Unknown LG device with Snapdragon 808 and 4GB RAM surfaces online
Earlier today, an unknown handset visited Geekbench. The device is manufactured my LG and contains a Snapdragon 808 chipset with 4GB of RAM. The mysterious device is listed under the code LGE LG-F600L and has a single core performance of 1082, and a 3298 multi-core performance. These are good numbers and hint towards a flagship device.
LG has already confirmed they will be making the next iteration of Google’s Nexus line. The device is expected to feature around a 5-inch display and will be released alongside a Huawai-made Nexus device in the fourth quarter. These devices should debut alongside the new version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android M. Could this be the new Nexus handset? Maybe.
Rumors have also led us to believe this could be the new LG G Pro. The LG G Pro is supposed to be a follow up handset for the second half of 2015. The company mentioned this shortly after they released the high end LG G4. The LG G Pro is expected to come in the fourth quarter as well and recent leaks suggest an all-metal build with around a 6-inch display.
All we can do is wait for an official announcement. Either way this is shaping up to be a beast of a handset.
Source: Geekbench
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Unknown LG device with Snapdragon 808 and 4GB RAM surfaces online
HBO Now available on Amazon Fire tablets, coming to Play Store later today
HBO has today made its Now streaming service available on Amazon’s Fire tablets, and plans on bringing the service to the Google Play Store later today. HBO will have a list of supported devices on its website when Now official lands on the Play Store.
While Now is available on Amazon’s Fire tablets, it isn’t available on the Fire TV or Fire TV stick. Support will be added in a few weeks time, along with compatibility with the Chromecast.
Keep in mind that HBO Now does employ a subscription fee: $15/month for all of your favorite shows, such as the hit fantasy series Game of Thrones. Alternatively, HBO GO requires a cable subscription for access to HBO’s many TV shows.
HBO originally announced that its Now streaming service would be coming to Android with eventual Chromecast support during Google’s I/O 2015 developer conference.
For those that aren’t sure about the subscription fee or just want to do a quick binge-watch, HBO Now offers a 30-day free trial before any payment is requested, giving you just enough time to catch up on the Game of Thrones series without paying a dime.
source: HBO
Come comment on this article: HBO Now available on Amazon Fire tablets, coming to Play Store later today
OnePlus will have 50 times more inventory at launch than it did with the OnePlus one
The OnePlus two announcement is slowly drawing closer. OnePlus plans to announce its new flagship device on July 27th, just one day prior to Motorola’s event. According to Venturebeat, the company will be prepared this time having produced nearly 50 times the amount of supply compared to its last handset in order to fill the demand.
There has been much criticism about how the company goes about selling its products but, as of now, we can expect a similar route to the OnePlus One. The company is said to be preparing the use of reservations to invites. So prospective buyers will have to make a reservation, wait for an invite, and then finally purchase the OnePlus 2.
If you want to watch the announcement, the company is broadcasting in virtual reality, and you can order their cardboard virtual reality headset to stream.
Via: Venturebeat
Come comment on this article: OnePlus will have 50 times more inventory at launch than it did with the OnePlus one
FCC decides to delay decision on rules for 600 MHz auction
The FCC commissioners met today with a goal of establishing rules for an auction of 600 MHz spectrum scheduled to take place in 2016. The auction is shaping up to be one of the more complex actions undertaken by the FCC as they try to move spectrum from use by television broadcasters to use by mobile carriers. This change is compounded by the FCC’s desire to not see the large wireless carriers like Verizon and AT&T use their deep war chests of funds to buy up the available spectrum. Today the FCC announced they have delayed a decision on the final rules until at least their next meeting on August 6th.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler issued the following statement regarding the delay,
“In the spirit of cooperation that has marked our work together on the incentive auctions, I am today postponing Commission consideration of this order and the related reconsideration of the mobile spectrum holdings order until the Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting on August 6. I believe that even with this delay we will be able to stay on course for the first quarter of 2016.”
Sources believe part of the reason for the delay is some new data produced by the Incentive Auction Task Force made available after their latest round of computer simulations predicting the results of the auction. The National Association of Broadcasters issued a response to the simulations expressing concern as to whether it was done properly. Earlier this week T-Mobile lobbyist and former representative Henry Waxman had proposed some compromise rules for consideration. Waxman was one of the architects of the legislation authorizing the auction when he was a member of Congress.
source: Android Headlines
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Marshall Headphones creates its first smartphone, the music-focused London
Just the other day we saw Commodore resurrected out of nowhere with plans to immediately release an Android phone. While the phone has nostalgia going for it, the Commodore PET is otherwise a pretty ordinary Chinese white label device making it a lot less unique in reality. For those truly looking for an original device that will stand out from the crowd while also delivering distinctive features that make it worthy of your consideration, you might want to take a look at the London instead.
The London is the first smartphone from Marshall Headphones and, as you’d probably guess considering the brand behind it, the phone’s primary focus is in creating an optimal music experience. And at least on paper, it doesn’t disappoint, packing two-front facing speakers, two audio outputs, and a dedicated M button that can be assigned to your favorite music app. You’ll also find high-quality audio processing which Marshall says allows it to “play at a higher resolution”. Last but not least, you’ll also get a pair of Marshall Mode in-ear headphones with the London.
The London certainly sounds badass when it comes to music, but it doesn’t end there. The London is also a visually appealing device that is matte-black with gold accents on the buttons and on the volume scroll wheel. Yes, it has a scroll wheel instead of a typical volume rocker.
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Of course, looks and sounds aren’t all that matter. Does this thing have enough power under the hood? Yes and no. The London is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 with 2GB RAM. While that’s not a bad processing package and should provide a reasonably solid Android experience, it’s far from bleeding edge. Other specs include 16GB storage, microSD, a removable 2500 mAh battery, a 4.7-inch 720p display, an 8MP main cam, 2MP front cam, and Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.
The software appears to be mostly stock-like in nature, though Marshall is including a number of pre-loaded custom apps designed to record music, make listening to music better, and more.
The London will set users back 4,995 Swedish Krona, or about $590, when it arrives on August 21st. While that’s a pretty high asking price for a normal Snapdragon 410-powered device, the London’s visuals and extraordinary audio aspects could certainly make it worthwhile for you audiophiles out there.
For those interesting in picking up the Marshall London, you can click here to pre-order now.
Samsung’s future could rest on a single vote
Samsung Electronics might be one of the world’s largest technology companies and the largest Korean company by market cap but the manufacturer is facing a lot of struggles. Despite revamping its product line with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge – and also with the upcoming Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus – the handset maker is still facing a troubled year with poor sales that have many questioning whether its strategy is indeed the best way forward.
As if these challenges weren’t enough, the company is also going through a transition from the Group’s President, Lee Kun-hee, to his son, Lee Jae-yong. The elder Lee was the man who spearheaded Samsung’s rise from a bit-part player in the mobile industry to the world’s top device manufacturer but suffered a heart attack last year, which rendered him unable to fulfil his duties.
The younger Lee seems set to take the reigns at Samsung but his future will depend on the outcome of the shareholder vote being held tomorrow and with just a day to go, the votes are too close to call.
A transitional period
The shareholder vote is on the proposed merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T (Construction and Trading), which is being opposed by US hedge fund Elliott Associates. How does the vote determine the future of Samsung? Well it’s simple (it’s actually not simple as Samsung’s company structure is ridiculously complicated but we’ll do our best to keep it simple):
Samsung Electronics may be the largest and most important company in the Samsung Group family but it is joined by around 80 other companies across a span of industries including finance, construction, semiconductors and life insurance.
The biggest issue is that while the Lee family owns small direct stakes in each of the companies, its real power is derived from the cross-ownership structure of the Group; each company in the Samsung family owns stakes in other Samsung companies meaning Lee’s true power is derived from the ability to use this leverage to influence the strategy and decision-making of the entire Group.
As noted by TechCrunch, Cheil Industries owns 19.3% of Samsung Life insurance and Life owns 7.2% of Samsung Electronics. As a result of the proposed merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, the Lee family would gain leverage over Samsung Electronics thanks to the newly-combined company’s partial ownership of Samsung Life and thus Samsung Electronics.
Korean Law is a double-edged sword
Korean Law also plays a big part in this rather confusing ownership structure as – unlike other countries – it dictates that a company cannot set the price of its merger and instead it is calculated using the price of its stock and a formula.
This particular securities law plays a big part in the Samsung merger and shareholder vote as Samsung C&T has been trading well below its true value – which would be a lot higher in other markets considering its partial ownership of Samsung Electronics – allowing Cheil to purchase it at a heavily discounted price.
The Korean securities law may have presented the opportunity for Lee Jae-yong to gain additional leverage through the merger but Korean inheritance laws are also a big reason the merger is happening.
While the elder Lee owns large stakes throughout the Samsung Group, the younger Lee faces billions of dollars in inheritance taxes when he does take control of his father’s stake. As a result, his ownership is likely to shrink considerably and he’s aiming to keep his leverage in the Group through this (and possibly other) mergers.
The vote and the future of Samsung
So where does this complex structure leave us? With the Lee family (and affiliates) needing the merger to go through to ensure that, regardless of the shrunken size of the family’s stake after taxes, they still have enough leverage to affect Samsung’s future.
Samsung in video:
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According to analysis from the Wall Street Journal, the Lee family (and associates) hold about 31% of the votes (all in favour of the merger) while around 9.5% of votes are currently against the merger. The rest of the votes are in the hands of ordinary investors and while Korea is called the Republic of Samsung as Koreans have a lot of pride in the success of the business, the manufacturer has faced a lot of criticism in its homeland.
The vote is just hours away and could play a large part in determining the future of Samsung Electronics while also having a marked effect on the mobile industry in general. As the world’s largest manufacturer and one of the world’s leading technology companies, Samsung’s actions can have a knock on effect on other OEMs and should Lee fail to push through the merger, it’s possible that this may lead to Samsung Electronics being usurped on the global stage.
Huawei reveals that the Honor 7 is coming to Europe in new video
Huawei has posted a video to YouTube, highlighting the tremendous accomplishments they’ve made with the Honor 7 already. In the video, Huawei has also outlined plans to expand the handset’s availability to get in more consumers’ hands.
The video reveals some interesting statistics: the device had over 2 million pre-orders in just 12 hours, and 9 million pre-orders in its first week. At its core, it’s a testament to how well Chinese manufactures have the potential to do in the market. Most devices out of China are cheap knock-offs, however, Huawei has made a big leap offering such a high-powered device like its Honor 7.
In the video, Huawei has also announced that the Honor 7 will be coming to Europe, which is a sensible move after seeing such great success already.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The device comes in a few variations, however, all of them are sporting a gorgeous 5.2-inch 1080p display, 3GB of RAM, a 20-megapixel rear camera, and fingerprint scanning technology. Its most impressive model features a quad-core 2.2GHz Cortex-A53 CPU and a quad-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 processor, powered by a 3,100mAh battery.
The Honor 7 is also running Huawei’s Emotion 3.1 launcher atop of Android Lollipop. Pricing in China starts at CNY 1,999 or $320 USD.
Now there’s only one question: when will Huawei bring this device to the United States to properly compete with big players in the market, such as Samsung and Apple?
source: Honor (YouTube)
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Xiaomi launches the 4k Mi TV 2S with impressive hardware and an aggressive price tag
Xiaomi has launched a new TV in the Mi TV lineup, and it looks like a seriously impressive piece of hardware. The Mi TV 2S has a 48-inch 4k resolution display and an aluminum frame that comes in at only 9.9 mm thick. It’s running the latest version of MIUI, which is based on Android 5.0.
The processing power in this thing doesn’t slack off either, with a quad-core 1.4 GHz CPU and a Mali T760MP4 GPU. The Mi TV 2S is capable of decoding 4k resolution at 60 FPS and has a slew of ports you’d expect from a high-end TV, including HDMI and USB ports, and even Bluetooth connectivity.
Pricing is arguably the best part of this TV; Xiaomi is launching the Mi TV 2S at 2,999 Yuan, which is about $485. A 48-inch 4k TV for under $500 is insane.
You probably won’t see this globally anytime soon, but we can still dream.
source: MIUI
via: Android Central
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Commodore is back in the form of a cheap Chinese smartphone
Commodore was once a brand that manufactured electronics and home computers. They were one of the original big computer brands that lasted from 1954-1994 when it finally claimed bankruptcy. With that long lifespan many people grew up with Commodore and still hold them true to their hearts. It looks like fans may or may not be excited to see them make a comeback in the form on an Android phone.
When Commodore filed for bankruptcy back in 1994 an unknown company purchased all the rights to the brand. We heard nothing for years, but only two years ago, a federal court ruled that the trademark belonged to Commodore Holdings B.V., a Dutch company that has been silent ever since. Now two Italian entrepreneurs Carlo Scattolini and Massimo Canigiani have registered the name Commodore Business Machines Limited in the United Kingdom and say they own all the rights to the brand and trademark in the mobile industry in 38 countries, including the US.
The “Commodore PET”, was once a desktop computer launched in 1977. While the computer has long been gone it is now making a comeback in the form of an Android phone with the same name.
Commodore PET smartphone specifications
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5.5-inch IPS 1920×1080 pixel screen, coated with Gorilla Glass 3
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1.7 GHz Mediatek 64-bit octa-core processor
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ARM Mali T760 GPU
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Main camera has a 13MP Sony sensor with a bright f/2.0 aperture, dedicated shutter button
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8MP selfie camera with 80 degree wide angle lens
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Dual-SIM 4G connectivity
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Aluminium frame construction with interchangeable polycarbonate covers in white, biscuit-beige, green, blue and other colours
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3000mAh battery
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Android 5.0 Lollipop
There is said to be two models made with the above specs, but with different amounts of memory. The cheaper $300 Light model comes in 16GB with 2GB of RAM and a $365 model with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. Both ship with a 32GB micro SD card with a maximum 64GB card support. It all looks good on paper, but that’s when things start to get fishy.
Earlier reports were going around that Commodore was back with a new smartphone, but after some research from Android Police it appears that may or may not be true, but leaning more towards not true. The phone in question appears to be a “Orgtec Wa Phone” with a Commodore logo slapped on the back. This Chinese phone sells for only $145 for the 64GB model. That is a $220 markup just for the Commodore logo on the back. The two phones appear to literally be identical with just different printed logos.
Not only that, but the phone itself may be illegally using the logo. A company named Asiarim Corp got the trademark back in 2011, but lost control to creditors shortly after. The Commodore brand seems to be in a weird situation where not one company can just use the trademark. We are not sure at this time if a Commodore phone will be coming soon or if it’s basically a knock off.
Source: Wired
Via: Hexus, Android Police, Android Community
Come comment on this article: Commodore is back in the form of a cheap Chinese smartphone
European Commission opens up two antitrust investigations on Qualcomm
Qualcomm really isn’t having a great year. Not only has there been tons and tons of controversy over their 2015 flagship CPU, the Snapdragon 810, but now the European Commission has opened two antitrust investigations into the company. Ouch.
The first investigation relates to whether or not Qualcomm offered financial incentives for their customers to purchase exclusively Qualcomm products. The second investigation will look into pricing and whether or not Qualcomm engaged in “predatory pricing” where they aggressively priced down their product with the sole purpose of forcing other competition out of the market. No company ever wants to be accused of either of those things.
These investigations are new, so there’s no evidence one way or the other just yet. But we’ve seen how quickly the European Commission moves when it’s dealing with other tech giants like Google and Amazon, so expect to hear more on this as it unfolds.
source: Reuters
Come comment on this article: European Commission opens up two antitrust investigations on Qualcomm
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