LG G Flex 2 spotted in promotional poster at CES 2015
It’s unofficially official! After almost an entire year of speculation, it now appears that LG’s marvelous Musa has sprouted a successor to the G Flex. A few weeks back we reported on a probable launch, but now, thanks to an image obtained by The Verge, we have the following to feast our appetites on:
At this point absolutely nothing is known about the phone’s specs, however Qualcomm itself hinted at the device featuring a Snapdragon processor. Given that LG has made a promotional point of its Plastic OLED technology, the Flex 2 will probably make use of it, although nothing is set in stone.
Taking a look at the poster, the two most immediately noticeable points are the new logo (complete with the device’s curved shape represented below the word “Flex”) and the front of the device, which seems to resemble the recently released LG L Bello and L Fino smartphones, mostly by the more squared corners.
As far as the curve itself goes, it doesn’t appear to be dramatically more pronounced than the original, however given the rumors of higher specs, perhaps the screen will be of 1080 resolution (or higher). Rumors have also suggested the device will have a smaller screen compared to the 6-inch nature of the original. The thought of a G3 (or G4?) hardware base for this futuristic flagship may go a long way to making mainstream consumers consider it. With CES kicking off in about a day, we will inevitably be learning more soon. And who knows, maybe the rumored LG Vu 4 will also make an appearance!
So, now that the device is all but confirmed and official, who [else] is going to get it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Spotted at CES 2015: LG G Flex 2 poster says it is “redefining the curve”
CES is a beautiful time of the year where we find out all about the products we should expect in the year to come. CES 2015 should be no different, though it appears the press on the ground in Las Vegas already have spotted some interesting promotion material. The LG G Flex 2 poster shown below […]
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LG Curved LG G Flex 2 with Snapdragon 810 to be announced at CES 2015
PhoneArena reports that LG will reveal the LG G Flex 2 at CES 2015. As the name implies, the phone will offer a curved display, just like its predecessor. Korean website Naver confirms this and adds that the device will contain a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor with LTE-A connectivity with tri-band carrier aggregation.
The site could not confirm anymore details. However, according to rumors, the display will be smaller than the six-inch, 720p screen featured on previous the G Flex. The LG G Flex 2 is expected to have a 5- to 5.5-inch 1080p display and a self-healing rear back.
We won’t have to wait long to confirm the matter since CES starts next week on January 6.
Source: PhoneArena
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LG G Flex 2 coming next week at CES
The LG G Flex (pictured above) wasn’t a bad phone, but it was just a little too big (6-inch display) in my humble opinion. I remember saying in my review that if it were in the 5-inch range, I might have been all over it. It looks like I might just get to see that next week at CES.
Word is that LG will unveil the G Flex 2 next week, which will most likely be at their press event on January 5th. The G Flex 2 is expected to be around 5.5-inches, just like the G3. It’s also expected to sport the new Snapdragon 810 chip, which is not only 64-bit, but it’s also octa-core.
What’s strange is that Qualcomm hinted via a Tweet that a phone would launch at CES with the 800 chip and the image was clearly an LG phone. Putting the pieces together means that it has to be the G Flex 2, but an 800 chip? I am assuming they meant an 800 “series” chip because I’m not sure why anyone needs to get excited about the 800 since we already have devices with the 801 and 805.
Does the G Flex 2 excite you at all?
source: Naver
via: Cult Of Android
Come comment on this article: LG G Flex 2 coming next week at CES
LG will allegedly announce its LG G Flex 2 at CES 2015 next week
LG has been planning a follow-up to its most novel device of 2013, the LG G Flex, for some time now, and while several alleged release dates have come and gone, no device has surfaced yet. Fortunately, it appears rumours regarding this device aren’t dead yet, and its rumoured that the LG will announce the LG G […]
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Huawei smartphone sales grow by 40% in 2014 according to leaked memo
It is no secret by now that Chinese smartphone manufacturers are finally starting to generate some significant momentum in gaining market share through increasing sales of devices. A leaked memo floating around Huawei as the company preps for the public announcement of their 2014 results reveals strong growth for the manufacturer. According to the data revealed in the memo, sales rose by almost one-third to $11.8 billion in 2014 on the back of a 40% increase in smartphone shipments. If there is any downside, it is the fact that Huawei’s estimated 75 million smartphones shipped lags below their target of 80 million units for the year.
Huawei is not the only Chinese manufacturer expected to report on major success during 2014. Xiaomi sold 26 million smartphones during the first half of 2014 and is thought to be on its way to meeting a target of 60 million for the year. If they succeed, Xiaomi’s sales will have tripled compared to the prior year. Things are looking so good for Xiaomi that they received a new infusion of equity financing this week based on their $45 billion valuation which pegs them at the top spot in the whole world for a private technology company.
Another manufacturer of note is LG Electronics which reportedly has seen smartphone shipments increase by around 26 percent during 2014 according to analysts.
These three manufacturers represent a growing tide of companies that are rising up to grab significant market share for smartphones. That growth is expected to come at the expense of the large companies like Samsung which is expected to have flat shipment numbers for 2014 and Apple which anticipates 20 percent growth. Looking ahead to 2015, analysts expect Lenovo, thanks to their recent acquisition of Motorola, will be in the running with Huawei and Xiaomi to be the top Chinese smartphone vendor in 2015.
source: Reuters
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Android hardware profits estimated to have halved in 2014
2014 has certainly been an interesting year for Android, but hardware manufacturers have been having a tougher time over the past twelve months, especially when it comes to turning a profit.
According to analyst Chetan Sharma, global profits within the Android hardware market are estimated to have dropped by approximately 50 percent compared to 2013. Despite the continued growth in Android’s market share and record smartphone shipments, a worse than expected year for some of Android’s largest manufacturers and the growth in nibble low-cost competitors has eaten into manufacturing profit margins.
Samsung’s substantial market presence and poor financial year is one of the largest factors in this decline in averaged profitability. In Q3 2014, Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications division saw a 74 percent decline in profitability compared with the previous year and has averaged a 35 percent quarterly decline in mobile profits this year.http://embed.chartblocks.com/1.0/?c=546b614dc9a61d340d999f8a&t=8d5a273b4d8afcfHTC and Sony are two other big smartphone brands that have seen profits squeezed lately. LG’s slightly lower cost hardware has seen its smartphone shipments improve, but profits are still hard to come by. The real winners this year have been low cost Chinese manufacturers, which have managed to substantially undercut the big brands with considerably cheaper, high-end hardware. Xiaomi has risen to become one of the global market’s largest players in a very short space of time due to its competitively priced hardware. This business model is proving profitable and has begun to spread to other Android manufacturers, but lower retail prices are resulting in smaller profits.
It is important for Google that the ecosystem stays healthy and balanced. Without profitability, some of these players will eventually disappear and it will primarily become a Samsung + Chinese OEMs ecosystem. – Chetan Sharma
Cheaper prices for the same hardware is clearly beneficial to consumers, at least in the short term, but Google will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the profitability of its essential partners. The risk is that the rise of cheaper Chinese OEMs will start hurting Google’s own profit margins, as these companies tend to ship their own customized versions of Android and often don’t include Google’s own services with their devices.
Others have a slightly less pessimistic view of this power shift in the Android ecosystem, seeing the rise of cheaper OEMs as a market efficiency. Samsung’s decline in profitability is no accident, other OEMs in the Android space may simply be doing a better job at providing the hardware consumers want at a price they are more willing to pay. Many have said that low cost manufacturers can’t sustain profits in the long term, but they are the fastest growing Android OEMs at the moment.
Android momentum in the broader startup ecosystem continues despite some of the near term profitability questions of the manufacturers, – Rich Wong, Accel Partners
The next twelve months will reveal whether or not this shift towards lower cost manufacturers will result in a changing of the guard, or if some of the traditional brands can rejuvenate their profits with superior products.
Palm might make a return thanks to Alcatel Onetouch
Most fans of smartphones would say that Palm’s popular webOS software died much too soon. In 2010 after HP bought webOS, they killed it off and allowed it to (slightly) live on as an open OS called Open webOS. Following the launch of Open webOS, LG acquired the operating system, but only the websites, documentation, source code and team behind the client side of webOS. After the LG acquisition almost two years ago, we haven’t really heard much of the operating system aside from a few rumors of LG bringing it to a smartwatch and the TV. We may be hearing much more about it in the future, though, thanks to some recent reports uncovered from the USPTO. According to webOS Nation, it seems as though Alcatel Onetouch, and Android device manufacturer, (sort of) purchased the brand as well as all trademarks and logos from HP earlier this year.
The documents that have been uncovered from the United States Patent and Trademark Office show that the brand and all trademarks and logos have been transferred to a “shelf company” called Wide Progress Global Limited. A ‘shelf company’ is a legitimate company that’s inactive, meant for people who need a quick jump on starting a business. So, how does this relate to Alcatel Onetouch? The vice president of the shelf company is Nicolas Zibell, who is also the President, Americas and Pacific, of Alcatel Onetouch and TCL. So, the President of Alcatel Onetouch transfers Palm’s brand, trademarks, and logos to a shelf company that he’s also the VP of. There aren’t too many reasons why transferring the remainder of Palm to a shelf company would be warranted, unless Alcatel Onetouch is planning on resurrecting the brand.
Alcatel Onetouch has released devices in the past named Palm, so this could be a giant ploy to protect themselves from legal issues. Though, there wouldn’t be much reason to transfer it all to a shelf company, just to avoid getting sued. The only other valid reason this is happening is because the company is actually going to do something with the brand. Now remember, we haven’t heard official word that Alcatel Onetouch is bringing back Palm, but it seems as though that’s the only reasoning behind all of this trouble.
Alcatel Onetouch isn’t the most prominent brand out there, especially in the United States. They offer a few lower-end phones, though the entirety of their smartphone line is very low-cost. Only time will tell whether or not Alcatel Onetouch will actually do something with the Palm brand, but right now, it seems pretty likely.
HTC teases a new Desire smartphone for CES 2015
HTC took to its official Weibo account earlier today to confirm it will definitely be making an appearance at CES in January together with ASUS, LG and Sony. According to the teaser image posted with the announcement, the Taiwanese company is set to unveil the latest handset in its Desire range of smartphones.
It’s unclear at present if the new Desire device will feature similar specifications to HTC’s long-rumored Hima flagship, but renowned leaker @Upleaks firmly believes that the handset, dubbed the A52, will be marketed as the company’s second-generation “selfie phone”, boasting a 13-megapixel front-facing camera on a 16GB model and a whopping 4-ultrapixel front shooter on a 32GB variant.
HTC will be holding its launch event between 5:00pm and 7:00pm on Monday, January 5.
We will be reporting live with news and first-hand experiences during the conference – so stay tuned to Talk Android for more coverage on what the Taiwanese company has in store for us.
Source: Weibo
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The LG G4 could have a stylus of its own to compete with the Note 4’s S Pen
Earlier this month, a trademark submitted by LG was spotted aiming to reserve the rights to the name, “G Pen“. Obviously referring to a stylus, this gave birth to discussions regarding whether LG was starting development of a device with a stylus that would eventually see it go to battle with Samsung‘s phablets. As it turns out, rumours are […]
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