AT&T gets Moto Maker timed-exclusive, Moto X+1 may cost $249

Posted: 30 Aug 2014, 00:31, by Michael H.

Some new information has leaked tonight regarding the Moto X+1, and the big news may be that the Moto X+1 will cost $249, but that price tag actually makes sense because it will be for a 32GB model. The odd thing is that the "16GB model is not confirmed but could come later at a budget price".

TKTechNews is reporting that AT&T will once again get Moto Maker before any other carriers, but it appears that Moto Maker also won't be available at launch for the Moto X+1. We have heard before that Verizon is scheduled to release the stock black and white models of the device on September 17th, but the new info says AT&T won't have those in store until September 28th. However, Moto Maker sales for AT&T will actually begin earlier. 

Motorola and AT&T might be planning a pre-order deal that will take place on September 6th (this is not yet confirmed), and allow users to design their own Moto X+1 complete with options for wood or leather backing. The deal will allow users to buy a customized AT&T Moto X+1 for $199, which is $50 off the standard price. After that day, Moto Maker sales will continue at the normal price, and be AT&T exclusive for a few weeks or one month. That isn't as long as the three month exclusive it had last year, but still more than we'd like. Also, with the Texas plant shutting down, Moto Maker orders for the U.S. have to come from Mexico, which will also mean a longer turnaround time for custom orders. It could be as long as 14 days. 

source: TKTechNew

OnePlus One To be Available for Pre-Order by October, Bye Bye Invites System

• Bogdan Pirvu
• August 29th, 2014
• Android News

When OnePlus launched its first product this year – OnePlus One, it completely redefined the high-end Android market space. It offered flagship level hardware at the price of a mid-range smartphone. Honestly OnePlus One does seem like the tech bargain of the year.
But… there was just one small problem. We couldn’t simply buy the OnePlus One like other smartphones. To own the device, one had to receive an invite, there was no getting around it.
Finally there appears to be a light of hope in the form of an official answer by OnePlus One Tech members Carl and David on Reddit during the OnePlus AskMeAnything Late August Edition. One of the members asked them when they planned to get rid of the invites system for selling the OnePlus One. The reply posted was “We are working on a pre-orders system, we were initially aiming for September but it’s been slightly delayed, hopefully we’ll be ready to launch it in October.”

That is some great news for the many interested individuals who have been waiting for the invites system to be dropped so they can finally get to own the device. Getting hold of an invite isn’t an easy task as you have to enter in various contests and promotional events or get it from someone who has already bought a OnePlus One.
Availability is also restricted to a select number of markets currently, so we do hope that pre-orders for the device won’t just be available in a few markets like now but would be extended to at least a few new markets.
The OnePlus One is one of the finest smartphones to have come out this year and really makes you wonder why you should be paying double the price for almost the same hardware from other more established Android OEMs. OnePlus One comes with a 5.5 inch Full HD IPS display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz processor, 3GB RAM, Sony Exmor RS IMX214 13 megapixel rear camera with 4K video recording, 16 and 64GB storage options, and a 3100mAh battery. It runs a custom CyanogenMod version based on Android KitKat version 4.4.4

Apple iPhone 6 event officially set for Sept. 9

Invites from the Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant give almost no hints, saying "wish we could say more." But the general consensus is that Apple will unveil its next smartphone.

• by Shara Tibken

Apple on Thursday sent out invites for a press event on Sept. 9 in its hometown of Cupertino, Calif.
The company provided few hints about what will be announced beyond saying "Wish we could say more." That could indicate something related to Siri, Apple's digital voice assistant. Generally, Apple is expected to introduce its newest iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 6. The company also could show off a wearable at the event.

The event will come a year after Apple introduced the iPhone 5S and 5C and a week after arch rival Samsung is set to unveil its Galaxy Note 4 phone-tablet hybrid, or phablet. Apple has added a new iPhone every year since former CEO Steve Jobs introduced the smartphone line in 2007, and new iPhones have been unveiled in the fall since 2011.
Many market watchers expect Apple to introduce two new iPhone 6 models with display sizes of 4.7 and 5.5 inches, though some recent reports speculate one device could be released at a later date. Analysts expect the iPhone 6 to be one of the largest product launches in Apple's history -- both in terms of device screen size and total sales. The company reportedly has asked manufacturing partners to produce about 30 percent to 40 percent more iPhones by the end of this year than it ordered for its initial run of last year's iPhone 5S and 5C.

For Apple, having a successful iPhone 6 launch is vital. Apple hosts only one phone event a year, and it generates more than half its revenue from its smartphone line. The iPhone serves as the linchpin to Apple's overall growth, particularly as the market awaits the widely speculated iWatch and as the iPad struggles against lower-cost rivals and larger phones.

Lenovo Vibe X2 leaks out: premium metal and first phone with a 'layered' design

Posted: 29 Aug 2014, 07:12, by Victor H.

Lenovo has picked up the pace recently opening up to new markets and hoping for even bigger growth as it completes the Motorola acquisitions, and one of the first devices to push its plans for the future is the Lenovo Vibe X2. The device is expected to get an official unveiling at IFA 2014 in Berlin in just a few days, but it has already leaked out on Chinese microblog Weibo.

What’s evident is that - unlike some (cough, Samsung) - Lenovo takes design seriously with the Vibe X2 and this latest leak shows it wearing clothes all out of metal, and a unique, ‘layered’ design. You can see this layering of colors on the images right below, and it’s an interesting new idea that we’re curious to hear your thoughts about.

For all else, the Vibe X2 is a fairly typical Android, likely to come with a very alluring price tag. Here are the specs highlights of the phone as per all the leaks so far:

• Android 4.4.2
• 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels
• 2GB of RAM 
• 16GB of internal storage
• 13MP main camera 
• 5MP front-facing shooter
• 2,250 mAh battery

How do you like what you see? And could the Vibe X2 make a dent in the market?

Google Nexus X With Snapdragon 805 Briefly Listed by Retailer: Report

by NDTV Correspondent, August 27, 2014

inShare

Google's much-anticipated successor to the Nexus 5 has reportedly been spotted again as the Motorola Nexus X XT1100 on a third-party retailer website in two storage variants.
Screenshots of the latest retailer listings (now pulled) were posted by Tktechnewsblog, the website that had earlier leaked a screenshot of a Motorola Nexus X XT1100 listing at US retailer Best Buy.
The latest listing on the Portugal store of French retailer Fnac revealed the pricing for two variants of the yet-to-be-announced Nexus X by Motorola.
The 32GB Motorola XT1100 Nexus X was seen listed at a price of EUR 419.99 (approximately Rs. 33,400) and 64GB at EUR 449.99 (approximately Rs. 35,800), before the listings were pulled down. Earlier the smartphone was seen to be priced at a rather high $499.99 (approximately Rs. 30,000) by Best Buy for two-year contract on Sprint wireless carrier.
The listed specifications by Fnac had included a 5.2-inch display; quad-core 2.7GHz APQ8084 Snapdragon 805 SoC; 13.1-megapixel primary camera, and Android Lemon Meringue 5.0. Notably, the specifications on the 32GB listing page contrarily shows a 6.3-inch display - effectively discrediting both listing pages. The processor and OS are similar to what was seen on the Best Buy listing, however, the 5.2-inch display on the 64GB Fnac listing is smaller than the 5.9-inch Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixels) display listed by US retailer.
Earlier, the anticipated smartphone was allegedly listed in benchmarks specifications as 'Google Shamu', with a 5.2-inch Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixels) display, a quad-core 2.7GHz (precisely 2649MHz) Snapdragon 805 processor (APQ8084), Adreno 420 GPU, and 3GB of RAM. The primary rear camera was suggested to be a 13-megapixel camera, while there will be a 2.1-megapixel front camera also onboard. The device was also listed to run Android L.
For the release date, an earlier PhoneArena report had claimed that the website has been told that Google is planning a secret launch around Halloween (October 31), just like the launch of the Nexus 5. The report had also noted that Google might launch the alleged Nexus X without an announcement.

Nexus X/Moto S passes through the FCC

Posted: 28 Aug 2014, 20:32, by Michael H.

A mystery Motorola device has just passed through the FCC today. We're not exactly sure what it is, but the evidence available limits the possibilities of what it could be to just two devices: the Moto S or the Nexus X. Both devices need to pass through the FCC before release, but neither one is expected to be released anytime soon.

The fact that it is a Motorola device is pretty easy to note, because the filing is directly attributed to Motorola. The reason why we believe it to be either the Nexus X or Moto S is because of the dimensions listed in the filing, which show the device height to be 140 mm (5.51-inches), the width is 72.6 mm (2.86-inches), and the screen diagonal is 149 mm (5.87-inches). The only Motorola devices in the pipeline at 5.87-inches (aka 5.9-inches) are the Moto S and Nexus X (which are essentially the same device). 

Of course, passing through the FCC doesn't have any real correlation that would indicate this device is near release. From what we know, the Nexus X is planned for a quiet release around Halloween, and there has been no word on when the Moto S would be released, but it is planned before Christmas. 

source: FCC via TKTechNews

Xiaomi to sell 40,000 Redmi 1S units on September 2

Xiaomi to sell 40,000 Redmi 1S units on September 2, over 100,000 have already registered

By Sambit Satpathy on Aug 28, 2014 at 1:16 PM

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Xiaomi’s entry-level Redmi 1S will go on sale on September 2, and today the company revealed that 40,000 units of the smartphone will be available on Flipkart. The e-commerce site has also announced that its Flipkart First subscribers will be able to buy the smartphone a day early on September 1. Over 100,000 people have already registered for the sale. Pre-registration is mandatory to participate the sale and it will close at midnight of September 1. 
The number of Redmi 1S units that will go on sale is bigger than any batch of the Xiaomi Mi 3 that was made available across six sales. Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra had said that the company would learn from the Mi 3 experience and not repeat it with the Redmi 1S. The company has taken the first step in rectifying those mistakes by making more units available in the first sale.
Interestingly, Xiaomi also suspended the sales of the Xiaomi Mi 3 in the wake of the Redmi 1S launch. While the phone hasn’t been discontinued, Xiaomi won’t be selling any more Mi 3 units at the moment and instead focus on selling the Redmi 1S.
To recap on the specifications, the Redmi 1S features 4.7-inch HD 720p display, 1.6GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera, 8GB internal storage, microSD card slot, and a 2,000mAh battery. On the software front, the smartphone runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean wrapped under Xiaomi’s MIUI.
The company has also announced a range of accessories that will go on sale next week. They include screen protectors in shiny and matte finishes for Rs 179, a back cover for Rs 469, and a flip cover for Rs 559. Every unit of the Redmi 1S will also come with two free SIM-card trays.
Xiaomi has also slashed Rs 1,000 from the Redmi 1S’ launch price and it will be available on September 2 for Rs 5,999. If you haven’t yet, you can register for the Redmi 1S here to stand a chance of buying the smartphone on Tuesday.