Author: chris eilers

Xiaomi’s new Redmi NOTE 4G is going on Sale officially the first time next thursday 11th December at Xiaomi’s Official Mi Store.
The Xiaomi Redmi 4G will retail at a price of RM589. That is 80RM more then their current Xiaomi Redmi Model without LTE.

Xiaomi changed the Redmi Note 4G version compared to the current Redmi Note version. The biggest change on the new Redmi Note is the Snapdragon 400 Quadcore Processor clocked at 1.6GHZ instead of the Mediatek Octa-Core proessor in the current Note. Also the Redmi Note 4G will have only a Single Sim Slot, instead of the Dual Sim on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3G.

The Rest of the Specs of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G stay the same with 13MP Rear Camera and 5MP Front Shooter, 2GB RAM and a huge 3200mAh Battery, to power the big 5.5″ 720p Display.

Infographic Xiaomi Redmi Note vs Galaxy Note 3Neo

Which Note do you like more? Do you rather keep the Mediatek Octa Core Processor and Dual Sim or get LTE 4G and the Quad-Core Snapdragon 400? If you decide to buy the new Redmi Note 4G be prepared for next thursday.

Asus is definitely a force to cope with, especially the Asus Zenfone Series is very popular in the low- to mid-tier segment. So far Asus has been using only Intel Chips for their Zenfone Series. This seems to be about to change with the newest Asus X002 using Mediatek’s 64BIT LTE CPU.

Mediatek is currently the dominant CPU for 64BIT in mass production and it seems Asus is adopting the 64BIT trend with their new Asus X002. As you can see on the pictures design wise the new Asus phone will be very similiar to the current Asus Zenfone Series with a very classic, nearly understated design.

As you can also see on GFX Bench the New Asus phone will include the 64BIT MEdiatek MT6732 clocked at 1.5GHZ, a 5.0″ display with HD resolution, 8Megapixel Rear Shooter and 5MP FrontShooter. OF course the 64BIT Mediatek is from the newest generation and will support 4G LTE, 3G and GSM Networks. The Asus X002 will have 2GB RAM and will run on Android 4.4.1. Asus is relatively fast with the updates on Android L for their Zenfone Series.

What do you think about this switch from Asus from Intel processors to 64BIT Mediatek?

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Yesterday we reported that Meizu is working on a new Low-Cost phone with 64Bit Mediatek CPU and LTE that could be launched this month already for RM580 (165USD). With that in mind, we might have already Meizu K52 Benchmarks from Geekbench.

We know already that Meizu has a very close connection with the Taiwanese Mediatek SOC producer. The popular Meizu MX4 was the first smartphone to sport the powerful Octa-Core MT6595 for example. Meizu MX4 won the Antutu Top List with that processor, even before Galaxy Note 4.

Probably Meizu’s new Low-Cost Meizu K52 will further cement this collaboration with Mediatek and could sport the 64BIT Octa Core MT6752. Now a report appeared on Geekbench about a mystery phone with Android Lollipop 5.0 and sporting exactly this MT6752 processor appeared.

The test of the phone show a very strong multi-score of 4260. The OnePlus One for example, could just achieve 2689 points on Android Lollipop 5.0 for the same test. Of course this is just a benchmark and we can expect the Snapdragon 801 on the OnePLus One still to be stronger in many applications.

We yet have to see if this is really the new Meizu K52 64BIT phone for RM580 in this benchmark, but it is very likely. We know for sure though that Mediatek is upping their game and really look forward to some exciting Mediatek powered phones for 2015.

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Earlier in November we reported about the Honor 6X getting certification in China already. Now Huawei announced to launch the new Huawei Honor 6 on 16th of December, most probably as the Honor 6 Plus.

The phone specs leaked already on ANTUTU pre Launch. The Huawei Honor 6 Plus will sport Huawei’s own Kirin 925 Chipset, with 1.8 GHz 8-Core CPU and a powerful Mali-T628 GPU. The Kirin 925 has four Cortex A15 cores and four Cortex A7 cores. Huawei’s Kirin CPU’s are actually quite strong in terms of raw processing power.

The Kirin 920 in the Honor 6 was able to beat the Snapdragon 801 easily in Benchmarks, was lacking in the GPU department though. Lets hope the new GPU will be stronger. Other specs include a 5.5″ screen with Full HD resolution of 1920×1080. Also you get 3GB of RAM and LTE Cat.6 networks support.

The main attraction and unique selling point of the Honor 6 Plus is the Dual Rear Camera Setup though. The Honor 6 Plus will get two 8MP Rear Cameras with Dual LED FLash. We need to wait till launch to see how the Dual Cameras are integrated, but it could be like HTC DUO Camera with extra depth-of-field effect or 3D effect for your pictures.

According to the Chinese Media the Huawei Honor 6 Plus will be priced at 3299 Yuan, which is around 536 USD or 1840RM and would be a strategy change for Huawei. At the moment the Honor Brand is for the more affordable and hip smartphone series and 536USD is quite expensive, especially compared to the competition of Meizu and Xiaomi.

After having quite some troubles with their K3V2 CPU, Huawei own produced processors the Kirin 910, 920 and 925 have been proven to perform very well. In fact in terms of raw processing power the Kirin 920 can easily beat the Snapdragon 801.

However all of those Kirin Processors are 32-Bit, while the 64 Bit CPU’s are fast getting the standard in smartphones. Today Huawei released a very interesting picture on their Micro Blog. Judging by the picture we may seen Huawei’s first 64Bit Processor very soon.

In the picture Huawei uses two walnuts with a big Number 64 next to it. Very likely this is hinting at new Huawei 64Bit CPU Launch and of course this CPU might run on big.LITTLE technology.

A lot of users on Huawei’s blog are suspecting to see the new Huawei 64BIT CPU launch n the Honor Play 4X first. The Honor 4X is a midrange model, so probably the Huawei 64 BIT CPU performance will not be Flagship type and Huawei’s is testing the waters first with their first CPU in that range.

The launch of the new Huawei 64BIT CPU will be on 3rd December in two days time.

We have heard news and rumors about a 1000 yuan Meizu phone for a long time now. While Meizu officials never clearly confirmed the existence of a new Meizu phone, details of a new Meizu gadget appeared on GFX Bench. This new phone is very likely the Meizu 1000 yuan phone.

The new Meizu phone comes with the temporary code name Meizu K52.

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

The details show that the Meizu K52 will sport a Mediatek processor like the MX4. The K52 uses a 64BIT OctaCore MT6752 CPU with LTE support and Mali-T760 GPU. The MT6752 CPU 8 Cores are clocked at 1.7Ghz. For sure at this price level, the MT6752 is not as powerful as the Meizu’s MX4 MT6595 CPU, but at least you get 64BIT and LTE Support.

This new mysterious device sports a 4.6″ Full HD screen with 1920x1080p resolution. If we are taking into account that this data on the GFX Bench is not the final data, there is a good chance that this screen is going to be larger then 4.6″. Other Specs for the Meizu K52 include 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. ITs running on Flyme based on Android 4.4. So far we dont have information on the cameras included.

You also get a few Benchmarks about the K52 3D Graphics Performance tested on Manhattan and T-Rex. Based on the results the Meizu K52 is relatively close to the Oppo U3, but quite far away from the performance of the Meizu MX4 and MX4 Pro. This should not come as a surprise though, at this price level.

Overall these reports confirm the insider information we had before about a new Dual Sim Meizu 64BIT LTE Low Cost phone that would sport the same CPU solution as the HTC Desire D820s. Meizu has said before that a 1000yuan (RM580) phone can not be ideal. Since Meizu faces intense competition from Xiaomi and other brands, the introduction of cheaper phone models next to their flagships is unavoidable to gain market share.

What do you think about the new Low-Cost Meizu Machine?

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The OnePLus One is one of the hottest smartphones on the market. If you research about the OnePlus One, you will find that a numbers of users have problems with the touchscreen of the OnePlus One. Now it seems a User has fixed the OnePlus One Touchscreen issues all by himself.

The OnePlus One is fairly hard to get, up till now Users had to wait for invitations to buy one. The more users got disappointed when there were oneplus one touchscreen issues. For those users some touches were not registered, double taps changed into single taps and unpredictable typing and the list got even longer. Some users even complained about yellow tints on their touchscreens.

Since OnePLus One cant replace those products, simply because there is not enough stock for those issues. OnePlus has since adressed the issue as a “software problem” and promised future updates.

This special user was not satisfied with the software updates, since they problem still stayed there even with other versions of CM11S. This particular user decided to fully disassemble the OnePlus One including removing the Screen!

As the user could prove, the digitizer flex is in direct contact to the chassis, before the connection to the logic board, similiar to the problem on the iPAD Mini.

After the User isolated the Flex Digitizer from the chassis, the touchscreen problem, completely disappeared. The OnePlus One registered all 10 touches and was much more responsive then ever before.

Going from there the issue is quite obvious – the Digitizer Flex needs to be isolated from the chassis. He took some insulating tape and put it on the chassis where it before touched the flex, for this purpose any kind of tape is okey.

After using this fix and reassembling the phone, the issues disappeared completely and the phone worked even better then before.

You might ask why some screens on the OnePlus One work perfect and some screens have those touchscreen issues. It seems that unlike big mainstream manufacturers like Apple and Samsung who use isolated digitizers or double-sided 3M tape for their phones, OnePLus uses glue instead. You can actually see quite clear in the pictures that it is glue and not tape holding the screen in place.

Because of the used glue every phone has a different gap between the chassis and digitizer flex and hence only some phones with this problem. According to OnePLus newer Units do not have this problem, but we cant confirm on how OnePlus exactly fixed it.

We find it pretty amazing that a one user took the risk to fix the oneplus one touchscreen issues by himself and potentially destroy his own phone. Also we hope that OnePLus really fixes the issue for all users permanently since this is clearly a great phone!

Read the full report here

Today Taiwan’s DigiTimes Research agency published a new report about China’s Smartphone Landscape. In this report Huawei, not Xiaomi, is ranked first with a shipment of 14.8 Million Smartphone for Q3 2014.

Xiaomi is ranking still very close second with 13.5 Million. Still this report is very controversial to the international reports of IHS iSuppli and IDC. According to the DigiTimes Report Xiaomi is the fifth in global Shipments for Q3 2014 after Samsung, Apple, LG and Huawei.

For the Chinese Local Market in Q3 2014, Lenovo is third with 10.1 Million Units, TCL with 10 Million units, OPPO with 9.8 MIllion UNits, BBK 8Million Units, Coolpad 6.4 Million. Gionee 6.3 Million and ZTE 5.9 Million Units.

Xiaomi 2014 Product Assortment, Beautiful Pic by: Ginie Chin and Aslyy Chin

All together Chinese manufacturers produced an staggering 111.1 Million Smartphones for Q3 2014, that is an increase of 44.1 compare to the last year according to the Digitimes Research. Nearly 40% of those shipments, 39.2% went to export in oversea markets, which is a 53% increase compared to last year.

Very interesting if you look at the export numbers is how different those strategies are. While companies like TCL exports 93.1 % of their shipments, Huawei 42.6% , Xiaomi only exports 5.4%.

Out of the Top 10 Smartphone Vendors this year, 5 were from China , with Xiaomi leading them with a 200% growth compared to last year. Out of those numbers you can clearly see that the future of smartphones seems to be from China. Already know China’s brands are learning fast that prices AND quality matter and the fans and customers are thankful for that.

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Slowly we are coming closer to the launch of Xiaomi’s next tablet, the Mi pad one, a tablet that will co-exist with the Xiaomi MiPad 7.9″ tablet. In October we already reported about the Benchmarks off Xiaomi’s new tablet and a first look at the tablet’s Specs.

Now Xiaomi has taken the next step, the new Xiaomi mi pad one tablet got certified by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (SIRIM DB in Malaysia). This listing gives us new information, mainly that the new low-cost tablet will support 4G LTE!

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

While the Xiaomi MIPAD 7.9″ never launched outside of China it seems Xiaomi is preparing a global launch for their new low-cost tablet, the xiaomi mi pad one. According to the listing the tablet is not just supporting TD-LTE, but also LTE FDD, the LTE standard that is nearly used everywhere outside of China.

Additionally it seems like the tablet will be able to support voice calls, despite its large 9.2″ screen size. From the previous reports we know already that the tablet will probably sport a 9.2″ display with HD 1,280×720 resolution, 1GB of RAM and extendable 8GB of ROM. The tablet will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 with a 64BIT 1.2 Ghz Quad-Core Cpu.

The most interesting price about this new Xiaomi tablet is surely the pricing though. If we can trust most of the reports this tablet will sell at not more then 599CNY, but will likely retail at 499CNY, that is 81USD or an amazing RM270.

Finally the long rumored Meizu MX4 Ubuntu version will launch and gets ready for the Launch in China and Oversea Markets for early 2015.

Today Meizu officially announced a strategic cooperation with Ubuntu and signed an agreement in their Meizu Headquarters in China. Both sites Meizu and Ubuntu decided to build together a Ubuntu Ecosystem and jointly promote the Meizu OS Flyme based on Ubuntu.

Meizu said the first Meizu MX phones with Ubuntu are expected to go on Sale for the first quarter of 2015 in China and Europe. Meizu did not disclose specifically which models will get the Ubuntu Version, but our guess is that the Meizu MX4 will definitely be included.

Meizu and Ubuntu showed off a Meizu MX3 prototype based on Ubuntu this year on the MWC User show, which got the attention of a lof of fans. Unfortunately after this brief presentation of the Meizu Ubuntu prototype, we did not get any more news after.

Ubuntu Touch essentially uses the same core technologies as Ubuntu Desktop, so apps that are designed for Ubuntu Desktop will also run on Ubuntu Touch and vice cersa. Additionally Ubuntu Desktop parts support the Ubuntu Touch System.That means that your Ubuntu Touch Device can provide a full desktop experience when connected with an external monitor or docking station

From the presentation we could already see that a lot of fans are waiting eagerly for an Meizu Ubuntu Launch. As the next step for Meizu is a broader global expansion into Europe and other asian countries, Ubuntu could be a very important strategic partner.

Since Meizu is also working with AliBAba and using their Cloud Services we dont think that Meizu will give up FlyMe alltogehter.
The most probable version is that Meizu will keep their FlyMe UI and it well be based on a Ubuntu Core – which we find definitely awesome!

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Do you think there is a chance for Xiaomi to make one of the best power banks on the market even better? Xiaomi seem to have achieved exactly this with a new super sleek 5000mAh Power Bank that will sell at 8USD, or RM26.

The new 5000mAH Power Bank is the complementary product to the large 16000mAH Mi Powerbank that was also recently launched in China. The big difference is that the 5000 MI Power Bank is really incredibly sleek with just 9.9mm, that is less then 50% of the currents 5200 mAH Mi Power Bank thickness.

According to Xiaomi, and if we can believe the pictures, the new Mi Power Bank is so slim that you can easily fit it into your Shirt Pocket. The surface is made from brushed alluminium alloy and according to Xiaomi it gives the same design feeling as a “Macbook Pro”.

Despite having the same Texas Instruments Control Chipset as the other Xiaomi MI Power Banks, Xiaomi achieved to make the new Mi Power Bank 5200 mAH more efficient. It has a 93% energy conversion , that is 8% higher then the conversion rate on the current 5200mAH model. Also the new 5000mAH Power Bank gets a 2.1A output versus the 1.5A output on the older model.

Despite what you think of Xiaomi, it looks like with this new Mi Power Bank for just 8USD they will have another product that will sell like Hot Cakes and help to spread the Xiaomi brand. The product went on Sales today in China for 49 yuan (26RM) and will be sold alongside the current models. So far Xiaomi does not announce yet, if and when they will launch in other global markets.

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By now most of you know the popular OnePlus One phone, the 300USD Flagship, that is very hard to get your hands on. This morning OnePlus announced the launch of new rear covers, like sandstone black and others for 27.11 on their official Weibo Account, but that is not all. There might be something very big coming for all you OnePlus Fans!

OnePlus posted this message in their official Weibo Account:“The theory of evolution applies to all things in the world, including technological devices, so stayed tuned!” The photo attached says “Its time to evolve”

In earlier reports OnePlus CEO already confirmed that OnePlus is working on their own Operating System for the OnePlus Two. Could this message mean the OnePlus Two will launch very soon?

OnePLus Two by Nikolar Prettner

A source very close to OnePLus told Business Insider more infos about the OnePlus Two as well:

• The OnePlus Two will get more customizable, because OnePlus wants to produce more of their SwapStyle Back Covers, in Bamboo etc.
• The OnePLus Two will be definitely cheaper then other Android Phones off Contract. No big surprise here, with the 300USD PriceTag of the OnePlus One, but still comforting to hear.
• The OnePlus Two will have OnePlus own Custom Rom as an option. We still dont know if Cyanogen Mod will be an Option as well, or if OnePLus will put all eggs in one basket with their own OS.
• There will be “surprises in store when it comes to hardware.”: Whatever that means, we surely hope to see the new Snapdragon 810 Chipset and 4GB of RAM – minimum 😉

Anyways lets hope that “Its time to evolve” really means that we will see the next generation of OnePlus One, the OnePlus Two launching soon! It might be also the launch of Cyanogen Mod 12!

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