record pre-sales. The Russian tech journalist also reveals an unofficial statistic that 64% of those who've pre-ordered the phone went for the Galaxy S7 edge, meaning that the majority of fans would gladly play the premium for the dual-curved screen. We're yet to receive official news from Samsung regarding pre-order numbers. The two phones launch on March 11, so there's plenty of time for them to reach even higher numbers. The company will, reportedly, be making a total of 17.2 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge units by April of this year. Source |...


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Windows 10 is close to nabbing 13% of the desktop OS market
According to the latest report from Net Market Share, Microsoft's Windows 10 is continuing its upward spiral in terms of how many PCs it powers. This version now sits at 12.82% of the market for desktop operating systems, as you can see from the pie chart below. Windows 10 claimed 11.85% of that market back in January, so it looks like more and more people and businesses are adopting it. However, its growth is slowing down, so it's unclear what the future will hold. The world's most used desktop OS is still Windows 7, now down to 52.34% of the market (it was at 52.47% in January). It's followed by Windows 10, and then XP comes in at 11.24%. Windows 8.1 has grabbed a 9.83% market share, with Mac OS X 10.11 boasting 3.72%, Windows 8 at 2.43%, and Mac Os X 10.10 at 2.2%. Every other desktop OS is in the "Others" category, which makes up 5.42% of the pie. In that, Linux apparently represents 1.78%. Source |...


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Meizu Pro 6 to have 3D Touch, screenshot reveals
A feature limited to less than a dozen phones in existence, 3D Touch/Force touch/whatever commercial name the company decides to use is coming to the Meizu Pro 6. The Chinese company's VP and Flyme chief architect Yang Yan has shared a screenshot on Weibo giving a glimpse of what the implementation is going to look like. So far we've seen 3D touch in action on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus pair, and also the recently announced Gionee S8. The Huawei Mate S and the ZTE Axon mini also have the feature in their top-specced versions but those are about as common as unicorns. Meizu Pro 6 Force Touch screenshot Judging by the screenshot, Meizu's way of doing things is quite similar to the iPhone 6s. Applying pressure on the display brings up a context menu with options on top of a blurred background. Meizu Pro 5 iPhone 6s users have been quick to adopt the new feature, but there appears to be a reluctance among major players like Samsung, LG, and Sony. Chinese manufacturers, on the other hand, have obviously been more inclined to slap the buzzword on a device or two. Even so, Force Touch doesn't seem to be quite the game changer Apple hyped it up to be. Source (in Chinese) |...


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Both Alcatel Idol 3 sizes are now discounted at Amazon
Now that the Idol 4 and the Idol 4s are official, Alcatel is understandably looking to clear some of its Idol 3 inventory, in anticipation of the release of the new devices. And that means there are deals to be had for last year's models. Both the 4.7-inch and the 5.5-inch Idol 3 variants are now cheaper at Amazon. The smaller handset can be yours for $169.99, which is $30 less than it was before. On the other hand, the 5.5" Idol 3 is priced at $179.99, a whopping $70 less than it was up until now. In both cases we're talking about phones you purchase unlocked and SIM-free, so there are no long-term carrier contracts to worry about here. If you're wondering which version to buy, then know that the 5.5-inch Idol 3 comes with better specs than its smaller sibling. So unless you feel that its size is too much to handle, it's probably the one to pick, especially now that it's just $10 more expensive than the 4.7-inch...


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[GSMArena]

The Apple iPhone 5se has been in our rumors sections for quite some time. Recent reports suggest the iPhone 5se will be going official on March 22, so we'll have to wait just a few weeks before we know everything. Most of the leaks confirm the iPhone 5se will be a 4" smartphone with TouchID and upgraded 8MP snapper. It should be powered by Apple's latest A9 chipset, the same as the one ticking inside the iPhone 6s generation, but with half the RAM at 1GB. The iPhone 5se is said to be a special edition of the iPhone 5s, with more powerful hardware and refreshed design. The new looks are now confirmed by this new leaked picture of the retail box, which shows the compact fella with a 2.5D curved protective glass on the screen. The box, if real, also confirms the phone's name - Apple iPhone 5se, which should stand for Special Edition, or iPhone 5s Enhanced, as some rumors are suggesting. Anyway, Apple is still mum on its plans, but the event should eventually happen on March 22. A new iPad Pro is also expected to be announced on stage, as well as a new iPad Air 3 with Apple A9X chip (currently available on the original iPad...


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[GSMArena]

Samsung has revealed that Samsung Pay is now supported by 70 major banks and credit unions in the United States, claiming that the mobile payments service now covers over 70% of the country's credit and debit card market. The revelation was made by the South Korean company in a press release where-in it announced that service now also also supports eligible credit and debit cards from Wells Fargo, an American multinational banking and financial services holding company. Samsung recently revealed that Samsung Pay has attracted around 5 million users and the company has processed more than $500 million in transactions since the mobile payments service made its debut in the US, something which happened in September last...


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Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 hands-on: The Snapdragon Edition
The Redmi series has always been Xiaomi's bread and butter. Combining good design, features, and reasonable performance at a very attractive price, the Redmi series has redefined for many what a good budget smartphone should be like.


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Xiaomi launches Redmi Note 3 in India
Xiaomi today announced the Redmi Note 3 for the Indian market. The phone is priced at INR 9,999 ($148) for the 16GB model, and INR 11,999 ($178) for the 32GB model. The Redmi Note 3 for India runs on the brand new Snapdragon 650 SoC and 2GB of RAM on the 16GB model and 3GB RAM on the 32GB model. It also has a new 16 megapixel camera with f2.0 aperture and phase detect autofocus. Then there's the 5.5-inch 1080p display, 5 megapixel front camera, and a massive 4,050mAh battery. The Redmi Note 3 is also the first Xiaomi phone to have a fingerprint sensor and the first Redmi phone to have a metal body. The phone runs on MIUI 7 on Android 5.1 Lollipop. The Redmi Note 3 will be manufactured in India as part of the country's Make in India initiative. The Redmi Note 3 will be available through Mi.com and Amazon, starting March 9 at 2 PM, and on Flipkart and Snapdeal at a later date. The phone will be available in silver, gold, and...


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Watch Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 India launch event here
Xiaomi is launching it's newest Redmi smartphone in India, the Redmi Note 3. The event is being held in New Delhi and is being presented by company Vice President, Hugo Barra. We already have the specs for the device, if you're interested, and something more later once the device has been announced. For now, you can catch the live stream of the keynote...


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Fitbit's Blaze smartwatch is now available for purchase
Unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, the Fitbit Blaze smartwatch is now available for purchase. The wearable device, which carries a $200 price tag, was up for pre-order until now. The watch is now listed on major US online retailers including Amazon and Best Buy. It comes with a choice of Black, Blue or Plum wristbands, although you can also purchase leather straps in three different colors for $100 each and a stainless steel bracelet for $130. In terms of functionality, the wearable offers heart rate monitoring, all-day activity and sleep tracking, music control, as well as call, text, other alerts. The company claims a 5-day battery life for the smartwatch. Source (Amazon) | Best...


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Xiaomi announces rollout of MIUI 7.2 China stable build; global build coming soon
A couple of months after the MIUI 7.1 started hitting supported devices, Xiaomi has announced the roll-out of version 7.2 of its MIUI ROM. The OTA update is currently rolling out to Chinese variants of the company's devices, while global roll-out is expected to happen soon. The devices that are now getting the update include the Mi 5, Mi 4S, Mi Note Pro, Mi 4c, Mi Pad 1, Redmi Note 4G (Single SIM), and Redmi 1S. A second set of devices - including the Mi Note, Mi 3, Mi 4, Mi 4i, Mi 2/2S, Mi Pad 2, Redmi 3, Redmi Note 3, Redmi Note 2, Redmi Note 4G (Dual SIM), Redmi Note 3G, Redmi 2A, Redmi 2 - will get it next week (around March 9). If you haven't yet received the update notification and are feeling impatient, you can also head to the company's official forum (Source link below) to download the ROM package for your device. The thread also lists full change-log for the...


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Xiaomi reportedly sells over 200K Mi 4S units first day
The Xiaomi Mi 4S was announced late last month, and the device went on sale in China earlier this week. Now, according to reports from Chinese media, over 200K units of the handset were sold on the first day itself. The Chinese company hasn't yet officially revealed the device's first day sales figures. However, a local retailer Suning revealed that it sold over 110,000 units on the launch day, of which 50,935 units were sold online, while 64,853 were sold through offline channels. Given that Suning wasn't the only retailer selling the Mi 4S in the country, the 200,000 figure reported by Chinese media seems realistic. The phone carries a price tag of RMB 1,699 (around $260), and comes in black, white, gold, and pink color...


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T-Mobile LG G4 now available for just $350
If you're a T-Mobile customer and in the market for an LG smartphone, here is a deal for you: the magenta carrier has given LG's last year flagship - the G4 - a price cut. The device (Metallic Gray model) is now available for $350, down from its previous price of $600. This doesn't seem to be an online-only deal (there's no mention of it at-least), meaning you can purchase a T-Mobile LG G4 at that price from the carrier's physical retail stores as well. For those on AT&T or Verizon, as we've already reported, you can grab an LG G4 unit for just $300. As you might already know, LG announced its newest flagship - the G5 - last month at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The device will be available to pre-order in the US in a couple of weeks from...


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Blackberry Priv now available from Verizon
If you've been waiting for the Android-powered Blackberry to arrive at big Red, your wait is now over. Verizon is offering the Blackberry Priv for the full retail price of $720 or $30 per month for a period of 24 monthly payments. The Blackberry Priv is Blackberry's first comeback out of a ditch it dug itself in. It features a 5.4 inch 1440p display, Snapdragon 808 Hexa-core processor, 18MP camera, 3GB of RAM, and a 3410mAh battery. The phone also features a display that slides up to reveal a physical QWERTY keyboard, the same kind that Blackberry has pioneered into its own hardware for years. Source |...


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New report suggests iPhone will get OLED displays in 2017
A new report from Chinese organization Nikkei says that Apple has been reaching out to Samsung in and LG in December of this past year to see if they are able to produce insane volumes of OLED panels for releasing an OLED iPhone in 2017. Reports also say that this deal with Samsung and LG could be up to $12 billion. This new 2017 goal does seem realistic and possible because of the way Apple refreshes its iPhones every other year. The physical device has very similar dimensions but components, sensors, or features might change with the newer iteration. If the iPhone 7 comes out this year (which in accordance to the last 8 iPhones, this is the only logical step), then the iPhone 7S would be launching by later next year in 2017. An OLED display could be in that list of new hardware changes for the iPhone 7S. OLED displays offer vivid colors, darker blacks, and more energy efficient operations than LCD panels have done in the past. Samsung has been using its own AMOLED panels for many different Galaxy phones in the past several years. This is the time when Apple needs to think outside the box a little bit more and perhaps take more risks. Last year's financial reports released from Apple have already shown a stunt in growth of iPhone sales and everyone is watching Apple's next moves. Source |...


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AT&T holding open insurance enrollment until April 30
Carriers often don't do this sort of thing, but when they do it may be a big deal for you. Normally when you purchase a device through your carrier, you have the option of adding insurance to your device from day 1 up to 30 days in case you need some time to think about it. After that, you cannot enroll any longer and any damage repairs will need to be paid out of pocket. AT&T is allowing customers a second chance to protect their smart devices with an open enrollment of smartphone insurance for those who wished they got it before they dropped their devices. This open enrollment period started yesterday, March 1 and will last all the way until April 30. If you are on AT&T and haven't already enrolled your device, AT&T offers three different ways to do that with plans from $7.99 for a single device to a multi-device plan for $29.99. Source |...


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Google is piloting a Hands Free mobile payment service, no need to take phone out
Google is testing a new payment service totally separate from Android Pay. It will allow customers who have their hands full (one of the few examples given is if you are shopping with small children) or customers who are just lazy, to pay in-store without taking out the phone and with minimal interaction. Here's how it works: your phone must have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled before using Hands Free and most of us already have those two things enabled. Bluetooth Low Energy in conjunction with location services provided by Wi-Fi prepares phones for payments by communicating with beacons installed at the registers. The customer will simply tell the cashier that he or she is "paying with Google", then the cashier verifies the image and initials with the customer and confirms the payment. A notification is then sent directly to your device, confirming the payment you just made. The problem with these kinds of payment methods is they require even more hardware in order to accept these Hands Free payments and this is not idea in a world where NFC terminals payments are still limited as to where they can be used. This pilot is currently only available in the South Bay Area of California for select locations of two merchants: McDonald's and Papa John's. Still, it's nice to see Google coming up with these new pilot programs, even though, Google has ventured its nose into places it shouldn't have and ended up shutting down these unused services. But kudos to Google for actually taking the risks. Source |...


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Google Photos for Android update revamps navigation, renames Collections
The team behind Google Photos has announced a new update for the service's Android app today. This has started rolling out through the Play Store, but since Google loves staging these things it might take a few days before it reaches you. The new version of Photos brings with it a bottom navigation bar, which lets you quickly jump to the Assistant, Photos, or Albums views. The bottom bar is reminiscent of the one introduced with the latest redesign of the Google+ app for Android, and as such it might not go down well for some, especially since it's always present. The other new thing in the latest Photos release is that aforementioned Albums section. This is in fact the old Collections view, only renamed - based on user feedback, it turns out. The Albums area now comes with a scrolling carousel on top, giving you "easy access to your shared albums, people, places, things, animations, collages, movies, and device folders", according to Google. All of these changes are on their way to the iOS version of the Google Photos app too, but for now they can only be found on...


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HTC outs first teaser video for the One M10
Not long ago HTC published its first teaser image for the upcoming One M10 flagship smartphone. And today the Taiwanese company is taking things one step further, having outed the first teaser video for the same device through its Turkish YouTube channel. The hashtag is still "#powerof10", with the name One M10 having been unofficially confirmed just yesterday. The video goes out of its way not to show us anything even remotely resembling the handset itself, but it is filled with great-sounding things about HTC doing its best to find ways in which to "make your phone even better". Apparently HTC employees aren't going home at night anymore, instead opting to work on the M10, with which they're obsessed, "but in a good way". Given the fact that we haven't seen an invite for the unveiling event yet, we assume we're still quite a few weeks away from that. Though HTC is surely going to tease us some more in the coming days. The One M10 will reportedly have a "very compelling" camera, three storage options (16, 32, and 64GB), a 5.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen, the Snapdragon 820 chip, 4GB of RAM, a fingerprint scanner, as well as Android 6.0 Marshmallow on...


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Will the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge bend, scratch, or burn?
Remember #bendgate? It was all the rage back in 2014, after Apple released the rather bendable iPhone 6 Plus. Ever since that point, some people have taken to constantly testing new phones for such behavior. But after a while just doing bend tests becomes boring, we assume. Hence, the video you can see below goes even further with Samsung's new Galaxy S7 edge. Aside from the obligatory bendiness review, you also get a scratch test and... a lighter trying to burn the phone. The scratch test is the most comprehensive, covering the handset's screen, its glass back, as well as the glass covering the camera lens and the plastic that's on top of the LED flash and heart rate sensor. Finally, the aluminum frame faces the knife too. The effect of the flame on the S7 edge's display is certainly interesting, as is the fact that you can't break it by bending, but the back panel does lift up at one point compromising the phone's water...


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Sony Xperia X and XA UK pre-orders kick off
At MWC last month, Sony retired the aging Xperia Z family and unveiled the new Xperia X series, comprising of three members so far - the Xperia X itself, the Xperia X Performance, and the Xperia XA. And now two of those are already up for pre-order in the UK. We're talking about the Xperia X and XA (pictured below), since the X Performance may never be sold in the UK as it turns out. At the moment MobileFun is the only online retailer offering the X and XA on pre-order. The Xperia X is priced at £529, while the XA is a much more affordable £249. Unfortunately there's no information yet about when the two devices will start shipping, so if you desperately want either one all you can do right now is pre-order and then be patient. To learn more about the new Sony phones, make sure you read our detailed hands-on report. Source 1 • Source...


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Check out our Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) video review
Mainstream smartphones are still getting bigger and bigger every year, it seems, and Samsung couldn't help but notice this trend. As a consequence, it's expanded its 'premium mid-range' A series with a new 6-inch offering this January - the Galaxy A9 (2016). This device pairs a 1080p Super AMOLED touchscreen with the Snapdragon 652 chipset - fittingly, as it turns out, because that happens to be Qualcomm's premier upper-midrange chip. So the SoC and the entire phone itself are perfectly aligned in this respect, with 3GB of RAM in there to make multitasking a breeze. Our quick video review of the Galaxy A9 (2016) is embedded below. If you want to find out even more details about this handset, then make sure you go through our comprehensive written review as well. It should help you figure out if this device is for you or not. It certainly has plenty of strengths for its price...


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Nova Launcher Prime price is down to $0.99, get it now
Nova Launcher is one of those apps most of the Android users have tried once they had grown tired of their default Android skin. It's the most popular launcher replacement in the Play Store today, and there is a reason for that - it has a very simple UI, yet offers powerful configuration options. Nova Launcher is available for free download in the Play Store, but it has a Prime paid version, which usually costs $5. It allows gesture support, option to hide apps in the drawer, unread count badges on apps, among others. Today the Prime version costs $0.99 in the USA, Canada, Australia, £/€ 0.50 in the UK and the EU, and INR 10 in India. If you are interested in the full version of Nova launcher, now is a very good time to get it. Play Store •...


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SoundHound's Hound app now available in the US on iOS and Android
After spending some time in beta, SoundHound's Hound app is now available to download on iOS and Android, if you're in the US. Hound is a voice search app that combines speech recognition and language understanding to provide a much better experience than something like Google Now or Siri. Hound can understand complex sentences and can process multiple queries at the same time, and fetch the relevant information from the internet as well as do local tasks such as calling someone or sending a text. If you're in the States, you can give the app a try or wait for it to be made available in your region. iOS •...


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AT&T adds Microsoft Lumia 950 to its GoPhone lineup
AT&T's branded prepaid service GoPhone has now added the Microsoft Lumia 950 to its line-up, and is selling the Windows 10-powered flagship smartphone for $598.99. Both black and white color variants are up for grabs, and shipping is free. The phone is also being officially sold by Microsoft in the US, with the unlocked variant costing around $550. If, however, you're interested in the XL version of the Lumia 950, you'll be glad to know that B&H photo still has it listed for around $530 - Microsoft is selling the device for $649. In case you missed, the device - along with the Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 550 - also received a new Windows 10 Mobile build last...


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[GSMArena]

Microsoft promised to update all compatible Lumia smartphones to Windows 10 Mobile, but the new firmware is still nowhere to be found. There is no official release date either; it's just coming soon. A Vodafone Italy rep has compiled a list of upcoming updates for the carrier phones and published it on the carrier's official Twitter account. It suggests a bunch of Lumia smartphones will be getting the Windows 10 Mobile sometime next week. According to the list Lumia 535, Lumia 635, Lumia 735, Lumia 830, Lumia 930, and Lumia 1520 will get an OTA firmware with Windows 10 Mobile between March 7 and March 13. If this is true, this means the global rollout of those updates should happen very soon. Unfortunately, there is no official confirmation on this dates and Microsoft is still mum on the subject. The Vodafone list is as much of an official source as we have at this point. Source |...


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Oculus Rift will arrive on Mac if Apple "ever releases a good computer"
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey was asked during an interview when the will they be adding Mac support to the Rift. His answer was simple, when Apple releases a good computer. Other than being the burn of the year so far, it's also true. Luckey's reasoning is that the current Macs simply do not have the graphical power to run something as intensive as VR on the Rift. Even the most powerful Mac Pro, with dual AMD FirePro D700 GPU, falls short of a single NVIDIA GTX 970, which is the minimum requirement to support Rift on the PC. Apple never prioritized gaming on the Mac and all the current machines are non-user upgradable now so you can't just install a more powerful graphics card like you could with the older Mac Pros. Even if Oculus added software support for OS X none of the machines will be able to handle it. Apple has shown an interest in VR recently but without the hardware support to match it's...


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Android N System app gets previewed
We have taken a look at the Android N notification system previously, courtesy of Android Police. Now, they have released images of what is a work in progress Settings app that we might see in the coming Android N. One of the changes is that they have removed the lines between items that belong to the same category, and only put them between different categories. Also, items on the main list will now show additional info below them, such as the Battery item showing the battery status. Lastly, if you are in Do Not Disturb mode, the app shows a drop down at the top for some reason. If you click on any of the items on the main screen and go a level deeper, you will see the new hamburger menu appear on the top. This will let you jump to any of the other sections in the app without going back first. Again, these are essentially mockups of a work in progress build of Android N, so a lot can change in the final version. Check the source for more...


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Instagram blocks links to Telegram profiles
Instagram is further buckling down on links to profiles for Snapchat or Telegram that are posted directly on the Instagram user's short profile. The image sharing giant has been caught denying users the ability to post links that directly link followers to their "follow-me" links. Another @Facebook tentacle closes on users' ability to share a link to their Telegram profile. #hypocrisy pic.twitter.com/xC6ydp3M0p— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) March 2, 2016 Telegram tweeted about this and gave it the hashtag #hipocrisy. Instagram spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that the use-case and reason for blocked links is that it is misuse of the platform and was not intended to be used to gain followers via direct "follow-me" links. Here is where the #hipocrisy comes in: direct "follow-me" links are allowed on Instagram profiles, only if the profile happens to be a Twitter profile. Telegram is still a fairly new feature-packed service, but it seems that these other messaging giants feel threatened by Telegram's potential and don't want to have any part in Telegram potentially gaining growing any faster than it already is. Source |...


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Amazon Echo compatibility with Nest thermostats coming in two weeks
If you own an Amazon Echo and have a Nest smart thermostat, you'll be happy to know that they will begin to communicate with each other over the next couple of weeks. This new integration will allow users to simply tell Alexa to change the thermostat temperature to a specific temperature. Alexa's new Skills feature uses contextual information to learn about the user's preferences such as telling Alexa that you are leaving your home and Alexa would know to turn the thermostat off. Or you could tell Alexa to "tell the thermostat that I'm too hot." Nest also states that if you use IFTTT, there are already more than 50 recipes that you can use in conjunction with your Nest thermostat and Amazon Echo. Source |...


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Amazon removes storage encryption from Fire OS in new OTA
In light of all the Apple VS. FBI controversy, Amazon took it upon itself to push out an OTA to its own Fire OS devices that disables encryption. However, when asked about it, The Verge reports that Amazon claimed the decision was made several months ago when it was ‘removing features that customers were not using'. Encrypting storage was first introduced with Android 5.0 Lollipop which first came with some performance issues that had to be addressed. The issue at hand is now all of Amazon's products that run Fire OS will be updated to Fire OS 5, which disables encryption completely, rendering all customer's internal storage data, no longer protected in the hands of thieves. While Apple fights the good fight, @Amazon removes encryption as option from FireOS 5 | @csoghoian @normative @eff pic.twitter.com/nggBdtFG7j— David Scovetta (@davidscovetta) March 3, 2016 The update even tells customers that they need to back up their encrypted data before they can upgrade to the new Fire OS which lacks storage encryption. Why did Amazon decide to go through with decrypting Fire OS' internal storage? Especially at a time like this, speculation points to Amazon not wanting to become involved with the same issues that Apple faces with the FBI. We hope that Amazon decides to change its mind in deprecating encryption in its next OTA update. The customer deserves to have its data protected and if the customer no longer has the option, then those customers who really depend on storage encryption will likely switch to another device or another platform that will protect its customers' data, even as far as fighting through the court system. Source |...


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Rando is a new iOS app that sends people random messages on your behalf
Ever felt like you wanted to message someone, but have no idea what to actually write? How about when you get the urge to send someone a picture, but simply can't decide which one? Well, there's a new app in town that's ready to tackle these exact use-cases. It's called Rando, and it's out for iOS already. You can grab it for free from the iTunes App Store. Rando sends people random messages on your behalf. You can pick between a photo, a GIF, or a quote. Say you go with a pic. By default, Rando offers to randomly send an image from your Camera Roll, without even showing you which one. Thankfully, you do get the option to see it before it's shared, but in order for that to happen you need to tap a blurry rectangle. GIFs are sourced from Giphy. It's unclear where quotes come from, so supposedly Rando has its own database for those. Like for pictures, you can either send the GIF or quote blindly, or opt to see it first. Sending is done via text, Facebook, Twitter, or any other app that you can share stuff to in...


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Samsung Galaxy S7 edge teardown exposes all of its internals
While the Samsung Galaxy S7 got its first teardown last month, now it's time for the curvy S7 edge to receive the exact same treatment. The folks over at Chipworks have done the deed this time around, disassembling the handset and letting it reveal all of its secrets. The 12 MP camera module measures 12.1 x 12.1 x 5.4 mm. The Sony IMX260 sensor has been rumored to be inside, and while the exact model isn't written anywhere there is a Sony logo on the module's flex cable, so that tidbit could be true indeed. Near the camera module there's a STMicroelectronics K2G2IS gyroscope, used for optical image stabilization. The camera, as you may know, has 1.4 micron pixels, as well as a Dual Pixel autofocus system that's unique for the mobile world. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 (model MSM8996) chipset is present in this T-Mobile version of the S7 edge, along with 4GB of LPDDR4 SDRAM made by Hynix (though surely Samsung-made memory is present in other batches of the device). There's a big increase in interconnecting solder bumps between the top and bottom parts of the PoP (that's the package-on-package format in which the SoC is hidden under the RAM). This could either account for higher memory bandwidth or the need to dissipate more heat from the CPU and/or GPU. The touchscreen controller is made by Samsung itself, with part number S6SA552X. This hasn't been a widely used module so far, but that will probably change in the future. The Galaxy S7 edge also features a Knowles 9291S microphone, a Murata KM5D18098 Wi-Fi module, an NXP 67TO5 NFC controller, an IDT P9221 wireless power receiver, and an STM LPS25HB barometer. Make sure you hit the Source link below for the full...


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Rumored HTC Nexus to have 3D Touch along with upcoming Xiaomi, Oppo, vivo, and Meizu phones
With the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Apple has introduced the 3D Touch feature, which works because the two handsets' displays are pressure-sensitive. Although this hasn't really taken the world by storm like some previous Apple innovations, it looks like its Android competitors are still looking into adding 3D Touch functionality to their devices. A new rumor out of China today claims that Google will add the necessary software to support this feature into the next Android release. As this will be built into the OS, phone makers won't have to create their own software implementations for it, which should speed up adoption. In fact, HTC is said to be adding 3D Touch to this year's Nexus phone, which it will make. It's been a while since we've heard anything about an HTC Nexus, and the last rumor on the matter said we'd see not one but two HTC-made handsets in 2016. If that's true, perhaps they'll both have pressure-sensitive screens. But the Nexus line isn't the only one getting the functionality. Xiaomi, Meizu, Oppo, and vivo are all said to be working on future devices with pressure-sensing displays. So it looks like this is bound to become a staple feature of Android smartphones later this year. That is, of course, if this particular rumor turns out to have been true. That's a big if, so don't take anything for granted just yet. Source (in Chinese) |...


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Samsung Upgrade Programme launches in the UK, nets you the latest Galaxy every 12 months
Today Samsung has announced the Upgrade Programme for the UK. This is basically the company's own device leasing scheme, which should also make its way to South Korea as past rumors have told us. The Upgrade Programme lets you get a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge by paying a 10% deposit upfront, and then making monthly payments for the phone. For the S7, the deposit is £56.90, and after that you'll pay £24.58 per month. After 12 months, you can upgrade to the next Samsung flagship (let's call it the Galaxy S8), by simply returning the S7 in "good working condition". And from that point on you pay 12 monthly installments for the S8. The good thing is that you can upgrade your device every year. On the other hand, there are plenty of caveats. First off, if you don't upgrade the handset after a year, you'll still have another 12 monthly payments to make on that S7, as the agreement is for 24 months (but Samsung will "cover" the 12 remaining installments if you upgrade and return your S7). And once you've upgraded to the S8, you've entered another two-year agreement (so if you don't upgrade to the S9 in 2018, then you still have 12 more payments to cover the price of the S8... and so on). The installments are not interest-free, as they are in the case of certain smartphone purchases from US carriers. With the Samsung Upgrade Programme, there's a 14.9% APR. And obviously the scheme does not include an actual contract with an operator, so you'll have to get that separately - or use a Pay as you go SIM. Still, despite the caveats, it's always nice to have yet another option to purchase a much-craved item such as a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge. It remains to be seen how far this Upgrade Programme will spread, geographically speaking, in the coming...


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Sony Xperia X and Xperia X Performance Dual ship with 64GB storage
The Xperia X and Xperia X Performance are the first devices to come under the new X series and will become available very soon. The Xperia X and Xperia X Performance are both 5" 1080p devices with 23MP rear snappers, 13MP selfie shooters, fingerprint scanners, and Android Marshmallow. The Xperia X runs on Snapdragon 650 chipset with 3GB RAM, while the Xperia X Performance utilizes Snapdragon 820 chipset with 3GB of RAM and adds waterproofing to the mix. Sony is going to launch dual-SIM options of both Xperia X and Xperia X Performance. The white papers of the devices have been recently uploaded on Sony's Dev Portal, and we found some interesting info inside. Apparently both Xperia X and Xperia X Performance will feature 64GB internal storage, double the amount of their single-SIM flavors. The firmware will occupy about 15.4GB of those, and 48.6GB will be available for your apps, multimedia, and files. The Dual SIM versions of the Xperia X and Xperia X Performance will accept nano-SIM cards only. Thank you, Ibrahim Gnono, for the tip! Source 1 | Source...


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Samsung had a planned VR stunt for the Oscars that got cancelled mere hours before the event
As it turns out Samsung had a special VR stunt planned for the Oscars ceremony a few days ago, which was cancelled just hours before the red carpet rolled. Samsung's idea was to get Casey Neistat loose at the Oscars with a Gear 360 VR camera. He was supposed to be skateboarding in the Dolby Theater and pass around Leonardo DiCaprio as he was walking towards the stage (to grab his overdue Oscar). Samsung planned this stunt for a while, brought Neistat to Dolby Theater, and everything was rehearsed. But then Samsung cancelled the stunt, and the company's presence was limited to just one TV spot. Casey Neistat still shot a VR video that you can watch here, so it wasn't all in vain. You can also check this vlog entry, where he talks about Samsung's cancelled stunt. Samsung is a major sponsor to the Oscars, so it's natural it gets special treatment when it comes to advertising. You probably remember Ellen DeGeneres and her famous selfie with the Galaxy Note 3 in 2014. The reason for the cancellation is unknown, but maybe it was for the best - it could have been awkward someone to be skating around during the actors' most cherished...


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Sony Xperia Z5 series get Android Marshmallow in Japan
Sony has begun rolling out the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the entire Xperia Z5 lineup in Japan - Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, and Xperia Z5 Premium. The Marshmallow update for Sony Xperia Z5 has been already available in Turkey. The new Marshmallow-based firmware improves on the battery manager, app permissions manager, notification area customizations, and it brings a new Xperia Home launcher as well as an updated Camera app. Sony UK announced the Marshmallow rollout for the Xperia Z5 series, the Xperia Z4 Tablet, and Xperia Z3+ units will begin on March 7. Now that Sony is seeding Marshmallow updates in Turkey and Japan, we believe March 7 should be the date for the global release for those updates. Thank you, Chary, for the tip! Source •...


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Microsoft's Hyperlapse app for Android gets 1080p video and microSD support
Microsoft has lots of useful apps for Android but Hyperlapse is definitely one of the top picks. The app allows you to shoot stabilized time-lapse videos, but until today it was limited to 720p output. Microsoft pushed a new version to the Play Store, which adds support for shooting and saving hyperlapse videos at 1080p resolution. The 720p option is still set as default, so you should tweak the settings of the app after updating. But there is more. In addition to the added 1080p video support, Microsoft Hyperlapse now allows you to save the video on your microSD card. Nice! To use these new additions to the Hyperlapse app, your phone should be able to shoot 1080p videos, of course. Some launchers may not allow the app to save on the microSD card, so you should have that in mind, too. The app is now available for download in the Play Store. It's free so if you didn't have the chance to use it, you may want to give it a try. Play Store •...


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Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) and J5 (2016) will have laser autofocus according to Chinese certification
Chinese regulatory authority TENAA has sure had a busy day today. Having already released its certifications for the Oppo R9 and R9 Plus as well as the Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro, TENAA is now gracing us with the full details of the upcoming Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy J7 (2016). The successors to the original J5 and J7 from last year are due for a release soon. In the meantime they've kept on leaking, and now they've been put through the paces of TENAA, which has revealed that they could be sporting metal frames. The Galaxy J5 (2016) can be seen above. It's got a 5.2-inch 720p Super AMOLED touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash and laser autofocus, a 5 MP selfie snapper, a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and 4G on board. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Its dimensions are 145.7 x 72.3 x 7.9 mm, and it weighs 155.4g. It will be offered in white, gold, and pink gold. This particular model, the SM-J5108, is headed to China Mobile. TENAA has certified not one but two iterations of the Galaxy J7 (2016), the SM-J7108 for China Mobile and the SM-J7109 for China Telecom. You can see the former above this paragraph and the latter underneath. They share most of the specs as you'd expect, with one difference being in the processor's clock speed. Whereas the J7108 has a 1.6 GHz octa-core CPU, the J7109 has to make do with a 1.5 GHz octa-core chip. This may mean they're actually employing different SoCs, but there's no way of knowing for sure right now. Otherwise they're the same, each featuring a 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash and laser autofocus, a 5 MP selfie shooter, 3GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The J7108 will be available in gold and white, while the J7109 will be offered in black and gold. Their measurements are almost identical, but not quite so. The J7108's dimensions are 151.7 x 75.9 x 7.6 mm, and it weighs 165g. On the other hand, the J7109 measures 151.7 x 76 x 7.6 mm, and it weighs 166g. Source 1 (in Chinese) • Source 2 (in Chinese) • Source 3 (in Chinese) |...


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Micromax's share of Indian smartphone market plummets, CEO resigns
Micromax, which is the number two smartphone player in India, saw a massive erosion of its market share in Q4, 2015. According to market research firm Canalys (which tracks phone shipments in the country), the company's share plummeted to 13.2% last quarter from 21.7% the quarter prior. On the other hand Samsung, which sits at the top, further consolidated its position - its share of the market increased from 22% to 26.1% last quarter. The third spot was claimed by China's Lenovo with 11% market share. Meanwhile, in a related development, Micromax's CEO Vineet Taneja has resigned. He was on the job for the past two years. Officially, the company said Taneja left "to pursue other interests," adding that "the co-founders and senior leadership are very well entrenched in to the operations and the business is as...


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[GSMArena]

Ever since January the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro has been in the rumors, supposedly arriving soon in China. We've already seen it in the databases of both GFXBench and AnTuTu, on which occasions we've found out most of its specs. And now the A9 Pro has been certified for sale in China by TENAA. The regulatory authority has thus outed the first images of the device, along with a pretty comprehensive list of its specs - like it always does. The Galaxy A9 Pro will have a 6-inch 1080p Super AMOLED touchscreen, a 16 MP rear camera with LED flash, an 8 MP selfie cam, a 1.8 GHz octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, dual-SIM functionality and LTE. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Its dimensions are 161.7 x 80.9 x 7.9 mm, and it weighs 210g. The exact chipset employed isn't named by TENAA, but from the benchmark runs that were leaked in the past we know it's the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652. Compared to the non-Pro A9, you're getting a higher-res main camera, 1 extra GB of RAM, as well as a newer version of Android from day one. And since it's 10g heavier and 0.5 mm thicker than the A9, we assume the A9 Pro will also sport an even bigger battery than the 4,000 mAh cell inside the non-Pro version. The Galaxy A9 Pro will be available in China in black, white, and gold, and it's rumored to have NFC on board complete with support for Samsung Pay. Its estimated price is between CNY 3,300 and CNY 3,600 (that's $504 to $550 or €462 to €504 at the current exchange rates). Source (in Chinese) | Via 1 (in Chinese) • Via...


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Amazon expands Echo family of smart speakers with Tap and Echo Dot
Amazon's Echo smart speaker that has a digital assistant built-in has been a surprising success for the retailer ever since its launch in 2014. So now Amazon is adding two other members to the newly-established Echo family. Meet the Amazon Tap and the Echo Dot. The Amazon Tap is basically the portable version of the original Echo which was rumored back in January. It's portable because it has a battery (so no need to keep it plugged in like the Echo) that will last for around 9 hours of use. It connects to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and like the Echo it comes with the Alexa digital assistant built-in. However, since it's battery-powered Alexa isn't always listening for your commands like on the Echo - you have to tap the microphone button on the device before you talk to her (hence the name of the speaker). The Tap has 360-degree omni-directional audio with Dolby processing. It's up for pre-order already for $129.99, and will be released on March 31. The Echo Dot is very small, and it's primarily meant to connect the intelligence of the Alexa digital assistant to your existing speakers. It has a 7-microphone array like the full-size Echo, but only a very small speaker. The idea is that you'll use an audio cable or Bluetooth to pair it to your existing speakers. You can also use it as a smart alarm clock, for example, all on its own. This device costs $89.99, but oddly you can only get one through an Amazon Fire TV or Echo speaker, by asking Alexa to place the order. You have to be a member of Amazon Prime to receive it. Source |...


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Oppo R9 and R9 Plus pass through TENAA, no Snapdragon 820 on board
Over the past few weeks we've seen a lot of rumors popping up regarding the upcoming Oppo R9. Despite the fact that the previous two members of the R-series have been nothing more than mid-range in terms of specs, the R9 was supposedly going to be a true flagship, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip powering it. Well, that theory has now been debunked courtesy of TENAA. The Chinese equivalent to the US FCC has certified both the R9 and the R9 Plus for sale. As usual, this process has revealed both images of the two handsets, as well as a list of some of their specs. Let's start with the R9, pictured above. It has a metal build as you can see, and it comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED touchscreen, a 1.95 GHz octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, 4G support, dual-SIM functionality, a 2,850 mAh battery, and two 16 MP cameras - one on the front, one on the back (which also has a LED flash). It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. Its dimensions are 151.8 x 74.3 x 6.5 mm, and it weighs 145g. While the SoC employed isn't mentioned by name, it's clearly not the Snapdragon 820, since that features a quad-core CPU, not octa-core. Based on the clock speed alone, we could see MediaTek's Helio P10 inside the Oppo R9, but that's just speculation. Moving on to the R9 Plus (pictured above), once again the fully metallic construction is obvious. This handset sports a 6-inch 1080p AMOLED touchscreen, the same 16 MP cameras as its smaller sibling, a 1.8 GHz octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, a 4,120 mAh battery, dual-SIM support, and 4G LTE. Oddly, it seems to be running Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is a rather ancient version of the OS at this point. Its dimensions are 163 x 80.8 x 7.4 mm, and it weighs 185g. Once again the Snapdragon 820 can't be at the helm, yet in this case we get a different SoC than in the R9. If we were to speculate, we'd assume the R9 Plus has the Snapdragon 652 inside (only based on the CPU clock speed and number of cores). So the R9 and R9 Plus certainly look like solid mid-rangers, but not the flagships they've been rumored to be. Perhaps Oppo will finally unveil the Find 9 this year then. And speaking of unveilings, the R9 duo will go official on March 17. Source 1 (in Chinese) • Source 2 (in Chinese) | Via 1 • Via...


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LeEco Le 1s shatters records in India
Chinese company LeEco's (formerly LeTV) Le 1s smartphone landed in India back in January this year, and went on sale (through flash sale model) the next month. Looks like the phone has received tremendous response in the country as latest reports say it has become India's top selling smartphone online. LeEco managed to sell more than 200,000 units of the Le 1s in the India within a month, which is said to be a new record. Till now there have been three flash sales of the device in the country, with the company receiving a total of 20,28,000 registrations for the handset - another record. And finally, the company also received a record-breaking total of 2,20,000 orders for the handset within the shortest time span of 31 seconds. "We are deeply humbled by the response we have received from our Indian consumers which has helped us achieve this leading industry position in such a short span of time," said Atul Jain, COO, Smart Electronics Devices, LeEco India. "LeEco is in the true sense a game changer purely because of its disruptive business model and a user-centric ecosystem providing consumers a chance to experience disruptive technology at its best." If you aren't already aware, LeEco first entered the smartphone market less than a year ago in China. There too, the company impressed by selling nearly 3 million Le 1s units in over a couple of...


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[GSMArena]

Nintendo's highly anticipated mobile game scheduled for release this year (still no estimation as to when the game will actually launch) will begin undergoing actual Beta testing in Japan late this month. The Beta program is intended to improve the existing build of the new mobile geo-based game. Users in Japan can sign up for the Beta but some areas you wander in might not even work. Even these users who are unable to use the Beta are required to keep the content of the unreleased game under wraps. So we might be able to see some early leaks in the next couple of months. Users are asked for their name, smartphone type (iOS or Android phone), Ingress username, and the level that you've reached on Ingress. The Ingress questions are optional to answer, but it would be in The Pokémon Company's best interest to select users who have experience with the GPS based game with essence of capture-the-flag. Pokémon Go was announced this past fall for release on mobile platforms: iOS and Android. The game was influenced by Niantic Labs first GPS based game called Ingress. Google was once the parent company of Niantic Labs until Nintendo invested into the independent company. When the trailer came out in the fall, gamers everywhere flipped their shit. They'd now be able to play Pokémon outside in the real world and other Pokémon trainers and maybe even encourage the younger generation to go outside and explore. If you haven't already, check out the Pokémon Go trailer release back in September. Source |...


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Telus delays Marshmallow updates for Galaxy Note5, S6 edge, S6 edge+
The carrier Telus has some problems with the Marshmallow updates for the Samsung Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S6 edge, and Galaxy S6 edge+. Previously the Note5 and S6 edge+ were supposed to get the Marshmallow firmware on March 9 while the S6 edge update was scheduled for March 16. As it turns out, Telus had some minor setbacks, and those updates will be postponed for a few days. The Note5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ updates will arrive on March 13 while the S6 edge firmware will be ready for distribution on March 30. The regular Galaxy S6 Marshmallow update for the Telus model is still coming on April 13, no changes...


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Google files patent for popup books with AR elements
The first time I've ever seen anything with Augmented Reality was when using the AR cards that came with the Nintendo 3DS. This blew my mind back in 2011: You set a card on a coffee table or a desk and looked through the handheld console's telescopic 3D screen to find some characters pop up right out of the card. Moving the handheld around the card shifts the view of the 3D character on the screen. Google filed a couple of patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office which outlined a story telling experience enhanced with AR elements that could be interacted with. The first patent was filed for an "interactive book" using pressure and motion sensors that are built into the pages. Next, a small lens would project images onto the pages depending on what the user presses or does to the pages. There would also be speakers embedded in the device to add to the experience. The other patent was for a kind of tablet that is embedded into the book, then, every page in the book has a secondary ‘vertical page' of sorts which would display content that compliments the physical page. As always, patents don't usually mean something will become real products, not even experimental hardware may ever be a reality. Even at this point In time, I'm surprised that we haven't really seen a sort of children's book with AR or VR elements used to enhance it. Source |...


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Samsung to shut down Milk Music, reports say
I remember when I was working as a Samsung rep inside Best Buy last year, I was instructed to install Milk Music and Milk Video to every Samsung Phone that we handled. Many customers loved the idea of free radio stations with no ads for a year, and I am sure most of them didn't like the idea of continuing to pay for premium service after the year was up. Samsung seems to have given up on Milk Music and reports say Samsung is going to shut it down for good. The idea of having a music service that is exclusive to Galaxy phones was a great idea, however, the problem was that Samsung didn't leverage it as well as it should have, it didn't give customers a compelling music service that wasn't already a lot like Pandora. Even so, Samsung has left Milk Music out of its new lineup of TVs when there was no mention of being able to use the music service. Also, Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 edge announcement in MWC last month didn't make any mention of Milk Music either. Let's not forget that Samsung pulled the plug on Milk Video after just one year of launching the service in 2014. What did you all think of Samsung's Milk Music? Did you find it compelling at all? Did you ever use it on any occasion? Source |...


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HTC 10 reportedly won't have a version running Windows 10 Mobile
It looks like you're not likely to see a Windows logo on an HTC smartphone ever again. Or not anytime soon, anyway. Back in 2014, the One (M8) for Windows was basically the Windows Phone running version of the Android One (M8). Hence, some people may have hoped for HTC to pull the same stunt with this year's upcoming flagship device, which will be called 10. The hopes were there despite the fact that 2015's One M9 did not get a Windows variant. According to Evan Blass (of @evleaks fame), neither will the HTC 10. He firmly stated today that there won't be an iteration of the HTC 10 running Windows 10 Mobile. So it turns out that HTC has chosen to stick with Android alone for its smartphones, at least for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, if you're looking for a high-end Windows-powered handset, HP has surprisingly announced one at MWC - and obviously there's also Microsoft's very own Lumia 950 and 950 XL...


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OxygenOS 2.2.1 update for the OnePlus 2 brings RAW support to the default camera app
A new software update has started rolling out today for the OnePlus 2. It's not going to change the underlying Android version unfortunately (so no Marshmallow for you), but it does come with some bug fixes and improvements. Chief among the latter is the added RAW support for the preinstalled OnePlus Camera app. RAW image capture has been supported in third-party apps ever since a previous update in September of last year, and now this is finally part of the built-in app as well. You'll also find that compatibility for Bluetooth devices and Ultra SIM has been improved, along with a GMS 3.0 upgrade. Roaming issues should have been mitigated, Romanian language support has been added, as well as some security patches. Finally, a fix has been deployed for an occasional image corruption issue in OnePlus Camera. As you might expect, the rollout will be incremental, so it may take a few days (or even weeks) for the update to reach your OnePlus 2 unit. But it is on its way, so all you can do is...


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Samsung Galaxy TabPro S now available for purchase
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy TabPro S tablet at CES in early January. It's a 12" premium slate running on Windows 10 with a 12" Super AMOLED QHD display, and 6th generation Intel Core M dual-core 2.26GHz processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. a 5MP AF rear camera and a 5MP front snapper. Now, Samsung has finally made the Galaxy TabPro S tablet available throughout Europe. You can get it in the Netherlands via the official Samsung online store. Amazon UK and Amazon DE, among other retailers, have the slate in stock. Too. You can choose between 128GB and 256GB SSD options; you can also opt for an LTE-enabled model. The OS is also configurable - you can either get Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro. Finally, there is a full-sized keyboard cover bundled within the retail box, and it comes with a touchpad and a flexible hinge. Oddly, Samsung UK has the TabPro S on pre-order, and it will ship on March 16, but you can get it through Amazon UK right now. The prices are the same we confirmed a while ago - the Wi-Fi 128GB SSD with Wind 10 Home options costs €999, add €100 for Windows 10 Pro, and another €100 for LTE capabilities. Note that the 4G model ships only with Windows 10 Pro. So, if you liked the tablet and its keyboard, now you can place your order. Additionally, you can get the official Bluetooth Pen and the port hub with HDMI and more USBs. Source •...


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Huawei P9 looks different in new leaked renders, passes FCC, might not be outed on March 9
MWC has come and gone and Huawei hasn't yet unveiled its next flagship smartphone, the P9. When the Chinese company sent out invites for a March 9 event in Berlin a couple of days ago, we assumed this would be when the P9 would finally get official. But now it turns out that may not be the case. According to a report from China, Huawei will not be unveiling the P9 on March 9. Unnamed company officials have confirmed that the phone exists and is being worked on, but the project has apparently suffered some delays. These have to do with the need to improve some technical issues related to the much-leaked dual camera setup on the P9's back. Because of this, the release of the handset is reportedly delayed by a whole month. An exact date (either for the presentation or the start of sales) hasn't been mentioned, but we should all rest assured that the P9 will be out "in the coming months". The same source claims the P9 will not have 6GB of RAM, as previously rumored, nor a brand-new Kirin chipset - thus it's likely to use the same Kirin 950 found inside the Mate 8 phablet. Moving on, some new renders allegedly depicting the Huawei P9 have been leaked, as you can see. Though they confirm that dual camera setup once more, they are different than the last two batches - gone is the laser autofocus this time around, and the fingerprint sensor on the back is now round, and it was shown to be more squared in the past. Furthermore, the positions of the front-facing camera and proximity sensor are changed too. So now the actual design of the P9 has gotten quite unclear, with two differing perspectives both being claimed to be leaked renders of the real thing. Hopefully you've had a healthy serving of salt nearby for this one. An additional P9-related tidbit is that the FCC has certified a Huawei EVA-L09, and this could be one of the model numbers for the top of the line device. If so, then at least one of its four versions will feature a 2,900 mAh battery, as FCC docs have revealed. The cheapest hardware iteration for the P9 is said to cost CNY 1,888 ($289 or €264), while the most expensive one is bound to go for CNY 4,088 ($627 or €571). Source 1 (in Chinese) • Source 2 (in Chinese) • Source 3 | Via 1 • Via 2 • Via 3 (in...


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Verizon's Note5 is now receiving Android Marshmallow, HTC One (M8) will get it on Monday
Verizon isn't always the fastest US carrier when it comes to releasing Android updates for the handsets it sells, in fact it's usually one of the slowest. But that's not the case for the Samsung Galaxy Note5 as it turns out. Big Red is already rolling out the update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow for Samsung's premium phablet, just a couple of weeks after the new software was first released anywhere in the world. That's some fast turnaround indeed. Aside from all the goodies that Google's packed into Marshmallow, the update also brings with it certain improvements to Live Broadcast and Wi-Fi Calling for HD Voice users. The Amazon Appstore will no longer be preinstalled (thus dropping the number of app stores on the device to 'just' two). As always, this one is bound to be a staged rollout, so it might take a few days for it to reach your particular Note5 unit. If you're impatient, you can always force your handset to manually check for the new software by going to Settings > About phone. If, on the other hand, you own an HTC One (M8) bought from Verizon, you are mere days away from seeing Marshmallow on your device too. HTC VP Mo Versi has announced that the rollout will begin on March 7, which is this coming Monday. Source 1 • Source 2 | Via 1 • Via...


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You can now claim your freebies for Galaxy S7 and S7 edge pre-orders in the USA
If you pre-order the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge from certain retailers you have been promised free stuff, most often - the Gear VR headset ($99 value) with a bunch of compatible games. Samsung Promotions official website is now live and allows you to claim your freebies. You must choose the retailer where you pre-ordered your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge and then you can learn what's your prize. AT&T, Metro PCS, Sam's Club, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Walmart, Verizon's Retail, pre-orders will receive Gear VR bundled with some compatible games. First they need to claim their prize via the Samsung Promotions website, otherwise they will not get any free stuff. By the way, T-Mobile is throwing a 12-months free Netflix subscription in addition to the Gear VR bundle. Users who pre-ordered at BestBuy, Costco, Sprint, and Target will get their Gear VR bundle delivered directly to their home without any further verification. Verizon Online is the only retailer to allow you to choose between the Gear VR with six games bundle of the dark gray model or the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch (sold for $300 separately). All who pre-order the Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge between February 23 and March 18 are eligible for some free hardware. The supplies are limited though, so if those matter to you, consider placing an order sooner rather than later. The same goes for claiming the free stuff. Samsung Promotions •...


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This weekend you can grab an Honor 5X in the UK for just £149
Huawei has been selling the Honor 5X in the UK for quite a while now. You can opt to buy the phone from its maker's official online store for £189.99. Yet if you choose a third party online retailer and do the deed this weekend, you can save £40. That's quite a lot given the already pretty small price of the Honor 5X. The deal is offered by Clove, and you can take advantage of it by using the promo code MAR5X16 when you go through checkout. This will lower the price of the device all the way down to £149, making the Honor 5X even better value for money than it already was. The one caveat is that you need to buy the handset before 11:59 pm on March 6 - that's this Sunday, so you basically need to act at some point during this weekend. The unit you're buying is SIM-free. The Honor 5X has a 5.5-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 13 MP main camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie snapper, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 616 SoC (with a 1.5 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, LTE, and a 3,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop underneath Huawei's EMUI...


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HTC 10 leaks in brand new press renders and live images
A very short while ago we told you about the fact that HTC won't be selling its next flagship smartphone as the One M10 (like everyone anticipated), instead opting to go with the much simpler moniker of HTC 10. And now, to complement the new name, two well-known leaksters have unleashed a torrent of new images of the device. First off, Evan Blass gives us full press renders for the upcoming handset. Now in case you're wondering how these renders would translate into real-life images of the HTC 10, wonder no more. Three live shots of the phone have been shared by @onleaks. Here they are for your viewing pleasure (make sure you click on the thumbnails to get the full-size pictures). HTC 10 live images Along with these, @onleaks has also revealed some "prototype specs" for the HTC 10. It's supposedly coming with a 5.15-inch QHD touchscreen, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset on board, 4GB of RAM, a 12 MP main camera, and a USB Type-C port. None of these are surprising, of course, as we've heard about the 10 sporting these exact innards many times before. The 12 MP camera on the back should be of the UltraPixel variety, meaning it will be incredibly similar to the solution Samsung's chosen for its Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Camera comparisons between the HTC 10 and the S7 will thus be very interesting indeed, especially as HTC itself has already claimed that its phone's camera will be "very compelling". HTC has already started teasing the handset, with an image and a video so far, but the company should probably just set an announcement date already, now that these leaked renders and pictures are out. At this rate, we assume a full spec list will be revealed pretty soon, so HTC might not want to drag things along any...


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Next flagship to be called HTC 10, not HTC One M10
HTC has already outed both a teaser image and a teaser video for its upcoming flagship smartphone, and we assume more such things are to follow before the official unveiling (which doesn't have a set date yet, or at least not one that has been leaked). In the meantime, however, leaker extraordinaire Evan Blass (also known as @evleaks) has something to say about this device's name. According to him, it will be marketed as the HTC 10, and not HTC One M10 as everyone has so far assumed. You heard it here first:"HTC 10"— Evan Blass (@evleaks) March 4, 2016 The latter (now probably debunked) option seemed logical enough, seeing as how the smartphone is going to be the successor to the One M9 from last year, which itself came after the One (M8). But it looks like HTC may have finally grown tired of the One brand (and its overuse), while the "M" made little sense from the beginning (it got there because the company at one point decided to use its handsets' codenames as actual names). HTC's teasers have incorporated the hashtag "powerof10", which, in retrospect, may have been a hint at the name - notice how it's not "powerofM10" or "powerofOneM10". The HTC 10 has been rumored to sport a 5.1-inch QHD AMOLED touchscreen, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 16 / 32 / 64GB of built-in storage, a fingerprint scanner, and a "very compelling" camera. It should run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow from day...


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Lava Iris Fuel F2 goes official, available exclusively on eBay India
Lava Iris Fuel F2 was announced and launched immediately in India. It's an entry level handset running on Android Lollipop and priced at INR 4,444 or $66. Although it's a successor of the Fuel F1, the F2 is a less capable device. The Lava Iris Fuel F2 has a 5" FWVGA display and is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor with 512MB RAM. The Fuel F2 packs a 5MP rear camera with an LED flash, a front 0.3MP snapper, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The Lava Iris Fuel F2 is a dual-SIM device, and it can tap to 3G networks. There is 8GB storage expandable via a microSD slot (up to 32GB). The phone is available exclusively through eBay India, and you can get it right now in black or white for INR 4,444 ($66). eBay •...


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Galaxy S7 and S7 edge feature moisture detection in USB slot
The latest Samsung flagships - the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge - are both beautiful and waterproof with IP68 certification. And both have their microUSB port exposed, which is something only Sony did before. It turns out Samsung has installed an additional failsafe on the USB port to prevent water damage. It's called moisture detection, and it won't allow you to charge the phone until the charging port is dry. If you pull the Galaxy S7 or S7 edge out of the water, you won't be able to charge it right away. Users report a message about moisture detected in the charging slot. It may take an hour, or even a few hours for the port to dry up, and until then you won't be able to charge your phone. This is very thoughtful otherwise, there is a chance you may end up killing your phone. There is this one user that reported his Galaxy S7 couldn't fast charge after his USB port was usable again post water submersion, which sounds bad. Normal charging was OK, but fast charging was impossible - there's no way to confirm if that's an actual bug at this point though. And while we are on the pool subject, you may find this video about Galaxy S7 edge pool test rather enjoyable. Thank you, Jason, for the tip! Source 1 (XDA) • Source...


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[GSMArena]

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey was asked during an interview when the will they be adding Mac support to the Rift. His answer was simple, when Apple releases a good computer. Other than being the burn of the year so far, it's also true. Luckey's reasoning is that the current Macs simply do not have the graphical power to run something as intensive as VR on the Rift. Even the most powerful Mac Pro, with dual AMD FirePro D700 GPU, falls short of a single NVIDIA GTX 970, which is the minimum requirement to support Rift on the PC. Apple never prioritized gaming on the Mac and all the current machines are non-user upgradable now so you can't just install a more powerful graphics card like you could with the older Mac Pros. Even if Oculus added software support for OS X none of the machines will be able to handle it. Apple has shown an interest in VR recently but without the hardware support to match it's...


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Android N System app gets previewed
We have taken a look at the Android N notification system previously, courtesy of Android Police. Now, they have released images of what is a work in progress Settings app that we might see in the coming Android N. One of the changes is that they have removed the lines between items that belong to the same category, and only put them between different categories. Also, items on the main list will now show additional info below them, such as the Battery item showing the battery status. Lastly, if you are in Do Not Disturb mode, the app shows a drop down at the top for some reason. If you click on any of the items on the main screen and go a level deeper, you will see the new hamburger menu appear on the top. This will let you jump to any of the other sections in the app without going back first. Again, these are essentially mockups of a work in progress build of Android N, so a lot can change in the final version. Check the source for more...


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Instagram blocks links to Telegram profiles
Instagram is further buckling down on links to profiles for Snapchat or Telegram that are posted directly on the Instagram user's short profile. The image sharing giant has been caught denying users the ability to post links that directly link followers to their "follow-me" links. Another @Facebook tentacle closes on users' ability to share a link to their Telegram profile. #hypocrisy pic.twitter.com/xC6ydp3M0p— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) March 2, 2016 Telegram tweeted about this and gave it the hashtag #hipocrisy. Instagram spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that the use-case and reason for blocked links is that it is misuse of the platform and was not intended to be used to gain followers via direct "follow-me" links. Here is where the #hipocrisy comes in: direct "follow-me" links are allowed on Instagram profiles, only if the profile happens to be a Twitter profile. Telegram is still a fairly new feature-packed service, but it seems that these other messaging giants feel threatened by Telegram's potential and don't want to have any part in Telegram potentially gaining growing any faster than it already is. Source |...


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Amazon Echo compatibility with Nest thermostats coming in two weeks
If you own an Amazon Echo and have a Nest smart thermostat, you'll be happy to know that they will begin to communicate with each other over the next couple of weeks. This new integration will allow users to simply tell Alexa to change the thermostat temperature to a specific temperature. Alexa's new Skills feature uses contextual information to learn about the user's preferences such as telling Alexa that you are leaving your home and Alexa would know to turn the thermostat off. Or you could tell Alexa to "tell the thermostat that I'm too hot." Nest also states that if you use IFTTT, there are already more than 50 recipes that you can use in conjunction with your Nest thermostat and Amazon Echo. Source |...


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[GSMArena]

On to poll number 2, where we gave you a chance to pick between Xiaomi's long overdue replacement to the Mi 4 and Sony's Xperia X, the pioneer in the company's new X-series. The Mi 5 left no chance to the Xperia X and took a decisive victory, collecting 61% of upvotes.Admittedly, there was a catch here - the Xperia X Performance is still months away, while the Mi 5 you can already order. Whatever the case though, the Mi 5 is a pretty strong contender all on its own, with a Snapdragon 820, 4 gigs of RAM and 128GB of storage in its top-specced Pro version. That same variant comes in ceramic attire too - a stunner to look at. So come to think about it, the Xperia X Performance might have had a tough time against it as...


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Top 10 trending phones of week 9
With all the clamor surrounding this year's MWC over the past two weeks, we couldn't find time to update you on the latest developments in phone interest trends on a weekly basis. Well, we're back at it, and there's plenty to talk about.The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) joins its little brother A5 (2016), which entered the chart earlier, and the two occupy 10th and 8th spots respectively. In between them we have the Sony Xperia X Performance, the Japanese company's new flagship. The Galaxy J5 is far from its regular comfort zone on the podium, this week in 7th. In 6th we find the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note, the bronze holder in the last edition of the chart.Samsung's sexier S7, the S7 edge, enters the chart in 5th spot, with the LG G5 slightly ahead. Long-time champion Galaxy J7 has lost the crown, again, but still manages to hold on to the third. Xiaomi's brand new flagship Mi 5 storms straight into second, not surprising for a device arriving a long year and half after the one it replaces, with top-end specs too.It is, however, the vanilla Galaxy S7 that snatches the gold. Promising brand new camera, generous battery capacity, premium build, waterproofing, and storage expansion - pretty much all of the important boxes have been checked. Samsung's Galaxy S6 stood on top for weeks on end last year, and we're seeing no reason for the S7 not to..news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 25%; text-align: center;}.news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 75%;}.news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; }#review-body .news-item .n-right h2,.reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px;}.n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%;}.news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc;}.news-item p { margin-left: 0; }.n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 325px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: text-bottom;}.n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000;}.flat-button{ text-align:center; text-decoration: none !important; font: 400 22px Google-Oswald,Arial !important; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; padding: 20px 60px !important; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px 0; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -ms-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; color: #fff !important;}.flat-button-1 { background: #0CADA7;}.flat-button-1:hover { background: #0A948F; color: #666666 !important;}.flat-button-2 { background: #FF7E47;}.flat-button-2:hover { background: #EE7440; color: #666666 !important;}.n-right .rank-info { display: inline-block; font-family: "Google-Oswald",i€‹Arial,i€‹sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 100;}.n-right .rank-info .current-rank { font-size: 23px;}.circle { background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #8fb28f; border-radius: 50%; height: 23px; width: 23px; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px;}.arrow { width: 0; height: 0; border-style: solid; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px;}.arrow-up { border-width: 0 15px 25px 15px; border-color: transparent transparent #0cada7 transparent;}.arrow-down { border-width: 25px 15px 0 15px; border-color: #ff7e47 transparent transparent transparent;} Samsung Galaxy S7 RANK: 1NEW IN specs review Xiaomi Mi 5 RANK: 2NEW IN specs review Samsung Galaxy J7 RANK: 3WAS: 1 specs review LG G5 RANK: 4NEW IN specs review Samsung Galaxy S7 edge RANK: 5NEW IN specs review Lenovo Vibe K4 Note RANK: 6WAS: 3 specs gallery Samsung Galaxy J5 RANK: 7WAS: 2 specs...


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Poll results: Galaxy S7 edge defeats the LG G5 in the battle of Korean flagships
One of the most action-packed editions of MWC of recent years saw the introduction of two (okay, technically three) of the most important smartphones of the year - the LG G5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge. We figured the S7 edge is the more attractive part of Samsung's pair (meanwhile so did consumers, apparently), and chose that one to pit against the G5.And the S7 edge did splendidly, beating the G5 3:2. In other words, Samsung's dual-edge glass-and-metal top model gathered 58% of the upvotes, while the modular G5 had to settle for 42%.Fandom aside, the two devices have a bunch of conceptual differences, which can sway users either way. AMOLED vs. LCD, removable battery vs. a larger sealed one, big pixels and near-instant focus vs. dual cameras with extra wide coverage - choices must be made and it's just that the S7 edge has ticked the right boxes for the majority of our...


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Week 9 in review: 6GB of RAM in a smartphone, iPhone 5se unboxed
The mobile world is slowly getting settled back to normal after MWC and our news section over the past week reflects that. With the Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 out of the way the 4-inch iPhone 5se has returned to the top of our hot topics, now unboxed for the camera.Various Xiaomi-related events happened during the week, and you were pretty interested in reading about those. Most notably, the Redmi Note 3 was launched on the Indian market, but also the Mi 5 reportedly gathered 14 million registrations for its first sale. In a world's first, the Vivo Xplay 5 Elite broke the 4-gig RAM barrier, and will be offered with 6GB of operating memory, putting some budget laptops to shame. HTC's next flagship was supposedly going to be called M10, then it wasn't, a teaser was released, and a camera sample leaked. The Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro was spotted on AnTuTu, revealing specs, and the Huawei P9 also showed up on a couple of occasions.Android N screenshots revealed some of the upcoming changes in Google's next OS version, while the current Marshmallow, coupled with TouchWiz, uses 8 gigs of your 32GB Galaxy S7 storage - made a much bigger deal in the comments, than it actually is.Aaand we're back to the Galaxy S7/S7 edge, which broke pre-order records, started shipping earlier than promised, got torn down, and went through some torture tests. Oh, and also feature QuickCharge 2.0, unlike the LG G5 which gets Qualcomm's 3.0 version of the charging tech.To read the details on these and more, follow the links below..news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 28%; text-align: center;}.news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 70%;}.news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; }.news-item .n-right h2,.reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px !important; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px;}.n-right p { line-height: 155%;}.news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc;}.news-item p { margin-left: 0; }.n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000;} Apple iPhone 5se unboxed in front of a camera The iPhone 5se is rumored to be announced later this month and go on sale shortly after. Xiaomi launches Redmi Note 3 in India Comes with a brand new Snapdragon 650 processor and a massive 4050mAh battery. vivo Xplay 5 Elite goes official with 6GB RAM, Vivo Xplay 5 announced too All metal Vivo Xplay 5 and Vivo Xplay 5 Elite go official, both feature dual-curved displays. Xiaomi Mi 5 scores over 14 million registrations for its first sale The sale begins tomorrow - 10AM China time. Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge pre-orders break records The Galaxy S7 edge is better liked with 64% of customers opting for one. LG G5 supports QuickCharge 3.0, Galaxy S7 is only 2.0, what's that about? Qualcomm's website states that Samsung's flagship is stuck on the older-gen charging tech. HTC One M10 name confirmed, camera sample shown EXIF data of the lone image reads HTC_M10h, 9MP in 16:9 ratio suggests a 12MP 4:3 sensor. Lucky customer gets Galaxy S7 edge early, screenshots galore An early Galaxy S7 edge owner posts screen shots of the largely-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S7 edge's UI and software features. Android and TouchWiz take 8GB of your Samsung Galaxy S7 storage At least, 8GB of Galaxy S7's storage are occupied by the OS and the launcher. Watch Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 India launch event here Company's first Redmi phone with metal body and fingerprint sensor. Early mockups speculate Android N UI changes New mockups describe early Android N screenshots which bring along new UI elements, animations, transitions and redesigned notifications and toggles. HTC outs first teaser video for the One M10 In it, the Taiwanese company boasts that it's hard at work finding ways to make smartphones even better. Samsung Galaxy A9...


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Samsung launches Notebook 9 series of Ultrabooks
Samsung has launched the new Notebook 9 series of ultraportable laptops. The series consists of four models, one of which has a rotating display.The base model has a 13.3-inch 1080p display with 6th gen Intel Core i5. It has a battery life of 10 hours and is priced at $999.The second model has a larger 15-inch 1080p display, Core i7, and 12 hours of battery life for $1199.The third model called Notebook 9 Spin has a 13.3-inch 3200x1800 rotating display that can be turned around and folded flat. It's powered by a Core i7 and has a battery life of 7.3 hours. It is priced at $1199.The last model is the Notebook 9 Pro, which has a 15.6-inch 3840x2160 display, Core i7, and 6.5 hours of battery life. It is priced at $1399.All models have 256GB flash storage, 8GB RAM, and run Windows 10.Source •...


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Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge to allegedly launch in India next week
According to a report by BGR India, Samsung could be launching the next generation flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones in India as early as next week.The exact date is unknown, the Economic Times believes it will be around March 8 and that the phone will go on sale in the third week of March with prices matching the iPhone 6s in India.ET also believes Samsung will be spending about $15 million worth on marketing the phone in India, an unprecedented amount for the company, to compete against the iPhone that has a massive reputation in the Indian market.You can check out our hands-on of the S7 and S7 edge here.Source 1 • Source...


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Telus delays Marshmallow updates for Galaxy Note5, S6 edge, S6 edge+
The carrier Telus has some problems with the Marshmallow updates for the Samsung Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S6 edge, and Galaxy S6 edge+. Previously the Note5 and S6 edge+ were supposed to get the Marshmallow firmware on March 9 while the S6 edge update was scheduled for March 16.As it turns out, Telus had some minor setbacks, and those updates will be postponed for a few days. The Note5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ updates will arrive on March 13 while the S6 edge firmware will be ready for distribution on March 30.The regular Galaxy S6 Marshmallow update for the Telus model is still coming on April 13, no changes...


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Google files patent for popup books with AR elements
The first time I've ever seen anything with Augmented Reality was when using the AR cards that came with the Nintendo 3DS. This blew my mind back in 2011: You set a card on a coffee table or a desk and looked through the handheld console's telescopic 3D screen to find some characters pop up right out of the card. Moving the handheld around the card shifts the view of the 3D character on the screen.Google filed a couple of patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office which outlined a story telling experience enhanced with AR elements that could be interacted with.The first patent was filed for an "interactive book" using pressure and motion sensors that are built into the pages. Next, a small lens would project images onto the pages depending on what the user presses or does to the pages. There would also be speakers embedded in the device to add to the experience.The other patent was for a kind of tablet that is embedded into the book, then, every page in the book has a secondary ‘vertical page' of sorts which would display content that compliments the physical page.As always, patents don't usually mean something will become real products, not even experimental hardware may ever be a reality. Even at this point In time, I'm surprised that we haven't really seen a sort of children's book with AR or VR elements used to enhance it.Source |...


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Samsung to shut down Milk Music, reports say
I remember when I was working as a Samsung rep inside Best Buy last year, I was instructed to install Milk Music and Milk Video to every Samsung Phone that we handled. Many customers loved the idea of free radio stations with no ads for a year, and I am sure most of them didn't like the idea of continuing to pay for premium service after the year was up.Samsung seems to have given up on Milk Music and reports say Samsung is going to shut it down for good. The idea of having a music service that is exclusive to Galaxy phones was a great idea, however, the problem was that Samsung didn't leverage it as well as it should have, it didn't give customers a compelling music service that wasn't already a lot like Pandora.Even so, Samsung has left Milk Music out of its new lineup of TVs when there was no mention of being able to use the music service. Also, Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 edge announcement in MWC last month didn't make any mention of Milk Music either.Let's not forget that Samsung pulled the plug on Milk Video after just one year of launching the service in 2014. What did you all think of Samsung's Milk Music? Did you find it compelling at all? Did you ever use it on any occasion?Source |...


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HTC 10 reportedly won't have a version running Windows 10 Mobile
It looks like you're not likely to see a Windows logo on an HTC smartphone ever again. Or not anytime soon, anyway. Back in 2014, the One (M8) for Windows was basically the Windows Phone running version of the Android One (M8). Hence, some people may have hoped for HTC to pull the same stunt with this year's upcoming flagship device, which will be called 10. The hopes were there despite the fact that 2015's One M9 did not get a Windows variant.According to Evan Blass (of @evleaks fame), neither will the HTC 10. He firmly stated today that there won't be an iteration of the HTC 10 running Windows 10 Mobile.So it turns out that HTC has chosen to stick with Android alone for its smartphones, at least for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, if you're looking for a high-end Windows-powered handset, HP has surprisingly announced one at MWC - and obviously there's also Microsoft's very own Lumia 950 and 950 XL...


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OxygenOS 2.2.1 update for the OnePlus 2 brings RAW support to the default camera app
A new software update has started rolling out today for the OnePlus 2. It's not going to change the underlying Android version unfortunately (so no Marshmallow for you), but it does come with some bug fixes and improvements.Chief among the latter is the added RAW support for the preinstalled OnePlus Camera app. RAW image capture has been supported in third-party apps ever since a previous update in September of last year, and now this is finally part of the built-in app as well.You'll also find that compatibility for Bluetooth devices and Ultra SIM has been improved, along with a GMS 3.0 upgrade. Roaming issues should have been mitigated, Romanian language support has been added, as well as some security patches. Finally, a fix has been deployed for an occasional image corruption issue in OnePlus Camera.As you might expect, the rollout will be incremental, so it may take a few days (or even weeks) for the update to reach your OnePlus 2 unit. But it is on its way, so all you can do is...


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Samsung Galaxy TabPro S now available for purchase
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy TabPro S tablet at CES in early January. It's a 12" premium slate running on Windows 10 with a 12" Super AMOLED QHD display, and 6th generation Intel Core M dual-core 2.26GHz processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. a 5MP AF rear camera and a 5MP front snapper.Now, Samsung has finally made the Galaxy TabPro S tablet available throughout Europe. You can get it in the Netherlands via the official Samsung online store. Amazon UK and Amazon DE, among other retailers, have the slate in stock. Too.You can choose between 128GB and 256GB SSD options; you can also opt for an LTE-enabled model. The OS is also configurable - you can either get Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.Finally, there is a full-sized keyboard cover bundled within the retail box, and it comes with a touchpad and a flexible hinge.Oddly, Samsung UK has the TabPro S on pre-order, and it will ship on March 16, but you can get it through Amazon UK right now.The prices are the same we confirmed a while ago - the Wi-Fi 128GB SSD with Wind 10 Home options costs €999, add €100 for Windows 10 Pro, and another €100 for LTE capabilities. Note that the 4G model ships only with Windows 10 Pro.So, if you liked the tablet and its keyboard, now you can place your order. Additionally, you can get the official Bluetooth Pen and the port hub with HDMI and more USBs.Source •...


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Huawei P9 looks different in new leaked renders, passes FCC, might not be outed on March 9
MWC has come and gone and Huawei hasn't yet unveiled its next flagship smartphone, the P9. When the Chinese company sent out invites for a March 9 event in Berlin a couple of days ago, we assumed this would be when the P9 would finally get official. But now it turns out that may not be the case.According to a report from China, Huawei will not be unveiling the P9 on March 9. Unnamed company officials have confirmed that the phone exists and is being worked on, but the project has apparently suffered some delays. These have to do with the need to improve some technical issues related to the much-leaked dual camera setup on the P9's back. Because of this, the release of the handset is reportedly delayed by a whole month.An exact date (either for the presentation or the start of sales) hasn't been mentioned, but we should all rest assured that the P9 will be out "in the coming months". The same source claims the P9 will not have 6GB of RAM, as previously rumored, nor a brand-new Kirin chipset - thus it's likely to use the same Kirin 950 found inside the Mate 8 phablet.Moving on, some new renders allegedly depicting the Huawei P9 have been leaked, as you can see. Though they confirm that dual camera setup once more, they are different than the last two batches - gone is the laser autofocus this time around, and the fingerprint sensor on the back is now round, and it was shown to be more squared in the past. Furthermore, the positions of the front-facing camera and proximity sensor are changed too.So now the actual design of the P9 has gotten quite unclear, with two differing perspectives both being claimed to be leaked renders of the real thing. Hopefully you've had a healthy serving of salt nearby for this one.An additional P9-related tidbit is that the FCC has certified a Huawei EVA-L09, and this could be one of the model numbers for the top of the line device. If so, then at least one of its four versions will feature a 2,900 mAh battery, as FCC docs have revealed. The cheapest hardware iteration for the P9 is said to cost CNY 1,888 ($289 or €264), while the most expensive one is bound to go for CNY 4,088 ($627 or €571).Source 1 (in Chinese) • Source 2 (in Chinese) • Source 3 | Via 1 • Via 2 • Via 3 (in...


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