Nokia Lumia 635 now available for $39.99 via Radio Shack

If you’ve missed some of the bargain Lumia deals Microsoft and other retailers have been offering until the Christmas, you can now catch up and make yourself a great, if somewhat late, Christmas present.

Radio Shack, which isn’t doing great lately, has launched a great deal for the Nokia Lumia 635. It can be yours for $49.99, but if you provide Radio Shack with your valid email address, the price becomes $39.99.

The Lumia 635 is AT&T-branded and comes with a AT&T GoPhone pre-paid card inside. Naturally the Lumia 635 is contract-free though it might be locked on AT&T’s network.

The budget Nokia Lumia 635 comes with a 4.5” IPS display, a quad-core processor, a 5MP camera and LTE Cat.3 connectivity. You can learn more about the Lumia 635 in our in-depth review.

Source | Via

HTC One (M8) gets caught with Android 5.0.1 and Sense 6.0

Screenshots and videos of HTC One (M8) running Android 5.0.1 with Sense 6.0 made the rounds online. This time, the device boots software number 4.1 as opposed to 4.0 from a past leak.

Unsurprisingly, the Sense-d Android 5.0 on the HTC One (M8) looks fresh yet familiar. The Recents view is almost stock Android-like, while the Notification area and the Quick Settings are, in terms of design, a fusion between the language seen in Google's Lollipop and HTC Sense.

The new OS version should arrive on the Taiwanese company’s flagship smartphone in the near future. HTC promised to update the One (M8) to Android 5.0 by February 2, 2015.

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BlackBerry and Boeing to release a self-destructing smartphone

BlackBerry’s reputation in the mobile world lays on two pillars – data security and refusal to blindly follow design trends. That’s why the Canadian company seemed like the most obvious partner choice for Boeing when the aircraft manufacturer decided to build a smartphone of its own.

BlackBerry’s CEO spoke to Reuters, confirming that the two companies have started the development of the Boeing Black phone. Featuring call encryption, the Android-based smartphone is aimed at government agencies and other types of business where data protection is crucial.

And while call encryption isn’t anything new or that hard to come by the other security feature of the Boeing Black phone is far more interesting. Apparently, the Black phone will be able to self-destruct if tampered with, which should provide further security for sensitive data if the phone is lost or stolen.

No specifics were given on how the whole self-destructing thing will work or how dangerous it will be for the current holder. All we know is that the phone will feature dual SIM slots and that it will be powered by Android, while also utilizing the BlackBerry Enterprise Service 12.

It’s already being offered by Boeing to its partners though, so its production start shouldn’t be too far away.

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OnePlus One will have Cyanogen support in India after all

The developers from Cyanogen spoke up about the controversy surrounding the lack of future support for their ROM on OnePlus One handsets sold in India. As it turns out, the company will continue pushing over-the-air updates for all global OnePlus One devices, including those in India.

The news arrives a week after OnePlus officially announced that its smartphone will be updated to non-Cyanogen firmware in India. The reason behind the odd occurrence was a deal between Cyanogen and Micromax. Under its terms, Cyanogen would exclusively support only the Indian manufacturer’s Yu brand on the local market.

This new development is great news for potential customers in India. OnePlus One launched in the country a couple of days ago.

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Second generation Moto E has its specs rumored

There's already a second generation Moto G out there, so you might be expecting a successor for the even lower-priced Moto E to emerge any moment now. And you wouldn't be wrong, as it turns out.

According to a new report from Greece, the second-gen Moto E will be made official "soon enough", and like the new Moto G, it will come with hardware improvements compared to its predecessor.

The new Moto E is said to feature a 4.5-inch touchscreen with 540x960 resolution, a 5 MP rear camera sans LED flash, and even LTE connectivity. The exact chipset isn't detailed, but apparently the upcoming handset will come with innards similar to those seen in the original Moto G from 2013.

This means we could see a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC in there (or perhaps the newer Snapdragon 410), with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU or thereabouts, aided by 1GB of RAM. If the Snapdragon 410 is running the show, then the new Moto E may have been the device spotted in a benchmark around one month ago.

The new Moto E will run Android 5.0 Lollipop from day one, and it will obviously be extremely affordable - though whether it will keep the price point of the already selling Moto E hasn't been revealed.

A hands-on session with the new smartphone lead to observations about it having a good grip despite its thickness, as well as a responsive software experience overall. Unfortunately though, this hasn't resulted in a hands-on image, what you see above is the first-gen Moto E. The new model will look pretty similar, however.

Source (in Greek)

Moto G first generation getting Lollipop update soon

The Moto G 2nd Generation got the Lollipop update surprisingly quickly, quicker than some of the Nexus devices even. But the first generation owners may be feeling left out in the cold, especially considering it's not been long since they got their phones.

Well, it seems they won't have to wait too long. Motorola has updated the Motorola Update Services app on the first generation Moto G. If you check the changelog for the app, it simply says 'This update is necessary to enable a future upgrade of your device to Android 5.0, Lollipop.'

We don't know exactly how long it will take for the update to arrive but it probably won't be too long from now.

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OnePlus One launched in India for $355 on Amazon

OnePlus has finally launched its much awaited OnePlus One in India. The phone is priced at a mouthwatering INR21,999 for the 64GB model, which is approximately $355, very close to the $349 US pricing.

The phone will be sold exclusively through Amazon India using the invite system for now although the phone will be available through the pre-order system at a later date. Only the 64GB model is being sold here.

The phone will be available for purchase today for those who have an invite. Only 20,000 units will be available initially, with more arriving later.

As we have mentioned before, the OnePlus One in India won't be getting any updates to CyanogenMod due to an exclusivity deal with Micromax. As such, the company will later provide a beta version of their own Android Lollipop ROM that will replace CM on the phone.

The company is working on building its service centers in India and will have 25 walk-in service centers around the country. India is also the first market outside of China where OnePlus will have an official presence with General Manager Vikas Agarwal leading the India team.

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IDC: India is fastest growing Asia Pacific smartphone market

IDC put out a new report, stating that India continues to be the fastest growing Asia Pacific market for smartphones. The Q3 smartphone sales saw a growth of 82% over the same period of 2013.

The data also mentions a quarter-on-quarter growth of 27%. This exponential growth has largely been boosted by the festive demands.

There are also a number of other reasons that have played a crucial part in forming the favorable statistics that exceed every other market in the Asian Pacific region in terms of growth. Karan Thakkar, senior market analyst at IDC India, puts a lot of emphasis on positive customer attitude toward the market and mostly the existing low levels of inflation.

He believes, that these are the needed ingredients to ensure a fast paced and quickly refreshing device market. When the intensifying push towards 4G is added to the mix, Karan predicts an even greater spike in demand, reaching upwards of 80 million units in 2015.

Another peculiar trend, identified by the same researcher is a possible rise in interest towards phablet devices, which the IDC defines as having a screen size between 5.5 and 6.99 inches. At current their overall market share in India is pretty low and constant at 6%. Consumers still regard smartphones with screens between 4.5 and 5.5 inches as the ideal everyday device. Karan, however believes that richer media content and faster data connection will bring about a need for higher resolution and bigger screens and definitely sees this type of hardware making a return.

Source | Via

OnePlus One will launch in India on December 2

OnePlus One will launch in India next week, on December 2. As we know already, the powerful yet affordable smartphone and its accessories will be exclusively sold through Amazon in the vast market.

Official pricing in India for the smartphone is yet to be revealed. OnePlus One will be offered via India-specific invites. Users will be able to register their interest in obtaining one on the device’s Indian product page.

We noticed that customers in India will have 48 hours to utilize their invite. OnePlus One invites in for other markets typically last for 24 hours.

In order to mark the launch of the smartphone, OnePlus and the retail giant released a promo video starring the Amazon India’s country manager and the CEO of the Chinese company. See it below.

Source 1 | Source 2

Android 5.0 is now seeding to Moto X (2014) for Verizon

ndroid 5.0 Lollipop is now seeding to Moto X (2014) for Verizon Wireless. The update arrives only a couple of days after soak test invites got out to Motorola Feedback Network participants.

The latest Android build for the Moto X is in stock guise, so it offers the same user interface experience as the Nexus 6. The biggest highlights of Android 5.0 include sleek Material Design and brand new ART runtime. The latter makes devices feel a lot more responsive regardless of the task they perform.

Verizon deserves a hat tip for bringing the new OS so quickly to the Moto X (2014). It was only a couple of weeks ago when Motorola began seeding Android 5.0 to the Pure Edition of the smartphone and Moto G (2014).

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 reference hardware kits go on sale

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 reference smartphone and tablet hardware kits are now available to order. The incredibly well equipped development platforms are offered by the Canadian company Intrinsyc.

Priced at $799, the smartphone platform consists of a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC with octa-core CPU, Adreno 430 GPU, and Qualcomm Hexagon V56 DSP. The list goes on with 4GB of LP-DDR4 RAM (available commercially in a device for the first time), 32GB of built-in memory, microSD card slot, and 6.2” display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.

The handset packs a 13MP main camera with 4K video capture and 4MP front-facing unit with 1080p video recording. There are eight microphones built-in. An overwhelmingly rich sensor and connectivity suite includes fingerprint sensor, temperature and humidity sensor.

The device is powered by 3,020mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0. It runs “the latest available Android OS” at the moment.

The tablet platform is priced at $999 and features the same chipset and amount of RAM as the smartphone. Its display is a 10.1” 4K unit (3840 x 2160) pixels, while onboard memory sits at 64GB, which can be further expanded via microSD card slot.

The main camera of the slate is a 13MP unit with 4K capture @ 60fps, coupled with 4MP front-facing snapper. A duo of 3D IR cameras is also on board.

The tablet features the same sensors as the smartphone. It is powered by a 7,560mAh battery.

The smartphone and the tablet platforms will begin shipping by mid December. Both devices are not intended for regular consumers, yet they give us a good glimpse about what’s in store for the Android flagship devices next year. We reckon that 2015 will be quite exciting.

Source

Xiaomi Mi3 5.0 Lollipop update in testing, release imminent

Xiaomi is on a seriously hot streak lately, the company selling smartphones as fast as it can build it. Its attractively priced devices even helped it climb to the third spot globally even though the quality of the Chinese maker’s after-sale support has often been questioned.

Luckily the Chinese are also looking to address that last concern by providing more timely updates. The development of the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for its former Mi 3 flagship is already in progress as revealed by the following picture posted by one of the Xiaomi developers.

The picture was posted on Weibo and shows the status screen of a Xiaomi Mi 3 where under Android version it says 5.0. Other details to come with the image is that the ROM is for the WCDMA variant of the Mi3 – the one available outside of China.

We don’t have a time frame for the update release, but it shouldn’t take too long now that the company is bragging about the development. We’ll keep you updated as more info pops up.

Source | Via

[UPDATE]Unlocked Moto G 2nd Gen getting Android Lollipop

Update: It seems this is just a soak test and not a widespread rollout as was written in the original article, which you can read below.

Well, this is surprising. After the developer edition of the Moto X 2nd Generation started receiving the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, it's now turn of the unlocked version of the Moto G 2nd Generation. Motorola's latest budget smartphone is now being treated to the latest and greatest version of Android, well before any of the Nexus or Google Play edition devices, we might add.

We have seen some urgency this time from OEMs regarding the Lollipop update release but this is quite interesting. Not only is Motorola pushing the update well before Google is, it is doing so for its budget smartphone.

So far the update is only rolling out to the second generation model but it should arrive on the first gen as well some time in the near future.

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CyanogenMod introduces Scramble PIN layout

A known weakness of touchscreen PIN entry is that you leave fingerprints, so it's easy for someone holding your phones to tell which numbers you pressed (not their order, but it doesn't take too many tries to guess it). CyanogenMod has provided a solution – scramble the digits on the keyboard!

This way the position of your fingerprints doesn't give away which numbers were pressed since each time the numbers are in different positions. This does mean you can't just rely on muscle memory to enter the PIN, but security protocols are rarely pleasant.

Unfortunately, it seems that this feature will land on the proprietary version of CyanogenMod that powers the likes of OnePlus One. It's not clear if it will make it to the open-source distribution.

Such an option is already available via an Xposed module – Xblast Tools – but that one is paid and (obviously) requires Xposed. Jailbroken iPhones have CodeScrambler for an identical feature. If you know of a solution that works on an unmodified phone, drop a line in the comments.

In related news, CyanogenMod 12 based on Android 5.0 Lollipop is already in the works.

Source | Via

A global version of Motorola Droid Turbo to be unveiled in Brazil

The new Motorola Droid Turbo garnered great interest but as a Verizon-exclusive it felt out of reach. Now Motorola is sending out invites for a November 5 event to announce a global rollout. The invite doesn't call out the device by name but the corner of the back shows Droid Turbo's characteristic Ballistic Nylon back.

Rumors are for a name change to Moto Maxx, resurrecting the Maxx brand, which is associated with some of the most long-lasting batteries in the smartphone history.

It's a fitting name too, the Droid Turbo packs a 3,900mAh battery, which can soak up 8 hours' worth of battery life in just 15 minutes thanks to the Turbo Charger. Other specs include one of the sharpest displays yet, a 5.2" QHD AMOLED, a Snapdragon 805 chipset and a 21MP/2160p camera. Check outour hands-on for more details.

Motorola has already filed for a "Moto Maxx" trademark in the US and is planning a Brazil announcement, so the phone should see a proper global rollout, including alternative US carriers.

Source (in Portuguese)

Xolo One is a $105 smartphone that will get Android 5.0 Lollipop

Xolo introduced the latest addition to its lineup of attractively priced smartphones. Dubbed Xolo One the new droid costs just INR 6,599, which translates to about $105, making it one of the most affordable KitKat-powered handset around. More impressively, the company has committed to updating the Xolo One to Android 5.0 Lollipop later on, making it one of the cheapest tickets to Google’s latest ride.

As you could expect at this price point, the hardware of the smartphone isn’t quite as impressive. The Xolo One comes with a 4.5” IPS screen of the lowly FWVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels) that gives a pixel density of 218ppi. The handset is powered by a Mediatek MTK 6582M chipset with a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU running at 1.3GHz, a Mali 400 MP2 GPU and 1GB of RAM.

The Xolo One comes with dual SIM slots and support for 3G and 21Mbps HSPA networks, but no LTE. There’s a microSD card slot for expanding the 8GB of available storage by up to 32GB.

On the photography side the Xolo One offers a 5MP fixed-focus camera with BSI sensor, LED flash and 1080p video recording as well as a VGA front-facer. Connectivity is covered by microUSB 2.0, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi b/g/n.

The smartphone is powered by a 1,700mAh battery that should be able to last for up to 430 hours of stand-by and up to 19h of talk-time as long as you stick to 2G networks. If you switch to 3G however the numbers fall to 377 and 8 hours, respectively.

The Xolo One will be available in 6 different colors, including brown, black, white and red and will feature “leather finish back” (faux Samsung-style leather, we assume).

evleaks outs an official Google Nexus 6 press photo

Famous leak-agent @evleaks is officially retired, but in a sudden surge of nostalgia brought us a new leak. And not just any leak, as now we have the first official photo of the upcoming Nexus 6.

The photo shows the Nexus 6 front panel and its frame which seems to be made of metal. There are two visible inlays that are required on metal panels for the antennas to work - those wouldn't be needed if the frame was all plastic. Moreover, we get to see the Android L homescreen in action as well as the new iconography style that Google is going for.

The Google Nexus 6 is made by Motorola and reportedly packs a 5.9" QHD display, which makes it the first Nexus phablet. It's good to see then, that the unlock button and volume rocker are placed conveniently towards the center of the right side.

Earlier today, an upcoming Google video ad of the Nexus 6 and Android L leaked, which in addition to this press photo suggest that the launch of the two is imminent.

The rest of the rumored Nexus 6 specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset with a 2.65GHz quad-core Krait 450 CPU and 3GB of RAM. At the back, there's a 13MP camera with OIS standing between the two LEDs of the flash.

Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 rumored to be launching tomorrow

If the latest rumor on the matter is to be believed, tomorrow we'll be treated to the official announcement of both the HTC-made Nexus 9 tablet as well as the Nexus 6 phablet by Motorola. But don't expect a big event or anything like that - they'll apparently be introduced via a blog post by Google.

This reportedly has to do with the fact that Android L isn't finished yet, though it's unclear how that has prevented Google from holding a gathering for this product launch. Regardless, both of the new devices will run Android L from day one.

The Nexus 9 has had all of its previously leaked specs 'confirmed' once more by yet another anonymous source. So it should have an 8.9-inch 2,048x1,440 touchscreen, a 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 chipset, an 8 MP rear camera, a 3 MP front snapper, and dual front-facing speakers. It will weigh 480g and will come with a brushed aluminum frame, and not an all-metal design (this solution was reportedly chosen in order to keep costs down).

An 'origami' magnetic case for the Nexus 9 will be announced too. The Nexus 9 will be up for pre-order starting on October 17, and it should become available on November 3, though these dates could be changed.

There will be a 16GB Wi-Fi-only version which will cost $399, and a 32GB model with LTE connectivity built-in going for $499. Both will sport microSD card slots for storage expansion.

This particular rumor comes with no additional information about the Nexus 6, but it just got a leaked press render mere hours ago.

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Nexus 6 sized up against the iPhone 6 Plus in a photo

The Motorola Nexus 6 popped up in a leaked renderyesterday and now we get to see the phablet again, this time compared to the Apple iPhone 6. In the photo, you can see just how large the Nexus 6 is compared to the 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus. The Motorola-made phone is slightly taller and wider, but it has a 5.9" QHD display and front-facing speakers to show for it.

The phone also made an appearance in CPU-Z, which confirmed its internals. Expect to see a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset with a 2.65GHz quad-core Krait 450 CPU and 3GB of RAM. At the back, there's a 13MP camera with OIS standing between the two LEDs of the flash. Naturally, the Nexus 6 will run the latest Android L-release. Its name is still under tight wraps, though Google enjoys teasing us with it.

The Nexus 6 also leaked in an AT&T listing today. It suggests the phone's on-contract price is going to be $49.99. Both the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 could get their announcements later today, if the rumor mill is to be trusted.

Source | Via

iOS and Windows see small gains in US while Android dominates

comScore has published numbers for the average users on all the major platforms as well as users on a particular smartphone brand in the US. The data was collected over a period of three months ending in August 2014 and compared with previous data of three months ending in May 2014.

Comparing the three platforms, Android continues to dominate the US market with 52% of the user base at the end of August-14, down slightly from 52.1% by the end of May-14. Meanwhile, iOS has gone from 41.9% to 42%. Windows Phone went from 3.4% to 3.5%, while BlackBerry (2.3%) and Symbian (0.1%) maintained their numbers.

As for individual OEMs, Apple continues to lead by having 42% of the entire US smartphone user base, followed by Samsung at 28.9%, and LG at 6.7%. Motorola and HTC come in last place and are the only ones who saw a drop in August since May.

Apple iPhone 6 will arrive in India on October 17

Sales of Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will kick off in India on October 17. Pre-orders of the duo of smartphones will begin this coming Tuesday, on October 7.

Official pricing of the smartphones is yet to be revealed. Apple’s official retail partners Ingram Micro, Redington, Rashi Peripherals, and Reliance will release details when they become available.

India is not the only major market that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will enter on October 17. The devices will be available in China on the same date as well.

Via

Unlocking the Sony Xperia Z3 bootloader degrades camera

Sony has put up a disclaimer on its website stating that unlocking the bootloader on its high-end models, namely the Xperia Z3, will lead to issues in the performance of its camera. After unlocking the bootloader of the device, taking photos in low-light conditions is going to be worse than before. Additionally, noise reduction algorithms might be removed altogether.

The reason for the deterioration of the camera performance is that upon bootloader unlocking, the device loses certain DRM security keys. While this might seem unrelated to the camera, certain advanced camera algorithms in the phone are protected by DRM.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is also on the list of affected high-end smartphones. It shares its camera module with the Xperia Z3, so this is barely a surprise. The two phones can now be rooted and flashed with a custom recovery, but this requires unlocking the bootloader first. However, you may want to think twice before doing anything as this will certainly have a negative impact on the camera of your brand new Xperia phone.

Source | Via

Cyanogen reportedly declined acquisition bid from Google

According to a report in The Information, Cyanogen Inc. rejected acquisition interest from Google. Google’s Android chief, Sundar Pichai reportedly discussed the search giant's interest in the small company in a recent meeting with its top brass.

Instead of becoming part of Google, Cyanogen is in late-stage discussions for Series C round of financing. The company is seeking a valuation that is close to $1 billion, despite the fact that it is barely generating revenue.

Potential Cyanogen investors have reportedly been told that the company has struck a deal with the Indian manufacturer Micromax. The latter’s smartphones will be outfitted with custom Android ROMs, a la OnePlus One as part of the agreement.

Cyanogen's exact plans are yet to be fully revealed. However, it looks like the future ahead of its small team looks brighter than ever.

Source (subscription required) | Via

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.

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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.

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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