OnePlus to announce HydrogenOS in Beijing on May 28th
It’s just over a month ago that the OnePlus finally released the OxygenOS for the One handset after numerous delays. While the OxygenOS firmware is meant for international One handsets, OnePlus has just announced it will release a new ROM called HydrogenOS for the One handset in China.
As you can see from the image below, the HydrogenOS ROM is scheduled (don’t laugh) to be announced in Beijing on May 28th. While specific details are scarce, it will be based on Android 5.0, and if it follows the OxygenOS formula, HydrogenOS should be a fairly lightweight ROM concentrating on battery and performance optimizations. The OnePlus CEO has stated that the new OS won’t be yet another iOS copycat. What do you think? Will the HydrogenOS firmware be released on time?
Come comment on this article: OnePlus to announce HydrogenOS in Beijing on May 28th
These are the Oppo R7 and R7 Plus
Oppo is taking a leaf out of LG’s book by revealing information about the upcoming R7 ahead of the phone’s official unveiling on May 20. More than that, Oppo just confirmed the existence of another device launching the same day: the supersized R7 Plus.
The R7 and R7 Plus have been revealed in a couple of ads that are already airing in China. Oppo seems happy to show off its new devices, which is a refreshing change following years of secretive, over the top releases.
Oppo even released a couple of press shots of the new R7 and R7 Plus, showing that the Plus version packs a fingerprint sensor on the back, similar to the Oppo N3. The R7 Plus will also feature on-screen navigation screens, while the Oppo R7 keeps the capacitive keys (though users will likely be able to switch to on-screen navigation if they wish). Both phones seem to feature metallic unibody constructions, with 2.5D glass on the front. The R7 is expected to feature a 5.2-inch display, while judging from the images, the Plus version will be closer to 6 inches.
VOOC fast charging, one of the key features of the Oppo R5 and Oppo Find 7 before it, will, of course, be included in the package. Qualcomm’s Quick Charge tech has made fast charging widely available on modern flagships, but Oppo’s approach is superior, according to the Chinese company.
The TV commercials also hint at some sort of fast focus technology for the camera, though we’ll have to wait for the official unveiling for clarification.
Now that we have the first real look at the Oppo R7, and its surprise companion, the R7 Plus, what are your first impressions?
China’s smartphone market reaching saturation as Apple takes top spot
A new smartphone market share report says that smartphone shipments in China fell 4.3 per cent in the first quarter compared with a year ago. Since 2011 China has been the world’s largest smartphone market and was in many ways a green field sector. Most people buying smartphones in China have, until now, been first time buyers. But now it seems that the market has reached saturation and from here in China is now an upgrade market.
The new numbers come from research conducted by International Data Corp (IDC). Other, rival surveys, suggest that China’s smartphone market continued to grow during the quarter, but at much slower levels than previously. Either way, it is clear that this is a turning point.
According to Apple’s financial results for Q1 2015, the Cupertino company sells more iPhone in China than it does in the USA. Now, the new data shows that Apple has pushed Xiaomi off the top spot to become China’s largest smartphone maker by market share. It was IDC that ranked Xiaomi as the top smartphone OEM in China for Q4 2014, with the company taking a 13.7% market share. At the time IDC reckoned that Apple had a 12.3% market share.
IDC also reports that Samsung has fallen to fourth place in China for Q1, a big drop from its #1 position of a year ago.
Xiaomi has traditionally focused on the low-end of the Chinese smartphone market, however recently it has also been targeting the top end. Just last week the company launched its $480 Mi Note Pro. The new device features a 5.7 inch Quad HD LCD display, a Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a 13MP camera, a 3090 mAh battery, and LTE category 9. The company has also been working to expand beyond China.
Over the past year, Xiaomi made the jump to its first markets outside China, and is now operating in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India. It entered the Indian market in July 2014, and it has managed to become an established player in that cutthroat market, having sold a million devices in the first six months.
Now the $46 billion company is looking towards another large, dynamic market: Brazil. Talking to the press in Taiwan, Hugo Barra (a native of Brazil) said Xiaomi will begin selling its affordable devices in Brazil within three months.
IDC also reports that Samsung has fallen to fourth place in China for Q1, a big drop from its #1 position of a year ago. However Samsung is still optimistic about its sales in China. “While there are signs that the explosive growth of smartphones in China will slow this year, the vast majority of China’s 885 million mobile users are using low-end and mid-range smartphones,” Samsung said in a statement. “This leaves plenty of room for upgrades to high-end phones as China’s market matures.”
China’s smartphone market is big, but it isn’t getting bigger
China’s such a big country that there’ll always be an insatiable demand for smartphones, right? Not according to research firm IDC, which believes that the nation’s phone market has contracted by four percent in the last year. The outfit’s merry band of spreadsheet-wranglers believes that the majority of Chinese people now own a mobile device, and as such, will only buy a phone when they want to upgrade.
The company has also drilled down into the winners and losers for the first quarter of the year, with no surprises as to who has come out on top. Apple is sitting comfortably on the number one spot, having shipped nearly 15 million devices in the first three months of the year. Sitting just behind it, however, are local brands Xiaomi and Huawei, which shipped 13.5 and 11.2 million phones in the same period. It’s a sadder tale for Samsung and Lenovo, both of which saw its shipments fall by a painful 53 and 22 percent, respectively.
[Image Credit: Getty]
Filed under: Cellphones, Apple, Samsung, Lenovo
Via: TechCrunch, WSJ
Source: IDC
This is probably Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S2
Several months ago rumors began to mention the next generation Galaxy Tab S products. In particular, the talk of the town was teaching us that Samsung would be utilizing a 4:3 aspect ratio, premium materials (a metal frame essentially) and the latest and greatest specs. As the weeks have passed, information has slowly leaked out, and now we find ourselves with what might be a first look at the finished product. Albeit it a press render.
This leaks comes to us via @onleaks, and as you can see, the tablet looks… A lot like the Galaxy Tab A series which has already been announced and released in several key markets around the world. Assuming this is the final product, it raises a somewhat odd question coming from Samsung: why does this premier premium product look like a baseline-budget one? Last year’s Galaxy Tab S series featured an exclusive design (reminiscent of the Galaxy S5) that looked night-and-day different from the Galaxy Tab 4, Galaxy Tab Pro, and Galaxy Note 10.1 2014/Pro 12.2 devices which came before it.
When last we heard, it is expected that in addition to a QHD SuperAMOLED screen, the Tab S2 series will come with an Exynos 5433 32-Bit CPU, but it may be replaced with the 7420 given the latter’s 64-bit processing — something that will come in handy with the Android 5.0.2 Lollipop build that they will be running on. Category 6 LTE will be supported on cellular models. The device will include 3GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage with microSD support up to 128GB. The 8-inch model will have a 3,580 mAh battery, the 9.7 inch, a 5,870 mAh unit. Both models will have an 8 megapixel rear camera and 2.1 front camera, according to the leaks.
Galaxy Tab S
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Assuming this leak is genuine, could Samsung be standardizing its tablet offerings? Might we be missing something (like the possibility of a glass back)? Moreover, what would this mean for Samsung products released later this year? Will they look similar to the S6?
Apple’s new environmental initiative focuses on China’s forests
Apple’s been vocal about trying to get its global operations running entirely on renewable energy, but the company is now looking to reduce its impact on paper, wood and similar fibers too. Outlining several environmental initiatives for China, the company announced a multi-year project with the World Wildlife Fund to increase responsibly managed forests. The program will cover up to 1 million acres of forest that provides materials for paper and wood products — including Apple’s own packaging materials. According to the press release, it wants to achieve a “net-zero impact on the world’s supply of sustainable virgin fiber”.
“Forests, like energy, can be renewable resources,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environmental Initiatives. “We believe we can run on naturally renewable resources and ensure that we protect-and create-as much sustainable working forest as needed to produce the virgin paper in our product packaging.”
China is now a very important part of Apple’s success: and these new environmental initiatives are three weeks since the company launched its major solar installation in Sichuan Province. Apple says it will generate energy in excess of what’s needed to power Apple’s corporate offices and retail stores in China. It’s teamed up with local power companies for two 20-megawatt solar farms that will generate enough energy for the equivalent of 61,000 Chinese homes.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Apple
Source: Apple
New leak suggests HTC will monetize BlinkFeed
It’s nothing new that HTC had a disastrous launch of their new device, the One M9, While they had hoped it would increase their sales, they were completely wrong. HTC posted their worst quarterly earnings since 2010, which is a huge blow to the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. All hope is not lost, as they might employ a new strategy to gain back some profits.
Today, the well-known HTC leaker, @upleaks, posted an interesting leak on his Twitter handle showing a few of HTC’s ‘goals’. The image shows what HTC plans to do in order to put some money back in their shareholders pockets and stop the proverbial bleeding. HTC plans to use their Blinkfeed application to display relevant sponsored applications as well as products, accessories, and services promotions.
Essentially, HTC is concocting their own version of Google’s AdSense by using one of their most popular applications. They better be careful, because it will definitely be a double-edged sword. Yes, it might increase their profits, but they have to look at how many consumers will disable or leave HTC for advertising on an in-house application.
So followers of AndroidGuys with HTC devices, if they were to put sponsored ad placement on your BlinkFeed, what would you do? Accept it, disable it, leave HTC? Let us know!
The post New leak suggests HTC will monetize BlinkFeed appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Fujifilm’s X-T1 camera is getting a revamped autofocus system
A notable firmware update is coming to the X-T1 and X-T1 Graphite Silver Edition in June, Fujifilm has announced. With this new version, 4.0, both sleek cameras will welcome a vastly enhanced autofocus system and other under-the-hood upgrades — all of which are expected to improve performance by a long shot. The new Zone and Wide Tracking modes, for one, are said to make it easier to capture moving subjects, while the AF’s accuracy has been tuned to focus faster in low-light conditions and on low-contrast items. There’s now also Eye Detection autofocus, Auto Macro mode, Exposure Compensation control for manual users and, when shooting video, an optimized algorithm that promises to deliver a more natural and smooth AF. You’ll have to wait a few weeks for the overhauled software, unfortunately — Fujifilm says it’s due to arrive late next month. But at least you know it is, indeed, coming.
‘Lego Dimensions’ will include ‘Portal’, Doctor Who and Homer Simpson
If the combined might of Batman and Gandalf wasn’t enough to intrigue you, how about throwing in a Timelord (with a Scottish accent)? More details of the Skylanders-baiting Lego Dimensions game have been gleaned from a building instruction sheet for its Back To The Future set, with a catalog of level packs (read: figures and accessories) we’re going to see alongside the game itself. As well as Doctor Who, expect to see a Portal 2 pack, as well as Jurassic World, The Simpsons and Scooby-Doo. You can also expect multiple figures from Lego’s own brick-based franchises like Ninjago as well more characters from Lord of the Rings — these will be part of “fun packs”, likely to cost less than the aforementioned full-blown level add-ons. And if it sounds like a lot, remember: we haven’t even seen the DC comics sets yet.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Kotaku
Source: Lego
Apple Watch hack puts a tiny browser on your wrist
Still trying to find a use for your Apple Watch? Noted jailbreaker Comex has an idea: browse the internet an inch-and-a-half at a time. In a short video, he shows off the Google search bar, which, due to the display’s minuscule size, only fits on-screen a portion at a time. From there you can see iOS’ “copy/define” dialog boxes and that’s about it, really. Appologies if you were expecting something a bit crazier, but possible jailbreaks apparently aren’t all that exciting in the embryonic stages. Watch doesn’t have a native browser, of course, and 9to5Mac notes that Comex hasn’t mentioned anything about releasing the hack to the public either, so if or when you’ll get to try it out for yourself is anyone’s guess at this point.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Comex
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