ZTE, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, recently unveiled not only one but three editions of new affordable phones which are going to be on sale in late 2015. The three mobile phones are ZTE V3 Youth Edition, ZTE V3 Energy Edition and ZTE V3 Extreme Edition. All the three edition of ZTE V3 will come with an aluminum body as well as fingerprint scanner, the two must have features in the current mobile phones.
All the three editions will be compatible with 4G LTE bands for China, however, it is still unknown whether they will be or will not be compatible with the western carriers. On top of that, all the editions will be powered by Snapdragon 615 with octa-core CPU chipset and the screen size will be a 5.5-inch FHD with resolution of 1080p as well as 3000mAh battery size. Other features such as a 2GB RAM, a 16GB internal storage which can be expanded to 128GB via microSD, a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. Although there are more similarities than differences, the three editions will be different in terms of their connectivity options and some rumors mentioned that the Extreme Edition will come with some bonus accessories.
As for the pricing, the Youth Edition will be priced at $160; the Energy Edition will be priced at $210 while the Extreme Edition will be priced at $240.
Meizu, a Chinese mobile phone maker, recently has officially announced Meizu M2 which most probably going to be launched soon. The best part is that the phone is only priced at $96. Not many people outside China knows about the brand, but Meizu can be considered as a direct competitor of Xiaomi and Lenovo in terms of the low budget and good performance phone. Recently, the company has expanded its presence throughout Europe although it has not reached United States yet.
Meizu M2 will come pre-installed with its own user interface, Flyme UI which runs on top of Android 5.1 Lollipop. The good thing about this user interface is that it has smooth animations and it still can maintain an impressive performance. On top of that, it also comes with Google Play Store pre-installed.
Meizu M2 will have a 5-inch LCD display with resolution of 720 x 1280 and 294ppi screen display size. The device will be running on a quad-core Cortex A53 MediaTek MT6735 CPU processor which clocked at 1.3GHz and a Mali T720 GPU as well as a 2GB RAM. It will have a 16GB internal storage which can be expandable to 128GB via microSD card. Other features such as a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, dual-SIM card as well as 2450mAh battery size. There are 4 colors options available, mainly: white, blue, pink and gray.
Although it offers lower specification compared to Meizu M2 Note, however, for the priced that it offers, it seems like it is still a good deal!
Last year, Chinese start-up OnePlus made a big-bang entry into the smartphone industry pitching the competition head-on with giants like LG, Samsung and many more. Their first handset OnePlus One managed to grab quite a huge amount of eye-balls as it was then the one-of-its-kind handset with some very spectacular specs never seen before. Moreover the greatest USP of the device was its extremely affordable pricing in put behind its gadget. Now, this year the company very much continues the legacy by announcing its successor the OnePlus 2 and rest assured it would be available at very affordable pricing. So let’s take a look at what all goodies the new handset to offer to us has.
Design and Build Quality
Keeping up the primary focus of making light weight handsets, the company has employed a magnesium and aluminum alloy frame, and thus thereby giving out a high-quality feel to the device. To its bottom is the home-button baked with the fingerprint sensor found in most of the flagships these days, that is further accompanied with two capacitive buttons along with the speakers being oriented to its bottom.
At the top there is a noise cancellation microphone along with a headphone jack. To the right are the volume rocker buttons and the lock/power key. At the left of the handset you will see a new hardware called as the “alert slider”. This is a 3-stop button that quickly lets you switch between sound and notification profiles.
Additionally the handset features a dual-SIM support with the USB Type-C plug. The male USB plug is revesible which is patented by OnePlus. The back panel is the StyleSwap covers that are available with different color options.
Display, Hardware and Interface
As expected, the OnePlus 2 comes with a 5.5inch display in-cell LCD HD display with 1080×1920 resolution. Taking into consideration the battery consuming abilities of the display, the OnePlus 2 is said to have a huge 1,500:1 contrast ratio adjusting the screen brightness based on the light availability of indoor and outdoor utility.
Under the hood lies a powerful octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipset that is supported with a whopping 4GB of RAM memory and the handset offers two memory storage options of 16GB and 64GB with no provision for the microSD card slot. The handset is powered with the stock Android-looking OxygenOS with version 2.0. This comes with a clear appearance and much better customization options. With different modes and icon packs, the OxygenOS too allows for the discrete app permissions like in the Android M. Users can also fine tune the icon grid size and the LED notifications.
Camera
The OnePlus 2 comes with a 13MP primary camera with a larger 1.3micro pixel sensor, usually larger than seen in most of the flagships and accounting for excellent results in low light conditions. Additional features include laser-assisted auto focus and the famous OIS. At the software side, the company has introduced its new camera app that comes loaded with features, like the Super-Resolution Mode that can process images to a resolution of 50MP. Additionally, the app also features the automatic time lapse and a new slow-motion mode that can capture video up to 120 frames per second.
Pricing and Availability
The handset is said to be costing under $450 and this time it’s said to be coming with a faster and shorter invite period. The handset would be available starting August 11 for India, European Union, Canada, US and China.
The 16GB variant is said to be priced for $329 and the 64GB model for a $389. The company is also said to be setting “pop-up” stores across various cities for the availability of its accessories and support.
Take a look at some of the official images below and please leave us your views as to how would you rate the recent OnePlus 2 flagship in the comments.
Samsung has announced recently that the company will be holding a special event on Aug 13 in New York City. Apart from showcasing Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, it seems that Samsung is also going to showcase Samsung Gear A smartwatch.
There is not much detail released on Samsung Gear A smartwatch, however, it seems like the device will come with limited Samsung Pay capability. On top of that, the smartwatch will have a 1.65-inch curved Super AMOLED display with resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. Other features such as a heart rate monitor, GPS, Wi-FI and Bluetooth are also integrated on the device. There is also rumor surfaced recently mentioning that the smartwatch will have a cellular connectivity feature and the users will have to rotate the frame of the device’s screen in order to navigate through the menu.
As for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, it is rumored that the tablets will be powered by Exynos chipset, Samsung’s own SoC and a 4GB of RAM. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, on the other hand, is rumored to be powered by Exynos 7420 SoC and a 3GB of RAM as well as storage option of 64GB.
Samsung Electronics has announced world’s first monitor, the SE370, that has integrated wireless charging dock which can charge a smartphone wirelessly. All mobile devices compatible with the the Qi wireless charging technology can be charged with this monitor.
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are the first Samsung have wireless charging capabilities. The upcoming Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5 are also expected to pack this wireless charging technology. These devices can now be charged through the new SE370 monitors wirelessly. In fact even smartphones of other companies that are compatible with the Qi technology can be charged with this monitor.
The wireless charging technology has been integrated into the stand of the SE370 monitor. Your smartphone can be charged by simply placing it on the charging area of the stand. The charging starts automatically and is indicated by an LED light. Two models of the monitor offer this facility – the 27-inch S27E370DS and the 23.6-inch S24E370DL.
Both the monitors have a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels and feature a PLS panel, 178 degree wide viewing angle, up to 300 cd/m2 of brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 4ms response time and AMD FreeSync technology offering the user an improved viewing experience. They have HDMI, DP and D-Sub ports.
With the added wireless charging capabilities of the monitors, you can say goodbye to cables and ports resulting in a clutter-free work area. It will also save you the hassle and cost of maintaining a separate charging kit.
Samsung hasn’t provided any details about the pricing and availability of the two monitors but it is hoped that we will hear more about them at the IFA to be held in Berlin in early September.
Samsung has traditionally been announcing its important new devices at its Unpacked events. So be ready to mark August 13th on your calendars. Samsung has officially confirmed that it is holding the new Unpacked 2015 event on this day in New York City and you will be able to see its “Next Big Things”.
Samsung hasn’t announced any details about the event or what new it would be showing us then. But if rumors are to be believed, August 13 is the day when Samsung introduces two new devices Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. The invitation sent out by the company for the Unpacked 2015 event is given below. The image in the invite suggests that the new handset to be announced will be having a curved display so may be it hints at the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.
Photos and specs of both the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus have already leaked online. Both the devices are rumored to come with 5.7-inch 1440 x 2560 pixels Quad HD displays, Exynos 7420 chipsets, 4GB RAMs and 16MP rear cameras. The Note 5 will supposedly sport the S Pen Stylus and the S6 Edge Plus as the name suggests, will have a curved display.
Like other recent announcements by Samsung, the Unpacked 2015 event will also be streamed live via Samsung Tomorrow and the company’s YouTube channel. You can watch the unfolding of the event in real-time at these links.
Meizu M2 is expected to release on July 29. As the date is getting nearer, an online store in China has leaked the specifications and the pricing for the product. In this entry, we are going to list down the specifications of the product as your consideration to buy it or not to buy it.
Meizu M2 will be having a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 720 x 1280. It is running on a quad-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6735 CPU which is clocked at 1.3GHz and Mali-T720 MP2 GPU. On top of that, the device will have a 2GB RAM as well as 16GB of internal memory which can be expanded up to 128GB as there is a microSD slot.
At the back of the device is a 13MP camera while in the front part of the device is a 5MP camera which can be used for selfies and video chats. Other specifications such as 2500 mAh battery size, 4G LTE connectivity as well as dual-SIM feature. The device will be coming pre-installed with Android 5.0 OS.
Meizu M2 will be measured at 8.7mm thick and it will be priced at $96. Looking at the specifications and comparing it with the price, it seems like Meizu M2 will be a budget phone.
