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Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro Revealed in Images

With all the leaks and rumors coming thick and fast about Samsung’s Galaxy A9 Pro, it looks like the time for its official announcement is very near. We know that the A9 Pro is a beefed up version of the Galaxy A9. This means the phone will come with specifications that are a notch higher than what you would find on the Galaxy A9. Today, the Chinese certification website TENAA, has revealed what the device looks like, and unsurprisingly, it looks exactly like the Galaxy A9.

The original Galaxy A9 looked beautiful, with a Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and back. Indeed, the A9 looked and felt the part of the most premium model in the A series. Looking at the images from TENAA, the A9 Pro will go with the exact same look as well. The Galaxy A9 also came with a massive 6-inch Full HD AMOLED display and a metal frame, and the A9 Pro is likely to follow suit.

On the specification front, the A9 Pro will bump up some specs from what you find in the A9. The A9 Pro will be powered by Snapdragon 652 chipset and feature 32GB of internal storage. The RAM will get a bump from 3GB to 4GB.

The phone’s camera gets an upgrade and moves up from a 13MP primary camera to 16MP. This will also mean the A9 Pro won’t have the same sensor as the rest of the A (2016) lineup. The A9 Pro comes with an 8-Megapixel camera at the front. Finally, the handset will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

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March 3, 2016
India Gets First Smart Self Cleaning Toilets

In what is a first for the country, 183 self-cleaning public eToilets have been installed in the city of Chennai. These toilets which are spread out through the city of Chennai can be located through mobiles using an Android app which not only tells you the location but also gives the user functionality to rate them, offer feedback and even suggest new places where they should be installed. Making the service truly connected, officials from the Greater Chennai Corporation use another app to remotely monitor hygiene levels, usage figures, and water availability at each toilet.

These toilets are fully automatic, and the toilet cleans itself before entry and after use. They come equipped with sensors for exhaust fan and light. The toilets flush with only 1.5 litres of water after 3 minutes of use, and with 4.5 litres if the usage period is longer. It also washes the floor automatically after five or ten rounds.

To top things off, these toilets are eco-friendly and waste treatment is carried out using anaerobic biodegradation. One of its models, the e-Lite 14, is powered by solar panels to eliminate the use of electricity.

Cost of these toilets are a bit on the upper side, at approximately Rs 4,50,000, but these could very well be great solutions to our cities sanitation and hygiene problems.

March 2, 2016
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Launch Event : Watch it Here

Xiaomi is all set to launch its much anticipated, Redmi Note 3 phablet tomorrow. The device has been talked about in a great deal for a long time now. We’ve had leaks and specifications about the device, and in less that 24 hours, we’ll know how much of it was true.Xiaomi’s launch event kicks off at 2:00PM IST tomorrow and it will be live streamed online. Here’s how you will be able to follow the launch event online tomorrow.

This device which has already been launched in China has been highly awaited in India for some time now. The Redmi Note 3 comes with a full-metal unibody design, as well as a fingerprint scanner, and sports a 5.5-inch 1080p display which is going to be powered by a Snapdragon 650 SoC.

The phablet is expected in two variants of 16GB storage with 2GB of RAM, and 32GB storage with 3GB of RAM. Both variants come with 4,050mAh battery packs.The camera on the two variants of the phablet will be a 16MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 will run Android 5.0.2 Lolipop out of the box. Pricing details are still awaited.

March 2, 2016
Huawei P9 Line-Up to Possibly Launch on 9th March

Huawei has been in the news off late. Earlier in the day we saw leaked images of the Huawei P9 surface online indicating a launch in the near future was imminent, and now, Huawei has added fuel to the fire by teasing fans worldwide with an event invite today.

The Chinese phone maker posted an invite for an upcoming March 9 event in Berlin, Germany. The invite image features “BEER” in bold which could be a hint at celebrations at the launch of a new phone, possibly the P9 range of phones.The company is expected to launch four phones, the P9 lite, P9 Max, and an enhanced version of the P9. The latter will come with more RAM, increased storage.

Leaks earlier from the day confirmed details such as a metal unibody and a 12-MP dual lens camera setup at the back of the P9. Leaks also revealed a fingerprint scanner on the back. Other specs on the Huawei P9 include the Kirin 950 SoC, containing an octa-core CPU and the Mali-T880 MP4 GPU. A 3900mAh battery is supposedly powering the device, which will offer 32GB of native storage.

March 2, 2016
VIVO Xplay 5 Elite with 6GB RAM Launches

Chinese smartphone maker, VIVO, at a launch event held in China, unveiled to the world two new phones with specs that could give any flagship in the market a real run for their money. VIVO launched what will be its flagship for the coming year, the Xplay 5 Elite, and along with it, the Xplay 5.

VIVO Xplay 5 Elite

This beast of a phone is the more powerful of the two models launched today. The Xplay 5 Elite os features a metal unibody and uses the best in the industry, Gorilla Glass 4 sheets to shield the dual-curved 5.43″ Super AMOLED Quad HD screen. The phone is comes packing a Snapdragon 820 chipset with what is already being looked at as borderline crazy, 6GB of RAM.

The Xplay 5 Elite will skip the memory card slot and will come equipped with 128GB flash storage out of the box.The camera setup on the phone boasts of the powerful 16-MP (Sony IMX298) snapper with phase-detection AF and dual-tone LED flash at the back and an 8-MP camera at the front.The Xplay 5 Elite is a dual-SIM ready, supports LTE networks, Hi-Fi 3.0 (2*ES9028+OPA1612), and comes with a 3,600 mAh battery along with a fingerprint scanner on the back.

The Xplay 5 Elite comes with the company’s Funtouch launcher on top of Android 5.1 Lollipop. It also supports split-screen multitasking and will launch on March 8 in China and for a cool price of CNY 4,288 (Approx Rs 44,000)

VIVO Xplay 5

The VIVO Xplay 5 is the younger sibling of the Elite model which was earlier in benchmark leaks was thought to be a “Lite” variant of the Xplay 5. It comes with the same design of the Elite and features a 5.43″ Super AMOLED QHD display, along with the same camera setup, and 128GB storage.

The phone though as a cost cutting measure uses an inferior chipset coming equipped with the Snapdragon 652, and also cuts down on the RAM to 4GB. The Hi-Fi chip configuration is also of a different kind – CS4395+AD45257.

Pricing for the VIVO Xplay 5 will has been set marginally below the Elite and it will launch in China on March 8 for CNY 3,698 (Approx Rs 38,000)

March 2, 2016
Huawei P9 Leaked Images Reveal Design and Dual Camera Setup

With launch of the Huawei’s P9 smartphone seemingly near, the phone has been amongst the news in the past few weeks. Now a new report from VentureBeat reveals major details about the upcoming phone. The leak reveals the phone to be offered in multiple variants, which would include a standard P9, a premium P9 version with improved top of the line specs, a toned down, and cheaper P9 Lite and a super-sized P9 Max or P9 Plus for people wanting a phablet experience.

The images take the lid off a slim metal design in line which goes in line with the company’s recent releases. Huawei has included a fingerprint scanner on the back, a dual cameras setup and USB-C. The images also show a thick bezel at the bottom of the phone.

According to Evan Blass, on the specs front the regular P9 will sport a 5.2-inch 1080p display, an in-house Kirin 950 chip, a 3900mAh battery, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The premium model could offer 4GB of RAM and a brand new Kirin 955 chip.

The P9’s dual camera setup will see it come with a pair of 12-megapixel sensors with Leica lenses. Huawei also plans to incorporate some unique photography features in the phone though it’s not exactly clear right now what the plan is.

The P9 is expected to launch in the first half of 2016, but Huawei has been tight lipped about the date and price so nothing concrete is known as of now.

March 2, 2016
Meizu Pro 6 To Get 3D Touch Display

Looks like Miezu is all set to join the 3D touch bandwagon for phones. As revealed by Meizu VP and Flyme chief architect Yang Yan through a Weibo post just today, the feature which can be found on a couple of flagship devices will soon make its way to this Chinese smartphone maker’s Pro 6.

The screenshot as revealed by Yan hints at the implementation of this new tech in a similar way that Apple uses it. Force touching the display will bring up a context menu with options on top of a blurred background.

Currently, the 3D Touch feature is seen on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which according to the Cupertino-based tech company was hard to develop at the beginning. Analysts predict that this feature that is still in its infancy will take a fair number of years to become mainstream. Other handsets that have this feature include the Huawei Mate S and the ZTE Axon mini.

March 2, 2016
9.7-Inch Apple iPad Pro to Feature 12MP Camera

When Apple brought out the powerful, ginormous iPad Pro, it was certain that the 12.9-inch tablet would reach only the wealthy few (being priced at $1079). Cut to 2016 and rumours of a 9.7-inch iPad Pro variant began that reignited hope for a powerful yet affordable tablet for Apple fans. It is rumored that the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will feature essentially the same features as its elder sibling.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is said to be powered by the A9X chipset, include 4GB of RAM, feature quad-speakers, and support both the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard. The one area missing from speculations was regarding the rear camera, which today’s rumour claims will be at 12MP, much like the one found in the iPhone 6s.

Apple iPad Pro

While the original iPad Pro came with an 8MP rear camera, the new 9.7-inch version will get a major bump to 12MP and will also feature 4K video recording as well. Meanwhile, The new, smaller iPad Pro will be available in the same color options as the larger model (Silver, Gold and Space Gray). It also will be available in Wi-Fi (32GB and 128GB) and Wi-Fi+ Cellular (128GB) just like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be unveiled along with the iPhone SE and an updated Apple Watch at a media event on March 22.

March 2, 2016
iPhone SE Concepts: Pick a Favorite

We’ve entered the month of March, which means we’re just three weeks away from the first Apple event of 2016. This event will see the unveiling of a 4-inch iPhone, called iPhone SE, and a 9.7-inch iPad Pro variant. When it comes to the iPhone SE, there have been a lot of rumours regarding the specifications.

Going by the flagship models and seeing as how the iPhone SE is aimed at a mid-range market, it becomes a little easier to make a few guesses at what the specifications can be. However, the design of the iPhone SE is shrouded in mystery and there have been a lot of renders and concepts that have emerged ever since talk about the 4-inch iPhone began. While some feel that the iPhone SE will look like the iPhone 5 lineup (since initially the 4-inch handset was called the iPhone 5se), others feel it’ll quite simply be a miniaturised version of the iPhone 6 and 6s. Whatever may be the case, it is likely that the design of the iPhone SE will look like any one of these most likely contestants below.

These concepts are among the likeliest design language that the upcoming 4-inch iPhone could take after. The 9to5mac version shows a flat edged design, much like the iPhone 5 family while the other two show a curved edge design as the current generation of iPhones. A 4-inch iPhone that brings back the iPhone 5 design language would please Apple fans a lot and would bring back some favour as well. After all, The iPhone 5 series has been one of Apple’s most successful iPhones lineup, and the Cupertino giant could do well in reincarnating it with the iPhone SE.

Popular Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo expects the iPhone SE to feature a 12MP rear camera rather than an 8MP module as earlier expected. Kuo also added that the handset will fall between $400 to $500 and will be available in two variants – one with 16GB of internal storage and the other with 64GB. Lastly, the iPhone SE will pack a 1642mAh battery, and will be equipped with Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. The iPhone SE along with the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be unveiled at an event on March 22.

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March 1, 2016
Lenovo Teaser Hints at Possible Vibe K5 and K5 Plus Launch on 15th March

Lenovo which quietly unveiled two new budget handsets for consumers around the world at the Mobile World Congress, 2016, looks set to be bringing them to one of its biggest markets sooner rather than later. The Vibe K5, and K5 Plus whose launch went under the radar amongst the other high profile launches at the biggest mobile phone expo of the world, look set to be coming to India on 15th of March.

Earlier the company in Barcelona had hinted at market availability of the phone by end of March.This teaser circulated by Lenovo today suggests a “Knockout” announcement that the company has in store for the media on the 15th of March, 2016. Our best bet is the company will reveal the pricing and availability details of the upcoming K5 and K5 Plus in India at the event.

Coming to the handsets, both handsets sport 5-inch displays, with the difference in display resolution and on-board SoC setting them apart. The Vibe K5 comes with a 720p display and a Snapdragon 415 SoC while its bigger sibling comes with a 1080p display and Snapdragon 616 SoC.

The Vibe K5 and K5 Plus share specs when it comes to the 2GB LPDDR3 RAM, 16GB inbuilt storage and microSD expansion slot for expandable memory. Both phones also come packing a 2750mAh battery pack to keep them powered on.

Connectivity options on the handsets reveal them to be LTE enabled, and come with 13-MP unit at the back, and an 8-MP unit at the front. Further, both these handsets boast of Dual-Sim connectivity and come with Android 5.1 Lolipop, and house Dolby Atmos-powered stereo speakers in their chassis.

The pricing of the phones as revealed by Lenovo at MWC 2016 peg the Vibe K5 to come for $129 ( Approx Rs 8800), while theVibe K5 Plus will retail for $149( Approx Rs 10200).

March 1, 2016
Le 1s and Le Max Available on Open Sale on Flipkart

Chinese smartphone maker LeEco which disrupted the Indian markets with its launch of what it fondly calls as ” Superphones” is back at it again. Le 1s and Le Max which previously sold out on flash sales in a short span of time are back on sale on the popular e-commerce website, Flipkart. Le 1s and the premium Le Max are now available on attractive exchange offers on March 1 & 2.

The company has come up great offers for its phones as LeEco has announced a hard-to-pass-up exchange offer that will give consumers a chance to exchange their old smartphone and get up to Rs 6000 off on Le 1s or up to Rs 20,000 for Le Max.

Le 1s

The Le 1s comes with a metal unibody, mirror finished fingerprint sensor, 5.5-inch full-HD IPS display, Mediatek Helio X10 Turbo 2.2GHz octa-core processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The phone runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system with the EUI 5.5 custom user interface on top of it.

The smartphone comes with a reversible USB Type-C with fast-charging SpeedVolt technology and is powered by a 3000 mAh battery. The smartphone offers a 13-megapixel rear auto-focus camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calling. The dual-SIM handset measures 151.1 x 74.2 x 7.5 mm and weighs 169 grams

Le Max

The Le Max features a 6.3-inch screen with 2K display and sports a metal body design with slim bezels. The device is powered by a Qualcomm 64-bit 2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM. It is available in 64GB and 128GB storage variants.

On the camera front, the Le Max comes with 21-megapixel and runs on Android 5.1 with custom EUI running on top. The device comes equipped with multiple desktops – Application Desktop, LeView Desktop, Live Desktop -different screens for the phone that makes different applications, live streaming of events and multimedia available to the user conveniently and smoothly.

the Le Max includes Smart PA-SPK box speakers, full-metal unibody, and is available in two colours -Gold with 128 GB and Silver with 64 GB. The phone further has a Type-C USB port and a hypersensitive fingerprint sensor.

March 1, 2016
Xiaomi Mi 5 Scores Close to 17 Million Registrations for First Flash Sale

Chinese smartphone maker, Xiaomi, recently announced its latest flagship, the Mi 5, after a long wait of two years at the Mobile World Congress, 2016. This much-awaited phone whose registration for the first flash sale ended yesterday received a staggering 16.8 million registration requests in just 5 days.

The numbers might seem big, but considering what the Mi 5 packs at a highly affordable price coupled with Xiaomi’s brand reputation in China, such exaggerated interest in Xiaomi’s latest offering makes sense.

The base model of the Xiaomi MI 5 comes with a top of the line, Snapdragon 820 running the show paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The display on the phone is 5.1.5-inch screen Full HD display and all of this is powered using a non-replaceable 3000mAh battery.The camera setup on the phone is also something special. The rear unit is a 16-Megapixel Sony IMX298, PDAF, 4-axis OIS. Xiaomi is selling this package for a meagre RMB 1,999( Approx Rs 21,000)

The phone is expected to make it to Indian shores in the coming weeks where its fan following is almost as great as it enjoys in China. No exact pricing details for the Indian markets has been revealed but expect the company to make announcements soon.

March 1, 2016
Apple vs FBI : Federal Court Rules in Favour of Privacy

This are heating up in Apple’s fight with the FBI. On the eve of a Congressional hearing about the Department of Justice’s fight with Apple over unlocking San Bernardino terror suspect’s iPhone, a court in Brooklyn in a separate case has rejected an FBI request to order Apple to unlock the phone of a drug dealer.

The Department of Justice of the United States had first sought access to the phone in the Brooklyn case in October, months before a court in California ordered Apple to help authorities gain access to the phone of a terror suspect.

In stark contradiction to the San Bernardino terror case, Judge James Orenstein has ruled that “he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone that was seized during a drug investigation”

Although the judge in the San Bernardino case, will not be bound by Orenstein’s decision, analysts expect it to be influential. In both cases, the government relies on the All Writs Act.

Orenstein in his ruling indirectly gave support to the key arguments Apple is making in its other, higher-profile fight with the government. He hinted, the All Writs Act (AWA) can’t be used to order a technology company to manipulate its products. He further said. “The implications of the government’s position are so far-reaching – both in terms of what it would allow today and what it implies about Congressional intent in 1789 – as to produce impermissibly absurd results,”

March 1, 2016
Lenovo to bring a 4.7-inch Zuk Smartphone

The rumor mill has churned out some pretty interesting news for us today. Latest rumors out of China suggests that Lenovo, under its sub-brand, ZUK, is currently developing a ‘mini’ smartphone with a display size of 4.7-inch. This phone will appeal primarily to people who consider most of todays handsets too big to handle and will directly counter the upcoming IPhone 5se.

The small4.7 inch display will be offered in two hardware variants, with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, and the other 3GB of RAM and 32GB of space.

The handset comes packing a MediaTek Helio X10 chipset that will have 8 cores of Cortex-A53 CPU running at 2 GHz, and the Mali-T860MP2 GPU.The phone will have a fingerprint scanner, though its placement is unclear for now, and design scheme of the phone could take cues from ZUK’S Z1.

Apart from this not much is known about the phone, apart from rumors that claim for the international version of the phone to come running Cyanogen OS (like is the case with the Z1).

March 1, 2016
Asus Zenfones to Get Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update in March

Asus has announced that it will roll out Android 6.0 update to a host of devices that in March 2016.The Taiwanese smartphone maker which is infamous for rolling out updates slower than most other manufacturers has revealed that it will be rolling out the latest offering from the kitchen of Android to a range of its ZenFone handsets. If your smartphone is not among those announced by Asus, chances are your device is not getting updated, so hard luck.

The following ASUS smartphone models will receive the Android M (6.0) upgrade in March of 2016:

· ZenFone 2 (ZE550ML, ZE551ML)
· ZenFone 2 Deluxe (ZE551ML)
· ZenFone 2 Laser ( ZE500KL, ZE550KL, ZE601KL)
· ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL)
· ZenFone Max (ZC550KL)
· ZenFone Zoom (ZX551ML)

February 29, 2016