Xiaomi gearing up to sell 100,000 units per week in India next month

Xiaomi is gearing up for the festive season in India next month by increasing the availability of devices. Company Vice President Hugo Barra said the company is planning to make provisions to sell 100,000 units per week from the 60,000 they do currently.

Xiaomi recently started selling handsets in India and has been operating exclusively through online retailer Flipkart. In the short amount of time, the company made a reputation for having frustratingly low stock, which is made available through flash sales and goes out of stock in mere seconds.

The ridiculously inexpensive but feature packed Xiaomi Mi 3 was discontinued in India briefly after it was launched but the company plans to bring it back during Diwali, which sales of electronics are at an all-time high in India. It will be sold alongside the Redmi 1S and will later be joined by the Redmi Note.

Source

Google working with HTC on an upcoming 9-inch tablet

We have been hearing rumors of Google working with HTC over an upcoming Nexus tablet for months now. WSJ has now confirmed from its sources that the two companies are indeed working on a 9-inch tablet.

According to the sources, Google switches between brands to build the Nexus devices to prevent any one manufacturer from gaining monopoly, which should explain why it went with HTC despite HTC not having a particularly strong track record when it comes to tablets.

HTC refused to comment on the matter but Google said, “Android is a vibrant ecosystem, and many of the industry players are doing very well. There’s room for many partners to do well and to innovate with Android.”

Google's next wave of Nexus devices, including a Motorola made smartphone and the aforementioned HTC tablet, are expected late this year.

Source

Huawei announces very cheap Honor 4 Play with 4G

Over in its home country, Huawei unveiled the Honor 4 Play today. This smartphone comes very soon after the Chinese company announced the Honor 3C Play (which was back in August), but the new device has something the older one didn't: 4G LTE support.

This has been made possible as Huawei has switched chipsets - the Honor 3C Play uses a MediaTek SoC, while the new Honor 4 Play goes with the 64-bit Snapdragon 410 from Qualcomm, coming with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU.

Otherwise, though, the two handsets share most of their specs. Like the recently unveiled Honor 3C Play, the new Honor 4 Play comes with a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, 1GB of RAM, an 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 2 MP front-facing camera for selfies, and a 2,000 mAh battery.

  
Huawei Honor 4 Play

The Honor 4 Play does however only sport 8GB of built-in storage, compared to its predecessor's 16GB. The new smartphone has dual-SIM support (dual-standby) as well as a back cover that uses a faux-leather texture.

It will go on sale in China tomorrow, for the very low price of 799 yuan (that's around $130 or €101 at the current exchange rates).

Source (in Chinese) | Via

Multiple Google employees spotted running Android L on Nexus 4

After Google released the developer preview of the Android L on just the Nexus 5 and the Nexus 7, those using the older Nexus 4 were left in the cloud of uncertainty, wondering whether their phone will get the final version when it releases later this year.

Although this may not be the confirmation they are looking for, a couple of Google employees were spotted on Google's support forums running a build of Android L on their Nexus 4.

Again, this does not really confirm that the phone will get the final version, seeing how some people based their assumption that it won't get simply on the unavailability of the developer preview, it does show that the phone is capable of running the OS. And why shouldn't it? After all, even the cheaper Motorola and Android One devices are expected to get the Android L update when it releases.

Source 1 • Source 2 • Via

Motorola Moto 360 to get a gold version soon

The Motorola Moto 360 is the most sought after smartwatch currently on the market and chances it will remain like this at least until the IFA-announced devices hit the shelves. However the US company is hoping its first smart wearable will retain its popularity even after that and is ready to spice it up a bit to achieve it.

Motorola posted the following picture on its official website, showing the Moto 360 in three different colors – black, silver and gold. The smartwatch is currently only offered in silver and black, so it could either be a mistake by someone on the Motorola design team, or simply a case of someone jumping the gun on an upcoming announcement. The series of events that came after the image was published makes us strongly believe that it’s a case of the latter, though.

After the guys from Android Police noticed the promo image, they immediately contacted Motorola for comment. The immediate response? The image was replaced with the one you see on the left below. Eventually that one was also replaced with the one on the right, which makes it look as if the gold watch was never there. Quite suspicious isn’t it?

The response that the Motorola representative delivered added even more fuel to the fire:

Although we can't comment on gold specifically, we’re always exploring new materials and we intend to provide Moto 360 in a selection of styles in the future.

For those not fluent in PR this roughly translates to: “Oopsie, we really shouldn’t have done that. But now that you saw it, please pretend it never happened until we actually announce it”. The choice of worlds is particularly interesting – “new materials” rather than “new colors” suggests that we are looking at a gold-made Moto 360. It could either be gold-coated or made out of solid gold, but if it’s the latter the price might go sky-high.

Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long until the image resurfaces, along with an official press release from Motorola.

Source | Via

OnePlus One finally gets a pre-order system, live in October

The past few months have been a pretty mixed bag for OnePlus, the Chinese startup that's behind the One - which it calls a "flagship killer". A series of mishaps, as well as its famous invite system, have led many to hold on purchasing the One. But if you have, you may reconsider starting next month.

See, it looks like the company finally heard the cries of would-be customers across the world, and it's set to introduce a new pre-order system "in late October".

Here's how the new system will work. OnePlus will hold limited time sales, during which anyone will be able to place an order for the OnePlus One. So far it sounds like Xiaomi's 'flash sale' model. The difference is that OnePlus won't limit the amount of orders that can happen during each window.

Obviously though, the number of readily available Ones will be limited, so those will immediately go out to people who ordered (presumably on a first come, first served basis). When the stock runs out, the remaining orders will be automagically transformed into pre-orders.

If you'll be in this situation, the company promises it will give you an approximation of when it expects to ship your order before you go through with the payment authorization (so you can easily back down if it feels like too much of a wait). Also, if you decided to go with the pre-order but change your mind before your handset has shipped, you'll be able to cancel easily.

Interestingly though, the invites will stick around. And they'll let you skip the wait. If you receive an invite while you're waiting for a pre-order to ship, you can apply it to skip the pre-order queue and have your One sent to you immediately.

Even more information will be made public about a week before the new system goes live.

Source

Oppo R1S goes on sale in Malaysia as Oppo R1L, costs €290

Oppo R1S went official in China back in April. It's a worthy upgrade over its Oppo R1 predecessor with better camera, better Snapdragon 400 chipset and LTE Cat.4 connectivity.

Today Oppo has launched the smartphone in Malaysia, where it is called Oppo R1L. It has identical specs and costs RM 1,198 or about €290.

In case you need a refresh, the Oppo R1L features a 5" 720p IPS display and comes in a super slim 7.1mm shell. It is powered by the wide-spread Snapdragon 400 chipset with a quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A7 processor and 1GB of RAM. It has a 13MP rear and 5MP front camera, both capable of 1080p video recording. It supports LTE Cat.4 connectivity, the most important upgrade on its predecessor.

Now that Oppo R1L, also known as R1S, has broken the Chinese exclusivity, we expect it to roll out in even more markets soon enough.

Google launches Android One in India with three new smartphones

fter announcing it first back at I/O 2014, Google today finally launched the first Android One devices in India.

The first three phones to be launched are the Karbon Sparkle V, Micromax Canvas A1, and Spice Dream UNO. The Dream UNO is the cheapest at INR6,299 ($103), while the Sparkle V costs INR6,399 ($105) and the Canvas A1 costs INR6,499 ($106).

All three phones are being sold exclusively through three different online stores. The Karbonn Sparkle V will be sold on Snapdeal, the Micromax Canvas V1 through Amazon, and the Spice Dream UNO through Flipkart.

In terms of specifications, all three phones are based on Google's reference design, and as such are pretty much identical. All three have a 4.5-inch, 854x480 resolution IPS display, MediaTek MT6582 SoC with 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Mali 400 MP2 GPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage space with microSD card slot, 5 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera, FM radio, dual SIM support, and replaceable 1,700mAh battery. The only differences will be in the design and minor software enhancements.

The best thing about these phones is that they all run stock version of Android, 4.4.4 KitKat in this case. The phones will get OS updates directly from Google for two years since launch. These phones will also be first in line with the Nexus devices to get Android L, or any future release.

Google also has done partnership with Airtel, India's biggest mobile carrier. Users on Airtel will be able to download Android updates for free (that is, without being charged for data downloads) for the first six months. Airtel users will also be able to download up to 200MB worth of apps from the Google Play Store every month, which won't be counted towards their mobile data.

Another interesting feature is that Android One users will be able to download and watch YouTube videos offline, something not yet available on any Android device. They will also get one year free subscription to content on Google Play Newsstand. Apart from this, the individual online stores selling these phones also have additional offers available, including financing options, discounts on accessories, and free memory card.

India is just the first country to receive Android One. Google will be bringing Android One devices to other countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines and South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) by the end of the year, with more countries to follow in 2015.

There will also be other Androd OEMs, who will be joining Micromax, Karbonn, and Spice later. These include Acer, Alcatel Onetouch, ASUS, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic, Xolo, and Qualcomm.

Android One is a great initiative by Google to bring smartphones to the masses. But with devices like Xiamomi Redmi 1s and Moto E (which are similarly priced and offer better specs) already on the market, not to mention the lack of availability of these phones outside the aforementioned online retailers, we would have to wait and see how successful

Moto Maker is now up and running in the UK

Motorola has launched the Moto Maker website in the UK. It supportsMoto X (2014) model for now and allows you to fully customize your brand new smartphone.

You can choose from 25 different rear panels, 2 base colors (black and white) and 10 accent colors. Naturally, you can choose between 16 and 32GB internal memory. Finally, engraving options is also available, so you can make your new Moto X fully yours.

Moto X (2014) starts at £419.99. A leather or and wooden back will cost you extra £20, while the 32GB option adds £40 over the base price.

Both Moto G (2014) and Moto X (2014) will be launching in the UK soon. You can already place pre-orders and the shipping will cost you nothing.

Moto Maker UK | Via

Apple iPhone 6 won't meet demand until November

Apple's is on the verge of filling stores with its latest iPhone (the "smaller" iPhone 6) and as experience has taught us there is a lot of demand for the latest iGadget.

But according to sources Apple will not be able to meet initial iPhone 6 demand and may struggle to catch up to the market until as late as November.

The high demand should come as no surprise - the iPhone 6 marks an end to Apple's stubbornness to launch a big-screened phone - and the first 24 hours showed a huge interest in the 4.7" and 5.5" iPhone duo - 4 million pre-orders in 24 hours.

When the iPhone 6 becomes available in walk-in stores this Friday there will be some stock available but not much and users are expected to wait beyond September 19 to get their hands on the device. No word on how well the iPhone 6 Plus will be stocked.

Source

Snapdeal announces Karbonn Sparkle V Android One phone

Google hasn't yet officially announced Android One devices but the respective online stores who will be selling these devices just can't wait. After Flipkart prematurely pulled the trigger on Spice Android One Dream UNO Mi-498, Snapdeal has now put up a product page for the (sensibly named) Karbon Sparkle V.

Although the design is slightly different of the Karbonn phone compared to the Spice, it is essentially the same phone underneath with Google's reference design. It has a 4.5-inch, 854x480 IPS display, 1.3GHz quad-core CPU and Mali 400 GPU, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage space with microSD card slot, 5 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera, dual-SIM support, 1,700mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat with guaranteed updates.

The Karbonn Sparkle V is priced at INR6,399 ($105).

Source • Via

New Moto X pre-orders in the US will kick off on September 16

Motorola spilled the beans on the new Moto X pre-order details in the United States. AT&T will begin taking orders for the smartphone this coming Tuesday, September 16.

The on-contract pricing of the customizable smartphone is $99.99. More details on the new Moto X pricing by the company’s partners around the globe will be released soon.

SIM Unlocked Moto X Pure Edition will also be available for $499.99 with no contract. Tinkerers will be able to unlock its bootloader too.

In addition to the 2014 Moto X, the manufacturer will begin taking orders for the Moto Hint wireless headset, as well as the Motorola Turbo Charger. The duo of accessories will cost $149.99 and $34.99 respectively.

Source

Spice Android One Dream hits Flipkart before its debut

A yet to be announced Android One device by Spice appeared on Flipkart before its official announcement. The budget-friendly handset will make it debut at a Google press event in India on Monday, September 15.

The listing was quickly taken down, though we already got the chance to scoop the details on the epically named Spice Android One Dream UNO Mi-498. The handset will cost Rs. 6,999 (about $115) when it becomes officially available.

The Spice Android One Dream UNO Mi-498 specs include MediaTek SoC with 1.3GHz quad-core CPU and Mali 400 GPU, a gig of RAM, and 4GB of built-in memory with microSD card slot. A 4.5” FWGA IPS display, 5MP main camera with LED flash, 2MP selfie unit, and dual-SIM support are also on board. The device boots Android 4.4.4 out of the box.

We will be covering Google's event on Monday. Be sure to tune in to find out what the company has in store for the Indian market.

Via

Apple launching the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in India on October 17

Apple will be launching the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in India next month. According to the Apple India website, both the phones will be launched on October 17.

iPhones have had a bit of delayed release in India historically but over the years the gap between the US launch and Indian launch has reduced dramatically. This is by far the shortest so far, so those looking to purchase the phone through official channels in India should be pleased.

No pricing information has been revealed yet.

Source • Via

Snapdragon 210 with quad-core CPU and LTE goes official

Today Qualcomm announced its next generation affordable chipset - Snapdragon 210. Its key upgrades over the existing Snapdragon 200 include better Adreno 304 GPU, 1080p video capture and playback support, and LTE Cat.4 connectivity.

These are the new Snapdragon 210 key specifications:

• Quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor up to 1.1 GHz
• Adreno 304 GPU with support of 720p displays
• 8MP camera support
• 1080p video recording and playback
• LTE Cat.4 connectivity
• LTE dual-SIM support
• Quick Charge 2.0 support (up to 75% faster charging)

Qualcomm expects the new entry-level Snapdragon 210 chipset to become available in various affordable smartphones in the first half of 2015. The manufacturer hopes its latest design will enable the creation of the first LTE-A sub-$100 smartphones.

Source • Specs

Android in August: KitKat runs on a quarter of all devices

Google released its Android distribution report for the month of August. Unsurprisingly, Android 4.4 KitKat continues its march towards larger market share – it now runs on almost a quarter of all devices out there (24.5% to be precise).

The gain of Android 4.4 came mostly at the expense of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Both builds lost some of their share over the month of August.

Android 4.2 and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean registered a slight gain in share. Android 2.3 Gingerbread dropped to 11.4%, while Android 2.2 Froyo remains on 0.7% of all devices.

We don’t expect any dramatic changes to the overall landscape in September – Android 4.4 will certainly continue its march towards larger cut of the distribution pie. The impending launch of Android L will surely alter things in the months beyond.

Apple officially announces the iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5" display

The Apple iPhone 6 Plus is now official. It's built around a 5.5" IPS LCD display with an Retina HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels or, in other words 1080p). The pixel density is 400 ppi and iOS 8 has been tweaked to take full advantage of the larger display.

The back of the iPhone 6 Plus is made of anodized aluminum and the stainless steel frame of the phone ensures its rigidity.

The user interface has been optimized to take advantage of the larger screen and offers split-screen mode in several apps like earlierleaks suggested.

The new 64-bit A8 chip that powers the Apple iPhone 6 Plus is built using the 20nm manufacturing process. Thanks to this it's more power efficient, while still offering 25% more CPU power and 50% GPU boost.

The iPhone 6 Plus supports 20 LTE bands, but only 150Mbps cat4 LTE, rather than the latest 300Mbps Cat 6. On the positive side the phablet comes with VoLTE and Wi-Fi 802.11ac, which promises 3x faster Wi-Fi compared to the iPhone 5s. Wi-Fi calling is also a new feature, which will work on T-Mobile in the US and EE in the UK.

Further on, the iPhone 6 Plus packs NFC, another first for the company. Thanks to it, you'll be able to make payments by using Apple Pay - Apple's own NFC payment system.

At the back, the iPhone 6 Plus uses a 8MP iSight camera with a True Tone dual LED flash. The pixel size is the same as on the iPhone 5s at 1.5μ and the aperture is unchanged at f/2.2. However the iPhone 6 Plus has an optical image stabilization - a first for the company.

There's also phase-detection autofocus that should improve focusing speed twice. It is enabled by the A8 chip, which also includes powerful image signal processor designed by Apple.

The Apple iPhone 6 Plus camera records 1080p video at 30 and 60fps. There's a slow-mo shooting available, too, at 240fps, but its resolution hasn't been specified.

The Apple iPhone 6 Plus will start at $299 for the 16GB version, while the 64GB and 128GB will retail for $399 and $499, respectively.

iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders commence on September 12 and shipments being a week later, on September 19.

Android 4.4.4 KitKat update lands on Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo I9300I

The latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat version is now available for download on the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo GT-I9300I. The dual-SIM smartphone was launched back in April running on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but now it has been brought up to date.

The Snapdragon 400-powered Galaxy S3 Neo I9300I is a dual-SIM droid with 4.8" Super AMOLED HD scree, an 8MP rear cam, and 16GB expandable storage. It has a single-SIM sibling, called Galaxy S3 Neo I9301I, but it is running on KitKat since launch.

The new update brings all the latest Android optimizations and bug fixes, faster and more fluid interface, transparent status bar, among others. The update should be waiting for you via the OTA service. It sould become available (if not already) on Samsung KIES too.

Apparently the update is seeding in selected Asian countries. The process is gradual, but it will eventually hit everyone worldwide.

Motorola Moto 360 now available for purchase, costs $250

Although Motorola unveiled the Moto 360 long time ago, the overall details about the product and especially its pricing have been kept a secret. Today, the device has finally been officially announced with all the details that you'd want.

First of all, the price. The Moto 360 is priced at $249.99 and will go on sale today, September 5, on Motorola's website. The smartwatch will be available in three variants: Light stainless steel case with gray Horween leather band, Light stainless steel case with stone Horween leather band, and Dark stainless steel case with black Horween leather band. A metal band option will cost $300.

Other than that the Moto 360 has a 1.56-inch, 320x290 resolution (205PPI) semi-circular display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is IP67 certified, which means it can be submerged in water for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter. The watch weighs 49g.

The Moto 360 has a built-in pedometer, as well as an optical heart rate monitor. The device runs on an TI OMAP 3 processor with 4GB internal memory and 512MB of RAM. There is a single button on the side for waking up the device, vibrator motor for notifications, and dual microphones.

Motorola claims an all day battery life (12 hours) with the Moto 360. The internal 320mAh battery can be wirelessly charged using the wireless charging dock provided with it.

The Moto 360 is compatible with Android devices running Android 4.3 and above.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 - pricing and availability info

If Samsung left you impressed by its new lineup of devices at Berlin's IFA 2014 and you're already aching to find what the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will cost you need look no further.

According to a leak over in the Netherlands the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 may cost between €795 and €799 and become available on October 10. Four retailers already have a price up and running for the Galaxy Note 4 - Smartphone Shop, GSMwijzer, Studentmobiel and belsimpel.

In the UK various carriers and retailers have also expressed that they will be carrying the device. Phones 4u will offer the Galaxy Note 4 in the UK in an exclusive Gold color, Three UK will have the device as well, Carphone Warehouse has a registration form and expects the device in October and carrier collaboration Everything Everywhere (EE) has also said it will carry the device.

Via

stay tuned for more updates!

Moto X and Moto G available in the UK today, Moto 360 in October

Motorola unveiled the new generation Moto X and Moto G and you don't have to wait. They are already available in the US, but they've also arrived in Europe. Flipkart in India is also launching the new Moto G. The long-awaited Moto 360 smartwatch is available in the US but will come to the UK next month.

Here's the Motorola Moto X price in the UK, it's available at the newly arrived Motomaker with a basic back or a premium wood or leather back.

	Plastic	Leather/wood
16GB	£420	£440
32GB	£460	£480

The Motorola Moto G pricing scheme is simpler, the phone starts at £145 and is available today from Amazon UK. In India Flipkart is launching the Moto G today at INR 13,000 (for comparison purposes that works out to £132). There's no pricing info for the dual-SIM version yet.

The Moto X and Moto G will be launching in France next month too, at €520 and €190 respectively.

The Motorola Moto 360 will arrive in October to quite a few retailers – Amazon, Tesco, John Lewis and from O2. The price will be £200 for a leather strap (gray or black leather).

More photos of new Moto G and its box leak

The Motorola event in Chicago is hours away but the Moto G successor is already getting stocked in Indian stores. We received more photos of the new mid-ranger and this time it and two of its covers come out of the box.

The phone adopts the Moto E design with two horizontal bars on the front and the model name will not feature model numbers to distinguish it.

Alleged photos of Motorola Moto G successor

The photos are rather low-res but if we're reading the back of the box correctly, the phone features a 5" 720p screen with Gorilla Glass protection, Snapdragon 400 chipset (quad-core CPU) and an 8MP camera. This particular model features Digital TV, a common addition in Brazil that will not be on the international version.

The two back covers that were photographed were Black and Cyan, but it's not entirely clear if both came from the box. The box calls the phone "Motorola Moto G Colors" so the extra color back may be a perk for this SKU.

 
The retail box of the new Moto G

By the way, these photos come from the same tipster that sent us the new Moto G box yesterday, however, the box design is different.

Google to hold an event in India on Sept 15

Google announced it is holding an event on September 15 in India after sending out press invites. The event is happening on Monday at 12AM with Google saying that more details will be revealed as the date draws near.

The company is likely going to reveal its detailed plans for the Android One program. Announced at Google I/O this year, the program includes phone makers Karbonn, Micromax and Spice as the first to take part.

When revealing Android One, Sundar Pichai said that Google wants to take the wheel on the user experience in the entry-level segment. As a result, the phones under the Android One initiative will come with almost stock Android software.

However, the title "Block the date" is intriguing as we think it suggests the event will also touch upon theGoogle Ara project. Ara was initially developed by Motorola, but following the Lenovo deal to acquire the company, Google said it will keep Project Ara for itself.

The Ara smartphones will have removable modules that will let you replace or upgrade specific parts of the device. The event is going to be interesting for sure, so don't forget the mark down the date.

Via

Stay Tuned!

The Moto G2 retail box caught in a retailer's warehouse

We received a photo of the Motorola Moto G's retail box – no, not the old Moto G, the new one. That's right, it seems that Motorola will not be calling it the G2 (perhaps to avoid confusion with the LG G2).

The box was snapped inside the warehouse of the Indian online retailer Flipkart and there seem to be plenty of boxes in stock. The Indian e-tailer had exclusivity on the original Moto G.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it will have exclusivity on the new model of course, we should get more info on the new Motorola Moto G this Thursday. Note that there's an event in India scheduled for the following date so we should see a confirmation (or rebuttal) on the exclusivity on Friday.

The new Moto G is expected to have a 5" 720p screen, Snapdragon 400 chipset and an 8MP camera. Import price in India suggests the 16GB model will cost INR 13,000 ($215 by today's exchange rates).

For comparison here's what the original Moto G box looks like.