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Xiaomi alongside the Redmi Note 3 also took the wraps off its Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 tablet. The Android OS-based version comes in two built-in storage variants - 16GB and 64GB - which are priced at CNY 999 (approximately Rs. 10,300) and CNY 1,299 (approximately Rs. 13,500) respectively. A version running Windows 10 has also been introduced. While the Android-based MIUI 7 variant will go on sale in China this month, the Windows 10 variant will hit shelves in December. The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 sports a 7.9-inch (2048x1536 pixels) resolution IPS display with a pixel density of 326ppi. It runs a 64-bit quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8500 processor (2MB cache, 4 cores, 4 threads, base frequency 1.44GHz, burst frequency 2.24GHz) under-the-hood, clubbed with Intel HD GPU and 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM. It is also the first Xiaomi device to be powered by an Intel processor. The Mi Pad 2 features an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and f/2.0 aperture, along with a 5-megapixel wide-angle front-facin...

Xiaomi has already confirmed a launch event on Tuesday where the company is expected to reveal the new Redmi Note 2 Pro. The company has been teasing the handset in continuous teasers. Now, Xiaomi has shared a new teaser possibly showing the next-generation Mi Pad 2, as well as a fresh teaser for the Redmi Note 2 Pro. Bin Lin, Co-Founder and President, Xiaomi, has shared an image on Weibo showing the sides of the Mi Pad 2 tablet that is now expected to be showcased at the company's Tuesday event alongside the Redmi Note 2. The teaser image appears to confirm that the Mi Pad 2 tablet will feature metal body. Considering that the first generation MiPad (First Impressions) tablet did sport a plastic build, we will have to wait for the company's Tuesday launch event to see if Xiaomi has in fact chosen to use a metal body. The company also shared a new teaser image for its Redmi Note 2 Pro tipping the thin profile of the handset. Xiaomi so fa...

Last month, we told you that the Oppo A33m had received its "3C" certification in China. This means that the device was tested for safety, and passed. The phone also has been certified in China by TENAA. The A33m is a variation of the Oppo A33, which was unveiled yesterday in China priced at the equivalent of $235 USD. The Oppo A33 features a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 540 x 960 (qHD). The Snapdragon 410 chipset is under the hood, carrying a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU. 2GB of RAM is inside, along with 16GB of expandable native storage. An 8MP camera can be found in back, and the 5MP snapper in front has beautification modes to make your selfies look better.  A 2400mAh battery provides eight-hours of talk time, and the phone supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and MicroUSB 2.0 connectivity. Available in Black and White, the A33 is 7.55mm thick and weighs 146 grams. Even with the low-end specs, the Oppo A33 has a metal frame, and glass on the front and the back....

Both the Vivo X6 and the Vivo X6 Plus are expected to be unveiled on November 30th . The Vivo X6 was already certified by Chinese regulatory agency TENAA last week. Now, the Vivo X6 Plus L and the Vivo X6 Plus D have both been certified by TENAA. Unfortunately, the agency did not release any specs or photographs of these two variants of the X6 Plus. The Vivo X6 Plus is expected to come with a 5.7-inch screen, carrying a 1440 x 2560 resolution. Ironically, that would be smaller than the 6-inch screen expected on the Vivo X6. We could see the MediaTek MT6797 SoC under the hood. This is a Helio X20 chip that features a deca-core CPU. 4GB of RAM is inside, along with 32GB of internal storage. A 21MP camera is on the rear of the phone, while the 12MP front-facing snapper shoots selfies and handles video chats. A 4000mAh battery keeps the lights on. Either Android 5.1 or Android 6.0 will be pre-installed.  Forgetting an AnTuTu benchmark test that apparently is a fak...

Samsung has made a new clamshell smartphone official in China today. It's called W2016, and we've already seen it passing through TENAA not long ago. That said, it appears not to bear the Galaxy Golden 3 name as previously anticipated. The W2016 is now listed on Samsung's official website for China, but oddly enough there isn't a proper spec list over there, at least not yet. So when it comes to the handset's innards, we'll have to mostly rely on TENAA's data. The Samsung W2016 thus comes with two 3.9-inch 1,280x768 Super AMOLED touchscreens, a 16 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie shooter, the Exynos 7420 SoC at the helm, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, 4G+ and dual-SIM support, and a 2,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. It has support for both fast charging and wireless charging. Like Samsung's top of the line smartphones of 2015, the W2016 is built only with metal and glass. It's apparently 15.1 mm thick, and it weighs 204g. It...

Ricoh India just launched its latest 360-degree camera called the Theta S at a price of Rs. 39,995. The camera is available for a pre-order price of Rs. 7,199 through Ricoh's online store and will begin shipping in December. A note of caution here; the pre-order price can be easily mistaken for the final price when you view the product by category, as the price break-up is only mentioned in the 'View Details' page. Apart from this, there's no mention about the remainder amount to be paid anywhere even after checkout, which can be misleading.  The Theta S is the size of your average air-conditioner remote control and is fairly light too, at 125 grams. The entire body has a rubberised coating making it easy to grip. The highlights of the camera are the two 12-megapixel fish-eye lenses placed on either side to give you an instant 360-degree picture or video. The lenses also have a f/2.0 aperture for better low-light performance. The camera can also capture full-HD video ...

HTC has lately been launching new variants of its 2015 flagship smartphone including the One M9e in China. Now, the latest in the series is the HTC One M9s, which has been launched in Taiwan. Priced at TWD 12,900 (approximately Rs. 26,000), the smartphone is currently up for pre-orders via the company's e-commerce website in Taiwan. The One M9s aka One M9(s) will start shipping on Saturday. Unfortunately, there is no word at the time of writing whether the new HTC One M9s will be launched outside Taiwan. The One M9s features a design reminiscent of the HTC One M9 and appears to be a Taiwanese variant of the One M9e. The HTC One M9s sports a 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixel) IPS display. Like to the HTC One M9+ and One M9e, the One M9s is powered by 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6795T Helio X10 processor; though the handset features just 2GB of RAM instead of the 3GB of RAM as seen in One M9+. The inbuilt storage on the device is 16GB, which is...

Much can be said about the history of Chinese smartphone makers — both big and small — and their attempts to commoditize the smartphone, but none speaks louder than UMi's new $89.99 ROME phone. And for that kind of cash, you're getting one incredibly decked out device. While unconfirmed, the UMi ROME  appears  to have a metal frame encircling the 7.9mm chassis, and the resemblance at the back with the Xiaomi Note Pro/Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is "uncanny". In terms of hardware, UMi is offering a 5.5-inch, 720 x 1280 resolution AMOLED display, good for a pixel density of 267 ppi, which while not excellent, is nevertheless quite acceptable at that price point. The glass covering the panel is of the 2.5D curved type, which always adds some class to devices in our experience. Underneath the screen, UMi has packed a 64-bit, octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor with ARM Mali T-720 GPU, coupled with the extremely generous 3 gigs of RAM. Considering the 720p resolution, ...

The Xiaomi Mi 5 has been "3C" certified in China. All domestically made products, and products imported into the country, have to receive this certification. Being CCC certified means that a particular product, or device, has been tested to make sure it is safe for consumers to use. A "3C" logo is printed on those products that pass the certification process, like Xiaomi's next flagship model. Xiaomi is holding an event on November 24th to introduce the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro. The phone has the same specs as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2, except that it offers a metal build and a fingerprint scanner. It will be Xiaomi's first device to come with the fingerprint reader. This device also received its CCC certification at the same time as the Mi 5, which leads some to expect Xiaomi to unveil both devices next week during the November 24th event.  As far as the Mi 5 is concerned, Xiaomi has gone 16 months since launching the Xiaomi Mi 4 flagship. By today's...

The other day, we showed you an image of the back of the Huawei Mate 8. Today, we have some fresh pictures of the phone, and they match up perfectly with the older photo. That means that we can expect a fingerprint scanner on the back of the device, right underneath the rear camera, which is rumored to be either 16MP or 13MP. Now that the Kirin 950 chipset has been introduced, we can expect it to be found under the hood, with an octa-core CPU and the Mali-T880MP4 GPU. There could be two variants of the phone based on screen resolution. One version features a 6-inch screen with a 1080 x 1920 resolution. The other comes with a 1440 x 2560 QHD resolution.  There also will be variations of the phone based on hardware. One model will offer 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable native storage. That model is expected to retail for the equivalent of $517 USD. Another model, with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable internal memory, will be priced at $611 USD. The  whole she...

Action video game lovers are flocking in record numbers to the radioactive wasteland of freshly launched mega-hit "Fallout 4." Bethesda Softworks on Friday said that it shipped 12 million copies of the blockbuster game, representing more than $750 million in sales, to meet launch day demand. The latest installment of the beloved franchise has won praise from reviewers and racked up stellar sales since its global release on November 10. The company said the new game "is generating record sales at retail outlets and via digital download," with its launch sales. Fans waited five years for a new installment in a franchise known for a trademark blend of music, humor, and action in post nuclear war settings. Bethesda Softworks president Vlatko Andonov described "Fallout 4" as "a masterpiece in game development and storytelling, providing fans hundreds of hours of fun as they explore and are challenged by this fascinating, beautifully crafted wo...

Researchers have identified a drug that works to limit the spread of glioblastoma -- the most common primary tumour of the brain and central nervous system which is also regarded as one of the most aggressive of all cancers. The drug propentofylline or PPF, targets a protein called TROY. It also increases the effectiveness of a standard-of-care chemotherapy drug called temozolomide (TMZ), and radiation, to treat glioblastoma. "We showed that PPF decreased glioblastoma cell expression of TROY, inhibited glioma cell invasion, and made brain cancer cells more vulnerable to TMZ and radiation," said the study's senior authorNhan Tran from Translational Genomics Research Institute (Tgen) in Phoenix, US. "Our data suggests that PPF, working in combination with TMZ and radiation, could limit glioblastoma invasion and improve the clinical outcome for brain tumor patients," Tran noted. One of the primary treatments for glioblastoma is surgical removal of the tu...

A few years ago, researchers from  Boeing  created the world’s lightest metal that is 99.99% air. Boeing calls this metal the  microlattice  and it is claimed to be 100 times lighter than a styrofoam . The metal is so light that it can comfortably sit on top of a dandelion. Although very light, the microlattice is as rigid as you would expect any metal to be. According to Boeing, the metal is strong enough to survive a 25 story drop with an egg wrapped in the metal. Structure of the microlattice The microlattice is a 3D open-cellular polymer structure. The  latices  in the structure of the metal are made up of interconnected hollow metal tubes. The metal is very rigid despite the fact that the wall thickness of the hollow tubes is just 100 nanometers, that is 1000 times thinner than human hair. What is interesting about this design is the inspiration behind it. Boeing was fascinated by the nature of human bones. Human bones are very...

2015 seems to be the year of Star Wars. We've had a mobile game, an augmented reality app, a book, anew PS4, and even a range of laptops. Naturally it all leads up to the grand event that is the movie, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. But for some of us, the grand event is on November 17 thanks to Star Wars Battlefront, a multiplayer first-person shooter from the makers of the Battlefield series, Dice, and published by Electronic Arts (EA). As is the case with most games from EA, Battlefront has a companion app for Android and iOS. It weights 76MB on Android and 60.70MB on iOS. The Star Wars Battlefront Companion app allows you unlock items in Battlefront. This is possible through Base Command, a card collection game that lets you earn credits to unlock weapons and power-ups in Battlefront. You can also check out your progress and performance through the app. Also, if your friends are on EA's Origin online service, you'...

YouTube on Thursday entered the increasingly crowded field of music streaming, hoping to reach a new audience through a user-friendly service that seizes on the video giant's vast variety. Called YouTube Music, the platform will offer songs both with and without video, and users will be able to switch instantly to an audio-only mode. In a feature it hopes will be a key selling point, YouTube Music will create non-stop stations tailored to users, who can fine-tune how much variety they want. YouTube, the world's third most popular website after its parent company Google and Facebook, aims to take advantage of its quirky possibilities by offering artists' original tracks alongside cover versions, live footage and user-generated content. T. Jay Fowler, the director of product development who was involved in earlier services Beats Music and MOG, said he hoped to draw more people to streaming instead of simply competing with other companies. "I'm excited ab...

You can now try Firefox OS on your Android handset without flashing a ROM on your device. Mozilla hasreleased a developer preview of its mobile operating system that can be installed on Android devices as an app. Firefox OS 2.5 Developer Preview acts as an Android launcher that can replace one's current home screen to replicate Firefox OS' interface and bring additional features. Users also get access to Firefox's Marketplace from where they can download apps and add-ons. Users also get access to the Firefox Browser, which comes loaded with many privacy-centric features including the ability to enable tracking protection from websites and advertisers. The browser also lets you pin shortcuts to the websites you like on the home screen - turning them into Web apps. In our test, we observed that the app was slightly slow - which is understandable as the app is in its preview phase. The app also seems to have been designed for an entry-level handset th...

BlackBerry Priv, the company's first Android-based slider smartphone, went on sale last week in limited markets. Now, a leak has tipped that the Canadian company may have already started working on its second Android phone. BlackBerry's purported second Android smartphone, said to be codenamed "Vienna", has been leaked in images via Crackberry. Notably, this is the first instance when images of the phone have made it to the Internet. Unfortunately, details about the handset are limited as of now. To be noted is that theBlackBerry Priv was codenamed "Venice" ahead of launch. The leaked images however show that the company may ditch the slider design for its second Android phone and will go with its iconic physical keyboard upfront design, previously seen on variousBlackBerry phones. The front of the handset is seen housing the display and the physical keyboard below it. The rear holds the camera with flash while the physical buttons for volume sit on ...

Xiaomi, as expected, has announced Mi Protect insurance service for smartphones and tablets bought through the Mi.com website. The new Mi Protect plan covers accidental and liquid damages. The company clearly notes that the Mi Protect plan can be bought online via Mi.com bundled along with purchase of Mi device, but cannot be purchased individually for already owned Xiaomi smartphones and tablets. The Mi Protect plan will be available at Rs. Rs 275 for the Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime smartphones, and at Rs. 499 for the Mi 4 16GB, Mi 4i 16GB, and MiPad. In addition, Mi Protect users will also get free-of-cost pick and drop service for repair of the handset. The company in a press statement confirms that users will get a second servicing for free within one year of activation. The complete terms and regulations can be read at the dedicated company website. Besides this, Mi Protect insurance service will also let users...

Google has announced that it will stop supporting Chrome Web browser on older operating systems. The company has said that it will discontinue support for Chrome on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and OS X 10.8 or lower versions after April 2016. Even after the deadline, the browser will continue to exist, but it won't receive any security or performance boosts from the company. With Google announcing its plan to end support for Chrome, users of the aforementioned operating systems will start to face vulnerabilities as the search giant will stop rolling out patches. To be noted however, is that Microsoft itself officially ended support for Windows XP in 2014, and stopped offering security patches to Internet Explorer 6 and other products and services. "Such older platforms are missing critical security updates and have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware," the company wrote in a blog post. The company advises user...

The Xiaomi Mi Band 1S is now official. The follow up to the highly successful Xiaomi Mi Band, the sequel is priced at just $15. No, you do not get a screen, which means that you will be relying on the display of the smartphone you pair the device with. The Mi Band 1S will work with iOS and Android. It also sports an IP67 rating, which means it can be submerged in up to 3 feet of water for as long as 30 minutes. The Mi Band 1S will track your heart rate and the quality of your sleep. The wearable also counts the number of calories you've burned during exercise, and measures the number of steps you've taken. It unlocks your Xiaomi phone and vibrates to alert you that a notification has been sent to your handset. Thanks to the unveiled Mi Band 1S, the original Mi Band is now just $11. By last Summer, Xiaomi had shipped more than 6 million units of the device. That was good enough for Xiaomi to be the second largest wearables manufacturer in the world at the time, acco...

Announced and released in South Korea in September, the LG Class is now also available in Europe, but under a different name: LG Zero. At the moment, the LG Zero can be purchased only in Italy, but we assume that the handset will soon be launched in other markets.  Unlike most of LG's smartphones, the Zero / Class is made out of metal (aluminum). However, it's far from being a high-end smartphone, and this is obvious if we look at its 5-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixels, or at its quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor. The new smartphone runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, further featuring LTE connectivity, a 13 MP rear camera, an 8 MP front-facing camera, 16 GB of expandable internal memory, and a 2050 mAh battery. While the LG Class that's sold in Korea has 2 GB of RAM, the LG Zero only comes with 1.5 GB. Customers in Italy can buy the new LG smartphone unlocked for €299 (about $320).  AT&T will reportedly release the LG Class in the US, but for now there'...