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

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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.

Gionee Gpad G5 With 1.5GHz Hexa-Core SoC Launched at Rs. 14,999

by Hitesh Arora, August 28, 2014

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Gionee on Thursday has launched the successor to the Gpad G4 phablet, the Gpad G5, priced at Rs. 14,999. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer says the smartphone will be available by next week via both online and offline retail channels.
The Gionee Gpad G5 supports dual-SIM functionality and runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. It features a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display with AGC Dragontrail glass protection.
The phablet is powered by a 1.5GHz hexa-core Cortex-A7 processor and ARM Mali-450 MP GPU coupled with 1GB of RAM. The Gionee Gpad G5 comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and a 2-megapixel front facing camera. It has 8GB of inbuilt storage with that can be expanded up to 32GB.
The Gpad G5 offers 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ A-GPS, and FM radio connectivity. It also sports dual crystal loud speaker with DTS, and will be available in Black and White colours.
The Gionee Gpad G5 measures at 157.3x77.6x7.9mm, and weighs 104.6 grams. It packs a 2400mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 288 hours of standby time, up to 15 hours of talk time on 2G, and up to 12 hours talk time on 3G.
"I am delighted to present our consumers with our latest product, the Gionee Gpad G5. Our basic thought behind introducing this product was to give our consumers a superior product that can be handled with ease. There is a huge demand for premium features at affordable prices. Keeping consumer preferences in mind we have introduced the device which is high on features and easy on the pocket," said Arvind Vohra, India Head, Gionee Smartphones.
Gionee had launched the Gpad G4 in February this year. It had included a 5.7-inch HD IPS display with 720x1280 pixels resolution; a Cortex-A7 1.5GHz quad-core processor and PowerVR Series5XT GPU; 1GB of RAM; 13-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash; 5-megapixel front facing camera; 16GB of inbuilt storage with the no support for expansion via microSD card; 163.5x81.3x7.95mm dimensions; 3200mAh battery, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

LG G Watch R specs

By Phil Nickinson | Aug 27 2014 | 10:00 pm  | 

An OLED display rounds out otherwise familiar specs in the new LG G Watch R

Now that the LG G Watch R is officially official, it's time to take a look at the pure specs.
Not surprising is that they're mostly in line with what we've come to know in the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live. (The exact Moto 360 specs are still under wraps, at least for a little while longer.) Same sort of processor, resolution and internals as the other guys.
Let's take a look at the full LG G Watch R specs:

Chipset	1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
Display	1.3-inch P-OLED Display (320 x 320)
Memory	4GB eMMC / 512MB RAM
Battery	410mAh
Operating System	Android Wear (compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above)
Sensors	9-Axis (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG
Color	Black
Other	Dust and Water Resistant (IP67)

And be sure to check out our LG G Watch R forum!

Exciting new Galaxy Note 4 features uncovered in latest leak

By Chris Smith on Aug 26, 2014 at 9:30 AM

Samsung will unveil its next Android flagship at IFA 2014 in Berlin next week, but SamMobile continues to reveal more details about the upcoming Galaxy Note 4. After mentioning the Ultrasonic Cover case for the handset, and sharing camera-related hardware and software details, the publication has now received information about the phone’s fingerprint scanner.
The Galaxy Note 4 will pack the same fingerprint sensor technology as the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Alpha, Synaptics’ Natural ID sensor, which will offer users the same kind of features available on the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Alpha, but also brand new ones.
In addition to Screen Lock, Private Mode, Samsung Account Verification and PayPal payments, Samsung will launch a Fingerprint Shortcuts feature and Web Sign-in mode.
Fingerprint Shortcuts will let users assign a different app to each registered fingerprint, so the app can be quickly launched from the lock screen, while Web Sign-in is supposed to allow users to easily log into various sites by associating log in information to their fingerprints.
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 fingerprint sensor has been criticized for the way it’s implemented, so hopefully the company will do a better job explaining how it’s supposed to work when it launches the Galaxy Note 4. SamMobile argues that the sensor works fine, but users have not been informed about how to correctly use it. Because the sensor has a component in the home button and one in the touchscreen on top of it, users should swipe their fingers across both of them for “flawless” results rather than simply touching the home button.

Source:SamMobile

Xiaomi Mi 4 India Launch by Year-End; Redmi Note Coming 'Within 4 Weeks'

Indo Asian News Service, August 27, 2014

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Chinese handset manufacturer Xiaomi, often referred as the "Apple of China", plans to launch its flagship Mi 4 phone by the year-end in India and also plans to set up its Mi Home experience zone in Bangalore within four to six months, a top company official said."The next few things that we will be launching are Mi 4, our flagship product; Mi pad, which is a tablet and Mi Band, a health band. Xiaomi Mi 4 will come to India towards the end of the year, post-Diwali in all likelihood," Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi's India head of operations, told IANS in an interview.
The company's second product, Redmi 1S , was launched Tuesday, with registrations continuing till Sep 2. Redmi 1S will retail in India at Rs.5,999. The company has entered into exclusive partnership with e-commerce site Flipkart to sell all its products.
"Redmi Note, which is the elder brother of Redmi 1S, with a 5.5 inch panel, will hit the market around three-four weeks from now," said Jain, the co-founder of e-commerce portal Jabong and who earlier worked with McKinsey & Company.
The company launched its first product, Xiaomi Mi3 on July 22 "and we have sold around 95,000 units till now," Jain said. The company opens flash sale once a week for the phone, which costs Rs.13,999.
Xiaomi has also set up 35 service centres across India, including two exclusive Mi service centres in Delhi and Bangalore, to ensure after-sale services for its customers. "We want to expand service centres to six. They will be in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon."
Saying that Xiaomi does not believe in number targets, Jain said the focus was on the right inputs: "The best service centres, the best products and ensuring that products do not have issues. We ensure the software is great and customised for Indian customers and the pricing is right. If the inputs are right, output will follow, which is the number of phones that we are selling."
As for the experience zone in India, Jain said: "We plan to have a Mi Home in Bangalore within four to six months."
"Mi Homes are there in China. The experience zones have a huge area. We convert it into a Mi store. Products are displayed with a huge amount of accessories and this also acts as a service centre. A small lounge or cafeteria is attached where people can enjoy themselves," Jain explained.
Talking about alternative channels of sales, Jain said: "We might start selling through our own website mi.com. We will continue to sell through Flipkart. No timeline has been set so far. Setting up e-commerce operations from scratch takes time in India. In many countries, like in Singapore, we sell through mi.com."
The Indian site is so far used for marketing alone and no purchases can be made from there.
As for target customers, Jain said: "Our target audience is the youth and the tech savvy. We believe that this population will grow, will be the dominant and people will buy online. Our products are comparable to any other Rs. 30,000 - Rs. 40,000 device available in the market."
Xiaomi sold 26.1 million devices in China in the first half of 2014.

LG Gx2 With 5.7-Inch Display, Laser Autofocus Camera Launched

by Robin Sinha, August 27, 2014

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A day after launching the LG G3 Stylus, the Korean smartphone maker has launched a new smartphone in Korea called LG Gx2. The smartphone's pricing is yet to be disclosed, but it will be made available on September 18.
Running on Android KitKat out-of-the-box, the LG Gx2's specifications mostly match those seen on the G Vista that was launched earlier this year on Verizon and AT&T, and it is the successor to the LG Gx phablet launched in December.
The LG Gx2 features a 5.7-inch HD (720x1280 pixel) resolution IPS-LCD display and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core (unspecified chipset) processor paired with 1.5GB of RAM. It also features 8GB of inbuilt storage and supports expandable storage. The smartphone also sports LTE-A connectivity,
The Gx2 also borrows the laser autofocus camera technology from the flagship, the LG G3 (Review | Picture) handset. The smartphone sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and also comes with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. A 3200mAh removable battery backs the LG Gx2.
It measures 152.1x79.2x9.1mm and weighs 165 grams. The Gx2 will be available in White and Titanium Black colour variants.
On Tuesday, the South Korean giant unveiled its LG G3 variant, the G3 Stylus. The South Korean giant also announced that the new LG G3 Stylus will be showcased at the IFA 2014 show in Berlin in early September. Pricing details have not been announced by LG as yet.
Some of the key specifications of the LG G3 Stylus are 5.5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) display; 1.3GHz quad-core (unspecified chipset) processor; 1GB of RAM; 8GB inbuilt storage and supports expandable storage; 13-megapixel rear camera; 1.3-megapixel font camera; and 3000mAh battery.
The company has confirmed that the LG G3 Stylus will be available in 3G markets starting with Brazil in September that will be followed by countries in Asia, Middle East and Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

This is the LG G Watch R

By Phil Nickinson | Aug 27 2014 | 10:00 pm  |

The second round Android Wear watch is a looker, but you'll have to wait for it

No more teasers. This is the LG G Watch R — the South Korean manufacturer's second Android Wear smartwatch. It's also the second round entry we've seen this year, the Moto 360 being the other. And it looks like folks are going to have some hard choices to make later this year.
Yes, we said later this year. (Which means we fibbed just a bit when we said "no more teasers.") The LG G Watch R won't be available until October at the earliest — fourth-quarter 2014 is all we've got at this point, and it wouldn't surprise us in the least to see it launch alongside the L version of Android — and we don't yet know the price.
That said, the LG G Watch R is a looker for a number of reasons.

First things first, we're fans of the round Android Wear watch. The Moto 360 immediately caught our eye as well, and these things just look more like watches than displays on our wrists. And if you're looking for the black bar that blemishes the bottom of the Moto 360, well, it's not there. As LG teased from the get-go, the G Watch R uses every part of the display, tucking the connectors and the like behind the bezel of the watch. The body is stainless steel.