Xiaomi unveils Mi Note and Mi Note Pro: 5.7-inch high-end goodness
Xiaomi’s latest flagships are here. At the company’s Beijing event today, CEO Lei Jun revealed his latest weapons against Samsung and Apple: the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro.
Xiaomi Mi Note
The Xiaomi Note is not the successor to the affordable Redmi Note. The device is a high-end offering, with a 5.7-inch Full HD display made by Japan Display, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 , a Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 13MP rear camera with OIS, a 4MP front camera with large 2-micron pixels (just like HTC’s UltraPixels), a 3,000-mAh battery, and LTE dual-SIM.
Speaking of design, the Mi Note sports beautiful glass on both the front and the back. The protective screen glass is 2.5D, meaning that its edges are slightly curved, just like on the Note 4 or iPhone 6 Plus. The glass on the back is positively curved however, gently hugging the phone’s sloping side. We’ve seen glass-backed devices before, but this is the first design with a curved glass back – it sure looks interesting, but durability may take a hit, even with the sleek metallic frame of the device.
On stage, Xiaomi’s Lei Jun took potshots at Apple, which seemed to be his primary target, and not Samsung and their Note 4 as one would expect. One of the jabs referred to the iPhone 6’s notorious protruding camera. There is no such thing on the Mi Note, which is a svelte 6.95 millimeters. The camera itself is sourced from Sony (IMX214), with a 6-lens f 2.0 aperture, OIS, and a two-tone flash. Thanks to the large size of the pixels, the 4MP front shooter should do great in low-light selfie situations.
Other features highlighted by Xiaomi include Hi-Fi audio thanks to a ESS audio decoder and fast charging.
With Xiaomi devices, the price is always a big part of the story. The Mi Note will be available for 2299 yuan ($370) for the 16GB storage, and 2799 yuan ($450) for the more spacious 64GB model. This isn’t the rock bottom pricing Xiaomi used its customers with, but then again, the Mi Note isn’t a budget affair, and that is visible in everything from specs to design.
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Xiaomi Mi Note Pro
Xiaomi is kicking things up a notch with the 3299 yuan ($530) Mi Note Pro, which features similar design and specifications with the following improvements: a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor, a Quad HD display, 4GB of RAM, and LTE-Cat 9 support for download speeds of up t 450Mbps. The Mi Note Pro will be available with 64GB of storage.
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The Mi Note will become available from Q2 (at least in Singapore), while the Mi Note Pro’s availability will be announced at a later point.
What do you think of the new Mi Pro and Mi Pro Note? Are they what you were expecting? What about the price?
Xiaomi’s new Mi headphones support both over-ear and on-ear experiences for $80
Unable to decide whether to go for over-ear or on-ear headphones? Xiaomi may have an ideal solution for you in the product that is a new pair of headphones. The company today announced the new accessory, which comes with both over-ear and on-ear covers.
HP to Release new Pro Android Tablet
HP has been making some increasingly better tablets of late, sporting both Windows and Android operating systems, as to provide consumers with more options. Today the company released two new tablets—one running Android, the other Windows—called the HP Slate Pro 10 and the HP Pro Tablet 10. Essentially, they are the same tablet under the screen: quad-core Bay Trail processors, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage, and NFC capabilities. But the Slate is the one running Android and the Tablet is the one with Windows.
Each of the tablets is 10 inches large, and is called Pro due to the inclusion of a passive stylus for more accurate touches. Mind you, this is not a capacitative stylus like the Note 4 or Surface Pro 3. It will do what your finger does, but a bit more precisely. Both tablets have Wi-Fi, but are rumored to potentially have the option to add 3G connection as well.
The tablets aren’t officially announced yet, but they should be hitting the stores sometime later this year—sooner, rather than later. While the few images purported to be of the tablets show them to be a bit unwieldy, the specs are nice and they should be capable devices if priced appropriately.
What do you think about HP’s latest tablets? Do you trust HP to deliver a quality 10 incher, or do you have your own horror story to tell about an HP tablet experience? Leave a comment below and let us know what’s up.
Source: Liliputing
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Samsung Galaxy S6 may not use as many Snapdragon 810 processors due to overheating
When Qualcomm announced the availability of the 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor, we knew it would be all but a lock to feature in Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S6. Unfortunately though, the Snapdragon 810 appears to have severe overheating issues, and Samsung is rumoured to be reducing the volume of Galaxy S6 devices […]
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Google beefs up Translate app with Word Lens real-time translation
Google on Wednesday announced a new version of its Translate app for Android and iOS. Rolling out over the next few days, the app brings about some handy real-time translation capabilities. With the update it is no longer required to snap a photo for translation. Indeed, users can get real-time translation just by simply pointing the camera at text. And, as if that weren’t cool enough, this feature works whether there’s a data connection or not.
Additionally, Google Translate also provides much quicker translation via voice.
Starting today, simply tap the mic to start speaking in a selected language, then tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will automatically recognize which of the two languages are being spoken, letting you have a more fluid conversation. For the rest of the conversation, you won’t need to tap the mic again—it’ll be ready as you need it.
Look for the new version of Google Translate on both Android and iOS in the coming days.
The post Google beefs up Translate app with Word Lens real-time translation appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google Maps update brings much needed navigation sharing
It’s our favorite app update day of the week, what most of us call, Google’s Android app update Wednesday. It may have been a quiet one, but this Maps update is one that we are pretty excited about.
Google Maps for Android is rolling out version 9.3, look for the update on device, or head on over the Google Play Store for your free copy.
Along with the smattering of typical bug fixes, Maps v9.3 brings two main new features. First, is the ability to permanently ignore location settings warnings, second is that ability to share directions.
Starting with the location settings warning. If you’ve ever fired up Maps while not connected to WiFi, or with your GPS disabled, you’ve seen the warning. It simply lets you know that Maps isn’t going to work so well for you until you change your location settings, and includes options to ignore once or head into the settings. If you see this often, and it drives you nuts, simply tap the new “Don’t ask me again…” check box and continue on your merry way.
About those sharing options, this is going to be huge for some people, and wasted on others. The tool is pretty straightforward, a new Share directions option is in the three-dots menu of the directions dialog. Sharing directions gives your next steps in two forms, a text only guide is presented, allowing you to send the directions to those that cannot access Maps at that moment. From there, a link is provided that will give fellow Maps for Android users the directions in their Maps.
In addition to the front end changes we are seeing, there are two new permissions required for the app. Access to Bluetooth settings and the ability to Run at startup.
If you are not seeing the update just yet, the folks over at Android Police have captured the APK for download. Otherwise, we understand that Google is pushing out the Maps update to all of your devices over the next couple days.
What do you say, is the ability to share directions an important feature for your Google Maps usage?
Sony Xperia Z3V Receives Software Update
Verizon’s version of the Sony Xperia Z3 has received a convenient software update, bringing many goodies to Xperia users everywhere.The improvements include Lifelog improvements, like guides on how to use high accuracy mode, some NFC performance improvements, and simplified email notification settings access. Google Play movies now has HD video playback, and font size and layout has been tweaked for the better. Data usage will be restricted for you by reducing notifications during calls and optimizing oversized email retransmit. HTML links are also displayed now without a clickable link.
Source: Verizon
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Xiaomi’s latest flagship is the Mi Note
Xiaomi’s latest device is called the Mi Note. Dubbed the “most epic flagship device of the year,” the Mi Note comes with a slew of new features as the brand continues to maintain momentum in the smartphone segment. The phone is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 on both sides, 2.5D curved glass on the front and 3D curved glass at the back, has a thickness of 6.95mm and features a 13 MP camera with OIS.
Sony mulls selling mobile business as losses continue
Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony, and other leaders of the Japanese company are planning to either sell or prepare joint ventures for its TV and mobile phone divisions, which are not producing profit.
Sony expects to lose 230 billion yen ($1.9 billion) for the current business year to March. Additionally, it plans to halt dividend payments for the first time due to mediocre smartphone sales.
This process is not foreign to the company. Last year, it sold its Vaio PC line and downsized its TV division, leading to a loss of 5,000 jobs. Since Hirai became CEO, Sony has lost 15,000 employees.
The CEO added that Sony’s image sensors for cameras and PlayStation 4, which has sold 18.5 million units, are a success. However, it’s clearly not enough as he prepares to make tough decisions that may cost more workers their jobs.
Reuters quoted Hirai stating, “The mobile and TV businesses both require a drastic overhaul. Without drastic reforms such as join ventures or alliances, they will both be in the red three years from now.”
Sony is probably suffering financially because it has too many product categories. In a sense, it’s like a jack of all trades but a master of almost none.
Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga may have put it best after looking at the booths of his rivals at CES, “Anyone can make TVs these days. But you see this in smartphones too. not just TV.”
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Google adds a snooze button to Inbox emails
No, you don’t need to reply to that email immediately in the middle of dinner. Now Google’s trying to help that happen, with Snooze. A new addition to its Gmail Inbox app, users can “snooze” emails with automatic quick settings or their own customized reminders. You can delay a message for later the same day, tomorrow or even a week from now. There’s also the hilarious someday option — we’re going to assume it’ll reappear later in the week, but don’t hold us to that. You can even “geo-snooze” a message to remind you when you’re at a place, rather than a prescribed time. You can still access any reminders or snoozed messages if you manage to make time and adjust reminders if needed. Inbox zero could be within in your grasp in 2015. Well, kind of.
Source: Gmail blog
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