Author: chris eilers

Once again a very exciting year for Xiaomi and Xiaomi fans. Xiaomi grew very agressively in 2014 and managed to sell three times more gadgets then in 2013. Now it seems like they will open the new year with the introduction of a new Flagship Smartphone as Xiaomi’s Ceo announced yesterday.

Xiaomi Mi5 Black Edition leak Picture

There were some people saying that Xiaomi will, in Apple Style, launch a Xiaomi Mi4S. According to our newest information from Krypton 36, a quite reliable news site from China, the new Xiaomi will be indeed the Xiaomi Mi5. As you can see in the picture of the black Xiaomi Mi5, the new Xiaomi Flagship has extremely thin bezels and a display that is for sure larger than 5 inch.

• Original Xiaomi Redmi 1S with Warranty for 399RM – Please use Voucher LAZADAMOB88 to get this price

According to Krypton 36 the Xiaomi Mi5 will indeed come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SOC, the newest Octa-Core 64Bit processor by Qualcomm. Also the Xiaomi Mi5 will a display that is bigger than 5″ with a Quad HD 2K Resolution and whopping 4GB of RAM. To finish this dream package the Xiaomi Mi5 will come with a 1.75um large pixel camera sensor and 2.5D sapphire glass to protect the display.

Xiaomi Mi5 White Edition leak Picture

Conclusion: Lets try to make some sense of all the reports and rumors.

• Xiaomi Mi5 Launch Date: I think we can be quite sure to see the next Xiaomi Mi5 Flagship Launch in January. Xiaomi has been facing intense competition from Meizu and other brands, and quite frankly the Mi4 cant win against MX4 and MX4 Pro. The Launch of a new Flagship Mi5 with Snapdragon 810 Octa-Core would make a lot of sense right now for 2015.
• Xiaomi Mi5 Specs: I think the Snapdragon 810 is realistic. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will also come in a Snapdragon 810 edition very soon. For RAM we predict only 3GB RAM instead of 4GB and we are also pretty sceptic for Sapphire Glas. After all Xiaomi is intending to sell the phone for 1999 Yuan, aka 1100RM. Sapphire Glass would make the phone too expensive in our opinion.
• Xiaomi Mi5 Design: As you can see in our newest pictures and the older picture, two facts are pretty clear. You get a screen that is bigger then 5inch, probably 5.5″ or 5.7″ and you will get extreme thin bezels. Both of the facts is probably exactly what most of the fans wished for, so that is extremely good news

Xiaomi Mi5 with Fingerprint Scanner

Xiaomi confirmed earlier that they wont participate in CES 2015, what means that they also probably wont launch in USA right now. I still think that we can trust Bin Lin’s statement and will see a launch of the new Xiaomi Mi5 in January 2015.
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2014 has definitely been a good year for Xiaomi. Xiaomi is breaking a lot of sales records while building a reputation for quality devices with awesome prices. Xiaomi does not only build phones like the Xiaomi Mi4 though, they also produce Tv’s, headphones and even the Mi Air Purifier.

Now we have new reports that Xiaomi might be branching into the PC Market with the First Xiaomi Mi Laptop. We have heard rumors about a Xiaomi Mi Laptop for several month now, but just now we get some evidence in pictures and possible specs. The pictures we got of the Xiaomi Mi Laptop look very similiar to the Apple Macbook Air.

• Original Meizu MX4 16GB for RM1074 – Limited Stock  Please use Voucher Code LAZADAMOB88

The Laptop has a pretty much the same size and shape, as well as the overall design and color scheme. There are some clear differences to the Macbook Air though. You can clearly see the “Mi Logo” under the Screen and on the back. Also the back seems to have a “sandstone” finish, in contrast to Apple’s smooth aluminum finish. Xiaomi also adds a orange branded power button to their Mi Laptop, to give the Laptop a Xiaomi Flair.

FREE XIAOMI NOTE 4G Giveaway 

We also got some specs for you with the XiaomI Mi Laptop. It will come with a Intel Haswell chip – i7 4500U, and 8GB of Dual Channel Memory RAM, for a total of 16GB RAM. The Xiaomi Mi Laptop will come with a 15 inch edition and a Full HD 1080 display. The initial reports suggesting a price of 2999 Yuan, which is about 481USD or 1690RM for the 15-inch Xiaomi Mi Laptop.

Conclusion: When Xiaomi launches the Mi Laptop with 16GB of RAM and those specs for 1690RM, this would surely sell like HotCakes. So far we dont have any officiall statement on our hands, so lets wait a bit if Xiaomi is really branching out into laptops, or if this just stays a dream. If Xiaomi is really launching the Xiaomi Mi Laptop, a Macbook Air Competitor, they would surely have their next big success for 2015 on their hands.
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Recently we heard many reports about a new Xiaomi Mi4S or Xiaomi Mi5. Also there were reportedly rumors about a new Xiaomi Redmi Generation of phones. Since there is no smoke without fire, Xiaomi officially announced that in January 2015 we will see new Xiaomi phones, including a new Flagship.

The message about a new launch in January 2015 was offically announced by Bin Lin. Xiaomi completed last week their newest round of investment of 1.1 Billion Dollars. Xiaomi is now at a Valuation of 45 Billion USD Dollars.

• Original Meizu MX4 16GB for RM1074 – Limited Stock  Please use Voucher Code LAZADAMOB88

Maybe in the joy of the moment, Lei Jun announced new product launches for January and a “Heavyweight Flagship Product”. Unfortunately Lei Jun did not announce which product will exactly launch in January. Most fans though and majority of users look forward to a new Xiaomi Mi5 or Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.

FREE Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Giveaway 

Official Xiaomi announcement for January 2015 Product launch

In recent news we heard mostly about Xiaomi Mi4S, or Xiaomi Mi5 and the second generation of Redmi Note 2. Especially for the Xiaomi Mi4S we saw many pictures with very slim bezels and a extremly narrow frame design. The new Xiaomi Mi5 will get a new boarderless style with a bigger screen with at least 5.5″ inch. Other specs include 2K Screen, Fingerprint Scanner, 20.7MP camera and probably a Snapdragon 805 or 810 CPU.

Xiaomi Mi5 Leaked Pictures – 5.7 2K Screen?

A new introduction of the Xiaomi Redmi Series, the Redmi Note 2 is also very possible. We saw many leaks and also some specifications and pictures for the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 2. We do not think though that Lei Jun means the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 as “Heavy Weight Flagship” for the 1000 Yuan 5.5″ phone.

Conclusion: Lei Jun and Bin Lin announced new Xiaomi products for January including a new “Heavyweight Flagship”. If this is really the new Xiaomi Mi5 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 2? We are excited!

Xiaomi Mi5 in Arch Style ?

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Meizu is launching the Meizu MX4 32GB in Malaysia, starting on 30.12.2014. The Meizu MX4 32GB will be sold at RM1299, that is 200RM more expensive then the Meizu MX4 16GB at RM1099.

For those of you who dont know the Meizu MX4 yet, the Meizu MX4 is the fastest phone worldwide at the moment, at least if you believe Antutu Scores. The Meizu MX4 comes with 5.36 inch Full HD display, protected by Gorilla Glas 3. It boasts a Octa-Core MT6595 Processor and 2GB of RAM. Also you get international FDD-LTE that will work in Malaysia and other countries, other then the Xiaomi Mi4 competitor.

• Original Meizu MX4 16GB for RM1074 – Limited Stock  Please use Voucher Code TUNEINSURE12

We have the Meizu MX4 in our office and the design is definitely very nice. You got very thin bezels, with metallic frame. You can remove the complete back side, to get access to the Micro-Sim Slot. The Meizu MX4 also packs a 3100mAh battery. The Memory is not extendable via MicroSD.

One of the highlights is definitely the Sony 20.7MP Camera with 0.3 focus speed, 4K video recording and 720p slow motion. You also get Dual LED flash and dual tone. Also you have a bunch of beautifying options for the perfect Selfie. The Camera on the MX4 is the same as found on the Sony Xperia Z2 Series and has really a high quality. The Front Camera has 2Megapixel.

The Meizu MX4 32GB will come in Gold and Grey. In February Meizu will import the Meizu MX4 Pro phablet at RM1400. Also Meizu will bring the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Competitor, the Meizu M1 Note in February. The Meizu M1 Note with 5.5″ FUll HD screen and LTE will sell around 600RM.

We have already reported about the Meizu M1 Note Phone but there is definitely more to say about this amazing phone.

Long time the Meizu M1 Note was rumored to be called Meizu Blue Charm Note, but Meizu named it different in the end. The specs we were reporting before and the price of under 600RM (1000 yuan) were hard to believe but turned out to be true.

• Original Meizu MX4 16GB for RM1074 – Limited Stock  Please use Voucher Code TUNEINSURE12

The Meizu M1 Note 16GB Version costs just 999 Yuan around RM560 or 160USD. The 32GB Version will cost you 1199 Yuan if you shoudl want to to buy one. If you consider the built quality that Meizu offers combined with those specs, you get the best phone at the moment for that price. At least in our opinion for Under RM600, or 200USD the Meizu M1 Note is the best phone on the market at the moment.

Lets have a quick recap of the specs again. The Meizu M1 Note comes with a Full HD 5.5″ Screen 1920 x 1080, proteced by Gorilla Glass 3 and produced by Sharp. You get a Octa-Core 64BIT Mediatek MT6752 Processor with Mali T760GPU. On top of this you have 2GB RAM and 16GB or 32GB non extendable internal memory. The Main Camera is a 13MP Main Shooter and you get a 5 Megapixel Selfie Cam on the front. The Meizu M1 Note has Android 4.4.1 with Flyme 4 OS preinstalled. Meizu is rounding it up with a big 3140mAH battery and various colors to choose from, like blue ,white yellow and pink. Also you get Dual Sim Support, which is a great advantage vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G.

We really respect Meizu for offering the Meizu M1 Note with those specs at a low price like this. You might find something comparable in China with the Yiayu S3 but Meizu is actually quite a big manufacturer and you get good smartphone quality here. Meizu MX4 and Meizu MX4 PRO are also great phones, but definitely made for a bigger budget.

For all of you who are waiting for the Meizu M1 Note, we have first information for Malaysia. According to our sources from Meizu the Meizu M1 Note will launch in February in Malaysia, with a price very close to the Chinese one, around 560-600RM. At this price, we definitely think the M1 Note is the best deal available on the market for a 64BIT LTE phone.
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Just last month we heard the news that the new Xiaomi Mi5 could already launch in January at the CES2015. To all of you who have been skeptical we have the newest leaked images from a purported Xiaomi Mi5.

The image was first spotted on Weibo and you can see the design is quite similiar to the current Xiaomi Mi4. You can see the famous MI Logo and MIUI V6 running. If you have a closer look though you cann see some major differences with this purported Xiaomi Mi5.

• Original Xiaomi 49 inch 4K TV 2 for RM2474 – Use Voucher CODE TUNEINSURE12 

The Xiaomi Mi4 is a 5 inch Flagship, the phone in this leak is much larger though. The Xiaomi Mi5 on this picture looks definitely like a 5.5″-5.7″ screen. The overall design stays the same, but the phone has extremley slim bezels. If this is really the new Xiaomi Mi5 you get an awesome screen-body ratio.

Previous reports and analysts suggested that the Xiaomi Mi5 will sport Snapdragon 810, 3GB Ram and a 2K 5.7″ display. Do you think this is the new Xiaomi Mi5 in the picture or a different Xiaomi phone?

Before the Meizu Launch today there were a lot of expectations about the M1 Note. And Meizu definitely did not disappoint with the Meizu M1 Note Launch.

The Meizu M1 Note is officially Meizu’s first phone for their Sub-Brand Blue Charm. The brand is comparable to Huawei’s Honor brand and targeted at younger customers who dont want to spend a fortune on every smartphone. It is called Meilan in China, what translates to “Blue Charm”.

• Original Xiaomi 49 inch 4K TV 2 for RM2474 – Use Voucher CODE TUNEINSURE12 

Meizu M1 Note Hands On

The Meizu M1 Note comes with a 64BIT Octacore MT6752 CPU. This Mediatek chipset brings excellent power to the Meizu M1 Note and has the new dual core Mali T760 MP2 GPU integrated. As well you get TD-LTE and FDD-LTE to the phone, so in fact you have a global 64BIT LTE phone for very little money! Meizu promises an increase of 50% performance via Snapdragon 615 with the Octa-Core CPU.

The Meizu M1 Note features a 5.5-inch display with Full HD 1920×1080 resolution. The Display has 16:9 resolution and a pixel density of 403ppi. Compared to the direct competitor from Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, you get Full HD resolution and a significantly higher pixel density. Meizu M1 Note display is sourced from Sharp.

Can Meizu top this great screen and CPU? Yes apparently Meizu can. The Meizu M1 Note gets 2GB RAM and Dual Sim! For Camera the Meizu features a 13 Mega Pixel Camera from Sony with Dual Tone LED Flash. You also get a 5MP Front Camera, with F2.0 aperture and 30fs video recording. Once again compared to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G especially Dual Sim might be very interesting for customers.

Meizu M1 Note vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Specs

The Meizu M1 Note comes with a huge 3140 mAh battery, which should be able to reasonably long power the 5.5 inch Full HD screen and Octa-Core Processor.

As you can see from the pictures the M1 Note is very colorful and will com in blue, yellow, pink, green, white color options. To be honest we would even say it looks more like quality then the iPhone 5C, but judge yourself by the pictures!

meizu m1 note vs meizu mx4 pro vs meizu mx4

Lets get to the most interesting part, the Meizu M1 Note 16GB comes for 999 yuan, or only 560RM for the 16GB version at launch in China. Since Meizu has launched officially in Malaysia we should be seeing the Meizu M1 Note very soon in Malaysia officially as well. Meanwhile Check the official Meizu site here.
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With the Huawei Ascend GX1, Huawei tries to bring their larger phablets like the Ascend Mate 7 to an more affordable price level. The Huawei GX1 got already TENAA approval so its probably launching very soon.

The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is a great phablet, you can read our full review here. Unfortunately not every can afford to pay the price for the Mate 7. For you who love big phones and have a smaller budget, Huawei GX1 is going to launch.

• Original Xiaomi 49 inch 4K TV 2 for RM2474 – Use Voucher CODE TUNEINSURE12 

The Huawei GX1 comes with 6″ HD display, so you get a larger display, but the HD resolution instead of 2K or Full HD helps to keep the price down. Also it should increase battery life significantly.

Other details include a 1.4GHZ QuadCore CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory, that you can expand via Micro-SD. Also the Huawei GX1 gets a huge 3500mAH battery a 8MP Main Shooter and a 2MP Front Camera.

Huawei GX1 vs Huawei Ascend Mate 7

The Huawei GX1 supports TD-LTE and global FDD-LTE so probably the phablet will launch outside of China as well. We already saw the GX1 listed on a chinese retailer for 1590 Yuan, around 256USD or 895 RM.

According to documents by XDA about the Lawsuit of MicroMax vs OnePlus in India, where OnePlus was banned from selling in India, the End of the Relationship between OnePLus and Cyanogen was quite ugly.

We see a series of emails between Cyanogen Inc CEO Kirt McMaster and OnePlus CEO Carl Pei, and they show a really less then friendly relationship between the two after MicroMax and Cyanogen finalized the deal.

This first email looks like McMaster sent an email before to Pei about ending the relationship with the subject “Cyanogen End”. The next email we see confirms this.

That is a very nice way to end a long term business relationship right? Just send an email without any details to the guys that are distributing your product. What could go wrong there? McMasters follows up to be even more clear though

No misunderstandings after this email anymore, just a “Fu…OfF” and goodbye. “SZ is in Shenzen where OnePLus is based. The next email by McMasters might even be the most rude and lets me question really the character of this guy.

Ah thats really nice – signed K, like they are very good friends. As you might notice the content of the email, or the threat, does not present the current situation. In the current situation both OnePlus and Cyanogen Mod claim that OnePlus will get Cyanogen Mod updates, just not in India. The Indian OnePlus One will also not ship with Cyanogen Mod, as the terms of the lawsuit.

The question is really, why does McMaster takes such a hard stance here and threatens to pull off the cooperation with OnePlus globally? Probably OnePLus planned on selling the OnePlus One in INDIA with CM anyways as they claimed the OnePlus would ship with CM only a couple of weeks ago.

At a later point in the communictation McMaster seems more willing to compromise. We have no context here for the change in mind, at least not between the both CEO’s.

This email seems to be representing the current state of affairs between OnePlus and Cyanogen Inc, where it looks like OnePlus will just ship a Non-CM version of the OnePlus to India in early 2015. You can read the rest of the emails here.

How can be interpret this whole scenario? It is hard to say without having all context and history. It seems to us though that Carl Pei, OnePlus CEO, was pretty surprised to hear that Cyanogen Mod planned to end the relationship with OnePlus. We really have to wonder why Cyanogen Mod acted that way.

The most probably explanation here is the most simple as well: Greed. It looks like Cyanogen took another partner, which they thought would be more profitable and shunned OnePlus in the process. If we look at the sudden changes in OnePlus Indian Launch plans and the surprised Carl Pei in the emails, it really looks like Cyanogen was just “greedy”.

While we have some troubles with OnePLus as a company as well, its hard not to feel sympathy with OnePlus here. Cyanogen Mod Inc. shows a pictures of a pretty greedy and unreliable company, with a really unlikeable CEO. Of course we dont know exactly what happens, but the evidence does not show a beautiful picture of Cyanogen.

After all its clear that the relationship between the two companies seems to be dying and most probably we will see the OnePlus TWO without an Cyanogen Mod Option.

A while ago a new Smartphone “Made in Germany” was introduced to the Smartphone World, the Linshof i8. The Linshof i8 made quite some waves with Superb Specs and extraordinary design and was supposed to be introduced in early 2015. Now it seems we see an early Out for the Linshof i8 and the end of the german mother company Linshof.

The Linshof i8 was supposed to sport a OctaCore Processor clocked at 2.1 Ghz and 3GB of Ram. Also a 5″ Full HD Super AMOLED display and a 3100mAH battery. Other specs include 16GB internal memory and external memory up to 64GB. Running on Android Lollipop the Linshof i8 was supposed to sell at US$380 (about RM1270).

Back then Dr. Tomas Bencik, the CEO of Linshof said “i8 is everything you need it to be and goes beyond a consumer device. It’s a true business tool. It meets enterprise-grade security requirements and runs smoothly, even while using the most demanding programs.”

We checked the Linshof.com Company Website and now it shows only “Linshof is closed. We understood that it would be a difficult project and we are grateful for having the opportunity to work on it. Unfortunately, our investors decided to close the project due to their own internal reasons. Thank you all for your wonderful support. Note: We have never accepted any kind of pre-orders, donations, or third party investments. All our liabilities and obligations were paid in full.”

That is the text that we find now on the Website. There was an earlier Version of the Text though, with some of the reasons why the Investors stopped the Money Flow.

“We understood that it would be a difficult project and we are grateful for having the opportunity to work on it. Unfortunately, our investors decided to close the project due to challenging political and economic relations between our EU structures and our Russian-based funding support. Our performance tablet was still in the concept phase, however the i8 Smartphone, as a completed and functional prototype, was offered to our partners and may be produced in the future (either as a whole per the original design, or as part of another project).”

While much of the international media and consumers were amazed by the Linshof i8 “made in germany” there were some first signs that the Linshof i8 might not come true. One of our favorite German Tech Blogs Cashy’s Blog Stadt Bremerhaven reported about the i8 and some suspicious data. So had linshof no Impressum, no Tax Number and a hidden WHOIS for the Domain. Also they were using Fake Screenshots for their tablet product teasers on the Website.

Text on the Company Website Linshof.com

Anyways now we can see that the Linshof i8 will clearly not become reality. Which is a shame since those specs combined with german quality and a very affordable price looked like a really good deal to us.

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The Meizu Blue Charm Note gets offically approved on TENAA. We have for you the official Meizu Blue Charm Note Listing including pictures and official specs.

The Chinese TENAA, is the equivalent to Malaysia’s SIRIM or the U.S’s FCC, where mobile phones get approved officially before the Launch. As such TENAA is a very good source for official details for the Meizu M1 Note before the official launch on 23.12

• Original Xiaomi 49 inch 4K TV 2 for RM2474 – Use Voucher CODE TUNEINSURE12 

As reported earlier the M1 Note will go in direct competition to Xiaomi’s Redmi Note Series. It will sport a Full HD 5.5″ display and supports both Chinese TD-LTE and global FDD-LTE.

Xiaomi Redmi Note vs Meizu Blue Charm Note

The M1 Note will boast a 1.7Ghz 64bit Mediatek MT6752 CPU including 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The Meizu Blue Charm Note will also have Dual Sim Support, a big advantage over the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G. As well the 5.5″ Display of the Meizu Note is Full HD versus just HD on the Xiaomi Note. 

Win a Free Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G Now –> http://www.pricepony.com.my/blog/giveaways/xiaomi-redmi-note-4g-contest-play-win-2/

In our earlier reports we did not know about the camera yet. Not it is clear that the Meizu Blue Charm Note will sport a 13MP Main Shooter with Dual LED rear flash and a 5MP Front Shooter. Compared to the more expensive Meizu MX4 the 5MP Front Shooter is a bit surprising, since we expect the Note to be much cheaper. The Meizu M1 Note will run on FlyMe based on Android 4.4, and probably you have to wait some time to see FlyMe on Lollipop.

If you have a look at the pictures you can actually tell that the Meizu M1 Note is in fact quite different from the iPhone 5C. It looks more similiar to the Meizu MX4 and MX3 with a unibody design and the typical Meizu Home Button. Especially the extrem thin bezels look amazing and guaruantee a very good Screen/Body Ratio with the large 5.5″ display.

Summing up the Meizu M1 Note looks like a very interesting phone. It will be a very strong competitor for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G. You get international FDD-LTE, 64Bit Octa-Core CPU, Full HD 5.5″, 3050mAh battery and Dual Sim.

We expect Meizu to price this phone in direct competiton to the Xiaomi Redmi Note probably around 1000 Yuan or RM560-600 or 160 USD. At this price the Meizu Blue Charm Note is definitely very very promising and might sell like Hot Cakes! It will launch officially on 23.12.

Update: The Meizu M1 Note launched officially for 999 Yuan or RM560 on 23.12! Amazing!

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Has OnePlus finally been listening to their fans desire for a smaller OnePlus One Edition? Are these leaked pictures the proof that a OnePlus One Mini is already in Testing?

In the latest interview with OnePlus CEO we learned that OnePlus Two will launch in Summer 2015, but what about cheaper versions of the current OnePlus One?

According to TechnoBuffalo these pictures we see here are of a OnePlus One Mini Engineering prototype, that is in testing in China. The new OnePlus One Mini would sell for just 1499 Yuan and would sport a 5″ inch display and 64Bit Snapdragon 615.

One fact that might speak against a OnePlus One Mini launch is that Antutu claims, the OnePlus One Mini sports a 8MP Rear and Front Camera. Considering that OnePlus normally shoots for high end specs, we are not sure OnePlus would “allow” to launch a phone with “just” 8MP Rear Camera, considering the strong competition.

On the other hand a cheaper and smaller OnePlus Mini launch is exactly what a lot of fans have been asking for. Additionally Xiaomi would stand better against the competition of Xiaomi Redmi and Meizu Blue Charm series.

What do you think of these pictures? Would you buy a 5 inch OnePlus One Mini?