Mstar’s high-end S700 Pro to be unveiled in October
According to a recent report, Mstar, a Chinese manufacturer of cheap knock-off Android smartphones is releasing its first high-end device in October. The device known as the S700 Pro will come with top-of-the-line specs and a high quality zinc alloy body.
According to an article published by GizChina today, Mstar is trying to compete with other tech giants by releasing a high-end smartphone for a competitive price. The S700Pro is expected to come with a 64-bit Snapdragon 820 SoC (quad-core CPU running at 3Ghz) and the Adreno 530 GPU. On top of that, 4GB of RAM and 32Gb of native storage will be found under the hood of the flagship. The S700 Pro will also come with a 5.5-inch QuadHD (1440 x 2560 pixels) display protected by a 2.5D gorilla glass 3. Other specs include a micro-SD slot to expand memory up to 128GB, a 3500mAh battery and an Ultrasonic Sense fingerprint sensor from Qualcomm.
The phone’s main camera will have a 21MP sensor and the front camera an 11MP sensor. A USB Type-C port will also be featured on the device, and Android 5.1.1 will come pre-installed.
The S700 Pro has quite remarkable specs that could potentially compete with other high-end devices from more popular competitors. The device has an expected price of $479,99, which considering its high-end specs is a reasonable and competitive price.
Source: Giz China
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Mstar’s high-end S700 Pro to be unveiled in October
Xolo BLACK with 5.5-Inch Full-HD display and dual rear cameras launches for Rs. 12,999
There are a lot of options when it coming to buying a smartphone in India, its a fiercely contested market with both local and foreign manufacturers duking it out for sales. Here we have the Xolo launching its first device under its BLACK sub-brand, which will be available exclusively via the Indian retailer, Flipkart for Rs. 12.999 ($205).
The Xolo Black sports some interesting features such as a dual-rear camera set-up (like HTC did with the M8) that allows you to first take the picture and then adjust the focus at a later time (UbiFocus). The rear panel has an oleophobic coating to guard against fingerprints and smudges. Both the front and rear are protected by Corning Glass 3.
Xolo’s HIVE Atlas feature allows you to store apps and data discretely, away from prying eyes. There’s a Reading mode that converts text to black-and-white that gives an e-book experience. Xolo has also pre-installed its Comet Browser that it says helps with saving both data and power. Let’s have a look at what else is included for Rs. 12,999.
Specifications:
- Android 5.0 Lollipop with HIVE UI 1.5
- 5.5-Inch Full HD display (1920 x 1080), Corning Glass 3 protection
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-core processor (64-bit)
- Adreno 405 GPU
- 2GB LPDDR3 RAM
- 16GB Internal storage
- MicroSD card support (up to 32GB)
- 13MP Rear camera with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture plus 2MP secondary camera for depth sensing
- 5MP Front camera with LED flash
- Hybrid Dual-SIM (second SIM slot can also be used as a MicroSD card slot)
- 4G/LTE, 3G, HSPA+
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
- Dimensions: 7.7mm thick
- Battery: 3,200mAh
Xolo has partnered up with Vodafone, who will have the BLACK available in 100 stores for customers to get a hands-on feel for the device. As an incentive to purchase, the Xolo BLACK will come with 1GB of free data and unlimited access to Vodafone Music for 2 months each bundled in. What do you think of the Xolo BLACK?
Source: FoneArena
Come comment on this article: Xolo BLACK with 5.5-Inch Full-HD display and dual rear cameras launches for Rs. 12,999
Uber ‘reviews’ its own app to justify London surge pricing
Uber often defends its “surge” price increases by explaining capitalism, but it took a new tack after a controversial surge in London. The city was gripped by a tube strike yesterday that brought train service to a standstill, forcing commuters to find other ways to get to work. The sudden demand for buses, taxis and ridesharing services kicked Uber’s app into surge mode, causing fares to triple at one point. That produced a lot of righteous anger in social media and the press, prompting the company to release an article “reviewing” its own app against others to show that surges are a good thing.
Uber compared its own wait times to Gett, Hailo and Adison Lee, and (wait for it) came out on top. Addressing the controversial fares, it said that the higher rates benefit everybody since more drivers are motivated to hit the road. And during the strike, it said that double the number of UberX drivers were available. It added that the surge fares weren’t actually that bad, since Uber pricing is often lower than taxis and other services to begin with.
Nevertheless, its own chart also showed that a £19 cab far could’ve run as high as £32.50 when surge pricing hit 2.5X in the AM (it went as high as 2.9X). Uber said that it provides users with a clear warning about surge pricing, and offers the option of waiting for it to go down. It also reminded everyone that “no one has to travel when surge pricing is in effect – it’s entirely your choice.” Still, other see it differently. A London mayoral candidate told the Guardian, “Uber may be very clever with their ‘dynamic demand,’ but it still looks like a rip-off when you are struggling to get to and from work while the tube is out of action.”
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Uber
Samsung May Announce Galaxy Note 5 in August to Beat iPhone Launch
Samsung is planning to move up the launch of the Galaxy Note 5 by one month to avoid competing with Apple’s annual iPhone event in September, according to The Wall Street Journal. The South Korean handset maker will reportedly unveil the next Galaxy Note in mid-August instead of announcing the smartphone at the IFA Berlin trade show in early September as it has done for four consecutive years.
Apple introduced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus just six days after the Galaxy Note 4 was announced on September 3 last year, shifting much of the media coverage and consumer attention away from Samsung. After experiencing poor Galaxy S6 sales, Samsung will reportedly look to avoid that same fate by unveiling the Galaxy Note 5 about one month earlier to maximize awareness of the new smartphone.
WSJ says Samsung will announce Samsung Galaxy Note 5 a few weeks early to combat iPhones
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A lot has been made of the competitiveness between Samsung and Apple, however it looks like this year could be reaching a fever pitch. For as long as the Galaxy Note family of Samsung devices has existed, they have been announced at IFA in September, and it was expected that the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 would continue this tradition. This is usually followed by an Apple announcement just a week later, and this year’s Apple announcement is expected to be an iPhone 6S. According to WSJ, Samsung is about to change up its game plan and announce the Galaxy Note 5 a few weeks earlier than IFA, as early as mid-August, to give it a few extra weeks’ grace before Apple’s device is announced.
This has a number of benefits for the Korean manufacturer, namely being able to actually physically release their device around the same time as the new iPhone as well as helping to stabilize their sales performance which has been less than stellar despite the critical success of its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. If Samsung hadn’t changed up so many things this year, I would have dismissed this story like all the others, but it’s been reported so many times lately that it can’t be just a coincidence.
Do you think Samsung is going to announce the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 early? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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OnePlus 2 to be smaller than OnePlus One, have 3,300mAh battery and will still use an invite system
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Being a smaller, young company, OnePlus is actually relatively well suited to holding a Reddit AMA, so that’s exactly what they did today, fielding questions about their upcoming smartphone, the OnePlus 2 (yes, it’s definitely spelt with a “2” and not a “Two”). From the AMA, we’ve learn that the OnePlus 2 is going to be smaller than their first smartphone, the OnePlus One – the above image was provided with the comment “I can only tell you that under this OnePlus One there is a OnePlus 2″. Whether that means the screen size has actually decreased or that the bezels are thinner remains to be seen.
The AMA also revealed that the OnePlus 2 is going to have a 3,300mAh battery, and is going to be sold through an “improved” invite system. We’ll reserve judgement until we see how this newer invite system fares in the device’s first few weeks, but the invite system to sell the OnePlus One probably made the device harder to get than expected. OnePlus also teased earlier this week that the OnePlus 2 will have 4GB RAM, but later clarified that some regions will have a 3GB RAM variant too.
What do you think about the OnePlus 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Reddit via TalkAndroid
The post OnePlus 2 to be smaller than OnePlus One, have 3,300mAh battery and will still use an invite system appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
IBM announces the world’s first working 7nm chip
IBM, in conjunction with GlobalFoundries, Samsung and SUNY, has unveiled the world’s first successful production of a 7nm FinFET chip with fully working transistors. The achievement comes as part of a $3 billion, five year research program spearheaded by IBM, which aims to push the limits of chip technology.
Today’s leading mobile processors are built on 14nm and 20nm manufacturing techniques. This 7nm breakthrough will eventually lead to smaller, faster and more energy efficient processors. However, before we go any further, it’s important to note that we are still years away from any potentially viable mass manufacturing techniques at 7nm.
Just yesterday we were talking about the ongoing race to 10nm, but to reach even smaller chip sizes we’re going to need new manufacturing techniques and new materials, plain old silicon just won’t cut it here. This is where IBM’s research comes in.
For a little background, one of the difficulties associated with smaller transistors (the electronic switches that form that basis of processors) is that the number of electrons able to squeeze through the transistor (aka the current) is also reduced, which increases the chance of errors. To combat this issue, IBM mixed some germanium into the channel, producing a silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloy with higher electron mobility, thereby improving the current flow. SiGe also helps to keep power consumption low and transistor switching at high speeds.
SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering’s Michael Liehr, left, and IBM’s Bala Haranand look at wafer comprised of 7nm chips
The other half of successfully producing such small chips is actually developing manufacturing tools detailed and accurate enough to etch out your processor design on such a small scale. IBM made its chip using EUV lithography, which uses a wavelength of just 13.5nm to etch out chip features. This is substantially smaller than the 193nm wavelength of state of the art argon fluoride lasers used at 14nm.
However, EUV is still expensive and difficult to use, making its suitability for time constrained mass production questionable. The tiniest errors at this size can completely undermine production, so expensive stabilizing isolation equipment and buildings are required to protect the manufacturing tools from vibrations. Some observers are concerned about the diminishing savings associated with ever smaller processors, as difficult and more expensive manufacturing techniques eat into the cost benefits of being able to squeeze more chips onto the same silicon area.
It is still too early to say when 7nm mass production capabilities will be ready, but firms have their sights set for sometime around 2017/2018.
Flying R2-D2 will grace the skies over this year’s Comic-Con
Otto Dieffenbach is famous for crafting drones that look like pop culture icons, and this one is no exception. Just in time for this year’s Comic-Con, the self-described creator of “Identifiable Flying Objects” has created an R2-D2 model that can fly. From a distance, it looks just like everybody’s favorite beeping pedal bin, but in fact it’s just a hollowed-out casing for a quadcopter that’ll hover over the skies of San Diego. So, if you’re hanging out at the show, look up every now and again — you might see something that’ll bring back your memories of Attack of the Clone… actually, no, don’t do that.
Filed under: Transportation, Internet
WSJ: Samsung launching Galaxy Note 5 early to beat Apple
Samsung is believed to be bringing the launch date of the Galaxy Note 5 forward by a few weeks in order to beat Apple to the punch. The Wall Street Journal believes that the Korean company will announce its phablet gigantophone in August and get it into stores ahead of the iPhone 6S. It’s a break from tradition, since Samsung normally refreshes the Note line at IFA in the first week of September. Last year, however, the iPhone 6 arrived around the same time and, presumably, stole enough thunder to prompt the change.
The move would give the company something to shout about after seeing its smartphone sales slip between April and June. It’s believed that Samsung misread demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge which was significantly more popular than it had anticipated. By bringing the launch of the Galaxy Note 5 forward by a few weeks, the device could be in stores by September and/or encourage fair-weather users to wait a few more days when it comes to upgrade time.
[Image Credit: AP]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Source: Wall Street Journal
Disney wins duel with fancy dress shop over starwars.co.uk
After owning the domain name starwars.co.uk for the past ten years, a fancy dress retailer in the UK is being forced to relinquish it to Disney. Costumier Jokers’ Masquerade has used the domain to point visitors towards its range of licensed Star Wars outfits, but was asked by Disney to hand it over last year. It refused, so Disney, which acquired Lucasfilm and the rights to Star Wars in 2012, asked UK domain registrar Nominet to step in. Now, following a three-month review, Nominet has ruled that starwars.co.uk, starwars.uk and five other related domains be surrendered.
Speaking to the BBC, the chief exec of Jokers’ Masquerade parent company Abscicca said Disney had “thrown their teddies out of the pram,” mainly because the house that Walt built weren’t able to secure rights to the starwars.uk domain. As part of the launch of .uk addresses last year, Nominet offered owners of .co.uk sites shotgun on the corresponding .uk domain. Naturally, Abscicca jumped at the offer, but Disney’s lawyers reached out soon afterwards. Abscicca tried to strike a deal, agreeing to transfer ownership of the shorter .uk address if it could retain control of starwars.co.uk and another domain.
Disney declined the offer, but it didn’t have to throw too many legal midi-chlorians at the situation. It simply asked Nominet to get involved, and as a spokesperson for the registrar describes it, it was deemed “any user searching for Star Wars and arriving at the respondent’s website will have suffered initial interest, confusion and falsely inferred a commercial connection with the complainant.” Or, in other words, anyone stumbling onto the site was probably looking for an official portal, not a Yoda costume for their pup. Nominet also concluded that Abscicca was taking advantage of the popularity of the Star Wars name to drive people to its site, essentially under false pretenses.
You can’t really fault Nominet’s logic, so the fact it’s sided with Disney isn’t much of a surprise. Abscicca still has the opportunity to appeal, but even if the process drags on, the Disney machine probably won’t hesitate to put an army of lawyers to work. Or the two could just settle it with an old-fashioned lightsaber duel. If lightsabers existed, that is.
Filed under: Internet
Source: BBC
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