Xiaomi Arch vs. Samsung Galaxy S6 - Comparison among the best upcoming smartphones

After there were rumors that the Korean company might release the Galaxy S6 with two curved, side displays, Xiaomi released a poster with the exact same concept.

The Concept versus Reality

Xiaomi showed a poster with a device showing two curved edges. At the moment, it is just a concept, and no further information is available. Size of the display, performances, specs, operating system, everything is up in the air. Samsung, on the other hand, already has the Galaxy Note Edge, a phablet smartphone with one curved display. Rumors surrounding the Galaxy S6 suggested that the Korean company might go with two side displays in the S6. At this moment, it seems like Samsung is prepared to do anything to wow its fans and customers.
So, at the moment, we have rumors for the S6, versus the concept of the Xiaomi Arch.

How Does the Arch look?

The poster of the Xiaomi Arch reveals some interesting design concepts. For example, both side displays will show controls and notifications. Even more interesting is that the company uses one of the side displays for live streaming important information. The information includes stock prices and live sport results.
According to the poster, the Xiaomi Arch is the first phone with curved screen on both sides.

The Budget Policy

As always, Xiaomi is banking on its low prices to capture the attention of the customers and appeals to them. The Galaxy Note Edge is a premium device, costing around $700. The Galaxy S6 is rumored to have a price tag of $750. Xiaomi’s devices, on the other hand, rarely cross the $400 border. For example, even the flagship Xiaomi Mi4 is priced at $300. If the company continues the policy with the Arch, it will be hard for Samsung to top them.

Xbox One vs Playstation 4 – Check the Winner of 2014?

The debate is a never ending stream of argument which can’t be concluded at this point, because it has been just over a year since both consoles got released.

However, gamers have plenty of news updates, hardware specifications, exclusive games and new additions to put into the argument to say one console one over the other. Let us share our own two cents to the debate and let us know if you agree with our verdict.

Playstation 4 

Without a doubt, Sony took off to a great head start because they have learnt a lot of new things about console business and gamers from their Playstation 3 console. They didn’t over price it at $500 as before and didn’t introduce any silly restrictions. As a matter of fact, they had a lot of plans in mind but they waited for Microsoft to bite the dust and learn from their mistakes.

The strategy worked and Xbox One took all the beating. It was criticized to be anti-gamer which allowed Sony plenty of time to reverse their policies to sport as the good guy. Even now, they don’t have any good exclusives to boast of except for Infamous Second son and re-mastered version of The Last of Us. The console sold much higher but their success was more because of Microsoft’s mistakes than their strategy, besides much powerful hardware.

Xbox One 

The beginning was one of the worst in history for Xbox One but Microsoft didn’t behave naïve. Instead, they accepted what went wrong and reversed all the policies. It paved way for them to join the good book which followed with exclusive launches like Titanfall and the newly out Halo Master Chief Collection besides Sunset Overdrive.

They removed Kinect, and brought huge discounts which made sure they sold really well towards the end of 2014. There are some timed exclusives coming to the console as well and it performs almost the same as a Playstation 4 in most AAA games including the newly launched Assassin’s Creed Unity as well as Call of Duty Advanced Warfare.

The verdict is Xbox One was slow to pick up while Playstation 4 was far ahead but towards the end of the year, due to various changes both consoles came on par with each other in terms of sales and performance. So, it’s a tie in 2014 but this year with its exclusives, we can confirm which one will lead the race.

Huawei Honor 6 Plus is now available internationally for just $399

One of the company’s most advanced smartphones to date. Initially released in China, the Honor 6 Plus is now also available to customers from almost all over the world.

Retailer Oppo Mart is selling the 16 GB version of Huawei’s Honor 6 Plus for $399 (unlocked), though it’s currently offering only the white model.

One of the highlights of the Huawei Honor 6 Plus is its dual camera system that’s found on the back, consisting of two 8 MP sensors: one with f/2.0 aperture and autofocus, and another one with f/2.4 aperture and a fixed focus. Huawei calls this “symmetrical dual camera technology”, mentioning ultra-fast focus times, and variable aperture among its benefits.

Sporting a 5.5-inch 1080p display, the Honor 6 Plus also features LTE connectivity, an octa-core 1.8 GHz HiSilicon Kirin 925 processor, 3 GB of RAM, microSD card support (up to 128 GB), and a 3600 mAh battery. At the moment, the handset runs Android 4.4 KitKat customized with Huawei’s EMUI 3.0 UI.

Source: Oppo Mart

Verizon Ellipsis Jetpack Hotspot is Now Available

If you are one of the people who purchased a new notebook or tablet and opted to not spend the money on the internal LTE modem and now want to get online away from a WiFi hotspot, there is help for you. What you need is either a smartphone that can act as a hotspot sharing its connection or a dedicated hotspot device like the new Verizon Ellipsis Jetpack.

The Jetpack is a hotspot device that landed online starting today and is available for 99 cents with a new two-year contract. The device is model number MHS800L and it can connect up to eight devices to the Verizon 4G LTE network. Power comes from an internal 2100 mAh battery good for up to ten hours of use per charge.

The Jetpack has a 0.9-inch OLED display that shows signal strength, battery life, data usage, and other important details. It supports 802.11 b/g/n networks and is VPN capable. Customers who already have a MORE Everything account can add the Jetpack hotspot to their existing account for $20 monthly. Another nice feature if you travel is that the hotspot is XLTE compatible so if you are in an area that supports those faster speeds you can use the faster speed.

Windows 10 might be the beginning of the end for Internet Explorer

Currently code named Spartan, the browser will still rely on Microsoft’s Chakra JavaScript engine and the Trident rendering engine (used by Internet Explorer 11). Even so, ZDNet’s sources have it that this is definitely not Internet Explorer 12, but a new and “lightweight” browser that will be available on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. Spartan could resemble Chrome and Firefox more than Internet Explorer as we know it.

Despite the arrival of the new browser, it’s said that Internet Explorer will still ship with Windows 10 (backward compatibility reasons being quoted), so this is not yet the death of IE – though we assume that it is the beginning of the end.

Microsoft will reveal new details about Windows 10 in January (next month), so maybe we’re going to find out more about Spartan then.

source: ZDNet via The Verge

Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation) With 4G Connectivity

Earlier this year, Motorola announced the second generation Moto G with some significant improvements over its predecessor, but it lacked one thing: 4G connectivity.

With the original Moto G, the company did introduce a 4G capable variant of the handset a few months after the 3G version, and it seems a similar thing may happen soon. Recently, a 4G-enabled version of the second generation Moto G was spotted on the company’s Brazilian website.

If its true, we should expect the handset to hit the retail shelves in the coming weeks — there’s a possibility Motorola may announce it at CES 2015 next week.

As far as the specifications are concerned, the handset appears to have a bigger 2,390 mAh battery compared to a 2,070 mAh in the 3G variant. Furthermore, it seems Motorola may bump the storage to 16GB in the LTE variant of the second generation Moto G — the 3G version only features 8GB of memory.

There’s no word about the pricing, or if the LTE capable variant will launch in the United States or any other part of the world, we’ll just have to wait for Motorola to officially announce things.

Source: Android Police

Qualcomm's new Mystery Phone To Launch at CES Next Week

CES 2015 is just around the corner, and many smartphone manufacturers have already announced their press conferences for the big event. Sony, Samsung, HTC and LG will take the stage on January 5th, just a day before the event officially kicks off.

Recently, Qualcomm posted a teaser on Twitter about a mystery smartphone which will ship will Snapdragon 800 processor, and will launch at CES 2014 next week. Qualcomm has done a good job in hiding the handset, but this doesn’t stop people from speculating about it.

There’s no word about which handset it will be, but taking a closer look at the image reveals a metallic finish as well as the traditional LG’s back-mounted volume rocker and power button.

If we were to guess, we’ll put a bet on the successor of the curved LG G Flex. There’s a possibility that LG may launched the G Flex 2 at the big event. We’ve seen several rumors and leaks hinting at the smartphone, and they could all come to life next week in Las Vegas.

It’s going to be an interesting event, we’ll update you as soon as this mysterious smartphone is officially unveiled.

Source: Qualcomm

Oppo 3006 Mid-range smartphone gets certified in Malaysia

A document discovered in Malaysia indicaes that the Oppo 3006 has been certified in the country by SIRIM. That is the organization owned by the Malaysian government that is responsible for maintaining standards and quality in the country. Information about this specific model is sketchy, but we do know that it will support 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and provide dual SIM capabilities.

China’s TENAA recently certified the Oppo 3005 and Oppo 3007, and we have a hard time believing that the 3006 would stray far from those two models. Based on the odd numbered handsets, we would expect the Oppo 3006 to carry a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 720 x 1280. A 1.2GHz processor could be driving the device, with 1GB of RAM included. Native storage will most likely amount to 8GB, and those requiring more memory will be able to use an included microSD slot to expand their storage capacity. While the rear-facing camera is expected to weigh in at 8MP, the front-facing snapper will probably be the now obligatory 5MP “selfie” shooter. Oppo’s ColorOS 2.0 UI is expected to run on top of Android 4.4.4.

In the slideshow below, we’ve included images of the Oppo 3005 and Oppo 3007 so that you can have an idea what to expect from the Oppo 3006. Feel free to check it out anytime.

source: Soyacincau

Xiaomi Mi5 official leaked Photos

Xiaomi has already confirmed it will launch a new flagship device next month, possibly at the Consumers Electronics Show 2015. The company didn’t reveal details about the device, but speculations suggest its going to be the Xiaomi Mi5.

Recently, an image of the alleged Xiaomi Mi5 popped up from Chinese shores, showing us a device in black color which could possibly be the next flagship device from the Chinese manufacturers.

You can see the MIUI clearly on the device, and it follows several design cues from the current Xiaomidevice. Surprisingly, this looks a little bigger than the current Xiaomi Mi4, but it could be the real deal. In case you cant recall, an analyst hinted earlier this month that Xiaomi will launch a new flagshipdevice at CES 2015.

The analysts also guessed some of the specifications, including a bigger 5.7-inch display sporting a resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels, a quad-core Snapdragon 810 processor (although its a little unlikely, Snapdragon 805 could be the real possibility), and a 20.7MP camera for photos and videos.

CES 2015 is just around the corner so we’ll find out if this image is the real deal or not. Until then, take it with a pinch of salt. We’ll update you as soon as Xiaomi unveils its next flagship device.

HTC One M9 Hima specifications confirmed on AnTuTu

We’ve seen plethora of leaks and rumors about the upcoming flagship device from HTC, rumored to be the HTC One M9 codenamed Hima. The smartphone is expected to see the light of the day in March, but there’s a possibility we may get a glimpse of it next week at CES 2015.

Recently, the alleged HTC One M9 Hima was spotted on AnTuTu benchmarks, revealing some of the specifications it will come with.

At first look, they look similar to what we’ve heard in the past few weeks, but if you’re unaware, here’s a quick recap. The purported HTC Hima is expected to come with a 5-inch display sporting a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, which is rather strange since many OEMs have launched their flagship devices with QHD resolution.

The alleged handset is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 810 processor paired with 3GB of RAM and runs Android 5.0.1 Lollipop as its operating system. It also appears HTC is ditching the UltraPixel setup on its flagship devices, the AnTuTu benchmark reveals a 20.7MP camera for photos and videos, as well as a 13MP front-facing selfie camera similar to HTC Desire Eye.

There’s no official word from HTC so a grain of salt is recommended. The real device could turn out to be totally different.