MT6592
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Fake iPhone X has a fake notch, obviously
We're only one week away from iPhone X pre-orders, but the counterfeit market is already offering a variety of similar-looking devices to a particular crowd. As I anticipated, I came across one such clone while wandering around Hong Kong's Global Sources electronics fair earlier today, courtesy of a Shenzhen company by the marvelous name of Hotwonder. Its Hotwav Symbol S3 (also not the best name) is essentially an entry-level 4G Android phone shamelessly packaged into an iPhone X-like body, except for one notable difference: the screen "bezel" is white instead of black.
Here's another 'PlayStation Phone' that Sony could have made
Sony may have given up on its Xperia Play, but Chinese gaming companies 78point and Much think there's still a demand for Android phones with built-in gaming buttons and joysticks. Funnily enough, both brands ended up sourcing their hardware from the same OEM, which is why 78point's P01 and Much's W1 are technically identical, with the exception of their Android 4.2 skins. This dual-SIM (WCDMA/GSM) device is essentially a typical Chinese mid-ranger, for it features a 5-inch 720p IPS display plus MediaTek's 1.7GHz octa-core MT6592 SoC (with 2GB of RAM and Mali-450 MP4 graphics). You also get 16GB of internal storage, microSD expansion of up to 64GB, 8MP/2MP cameras and a generous 3,000mAh battery.
Archos' octa-core smartphone is surprisingly quick for the price
When it comes to smartphones, hugs and all-you-can-eat buffets, more is better, right? That's why we had to sit down and play with Archos' 50c Oxygen. The gassy, Jelly Bean-running handset is one of the first to use MediaTek's 1.7GHz octa-core MT6592 CPU, housed behind a 5-inch 1,280 x 720 IPS LCD display. Archos has found room for dual-SIM slots, 1GB RAM, 8GB of onboard storage and a microSD card slot, while the 2,000mAh battery should last you at least a day.
Goophone copies the all new (still-unannounced) HTC One
If you're going to clone one of 2014's hottest Android flagships, you might as well clone others, right? Goophone certainly thinks so. It just launched the Goophone M8, a smartphone that bears an uncanny resemblance to the all new (and still-unannounced) HTC One. Not that the similarities are much more than skin deep, mind you. Goophone's attempt at keepin' it real fake uses capacitive keys instead of the new One's on-screen buttons, and we doubt that the middling (if octa-core) processor, 1GB of RAM and 3G data speeds will have HTC breaking a sweat. It only costs $230 to get Goophone's knock-off, though. And hey, it comes in gold -- if you're only looking for an ostentatious design, you might as well save some cash.
Hands-on with Gionee's super slim, octa-core Elife S5.5 smartphone (video)
It's only been a week since Gionee debuted its super thin Elife S5.5 Android phone in China, but luckily for us, the company also brought it along to MWC. After playing with the 5.55mm-thick device for some time, we were left very impressed with its build quality. The aluminum frame was nicely machined and felt solid, whereas the Corning glass back panel added an extra premium feel, despite leaving fingerprints behind. We still struggled to believe that there's a 1.7GHz octa-core SoC inside such a slim device, let alone a 2,300mAh battery and two nice cameras -- 5 megapixels on the front and 13 megapixels on the back. It should be noted that the rear imager and its LED flash do stick out a little, but it's not that noticeable in the corner. The S5.5 will come in several colors, with our favorite being the white and gold combo. We managed to have a quick chat with Gionee's president William Lu, who was amused by how folks from Sony, Samsung and Nokia kept going back to his booth to inspect his company's masterpiece. Well, if they don't mind splashing out about $375, they can grab one for themselves in China come March 15th; but the phone will eventually arrive in other countries (though the US is definitely not on the list). Meanwhile, feel free to check out our hands-on video after the break.
Alcatel to bring world's fastest octa-core phone to Europe in February
TCL's already jumped the gun by launching its Idol X+ in China last month, but the same flagship device will be heading to Europe this February under the Alcatel brand. For those who missed the news the first time round, this dual-micro-SIM, 7.9mm-thick Android phone packs MediaTek's 2GHz MT6592, which is currently the world's fastest true octa-core chipset. You'll find the usual top-spec components around the Idol X+ as well, including a 5-inch 1080p IPS display, a 13-megapixel main camera (which supports 40-megapixel panorama and digital stabilization for video capture), a 2-megapixel front-facing imager, a 2,500mAh battery and dedicated audio amplifier chips by ESS. Internal storage starts from 16GB (with 12.3GB available to the user), along with microSD expansion of up to 32GB. The phone also comes with a pair of JBL earbuds, but there's no word on whether the China versions' Bluetooth activity tracker will be included as well -- at least it won't be called Boom Band, as it will apparently be a more refined version when it goes global. We were left rather impressed by the Idol X+'s design and build quality. The solid plastic bezel features a brushed-metallic effect, accompanied by a spin finish (achieved by in-mould labelling) on the back of the phone. Like the screen, the backside will also have a nano-coating treatment to minimize fingerprint smudges. Shoppers will be given a color option of either black or white when this 3G phone lands in Europe sometime in February, and it'll likely be sold for around the attractive $300 price point unsubsidized. Brad Molen contributed to this report.
TCL's $330 Idol X+ boasts 2GHz octa-core chip, Bluetooth activity tracker
While some of us are still recovering from holiday, the TCL folks in China -- whose products are better known under the Alcatel brand in many other countries -- have gone ahead and launched a new phone. As the name suggests, the Idol X+ is pretty much an updated version of the already impressive Idol X, with the highlight being it's the first device to carry the 2GHz bin of the octa-core MT6592 SoC (with 2GB RAM). TCL's reps told us that this is courtesy of an exclusive deal it's arranged with MediaTek. Additionally, you'll find a familiar 5-inch 1080p IPS display within a slimmer 1.9mm bezel, plus a 13-megapixel f/2.0 camera on the back. Due to the larger 2,500mAh battery, the body is now slightly thicker at 7.9mm, but it's actually not that much different from when we saw a prototype earlier. For a flagship Android phone that costs just CN¥1,999 or about US$330 unsubsidized, it's pretty bold of TCL to also include a Bluetooth activity plus sleep tracker. This Boom Band is essentially a little nugget that sits inside a plastic wristband (available in several colors), and it can double as a proximity alarm in case you accidentally leave your phone behind. It naturally has a companion app that lets you track your performance, and should you wish to, you can also show off your stats to friends. There's no word on whether non-China markets will get the same package branded by Alcatel, but if you already reside in China, you can head to JD.com and order one on January 15th.
Huawei's Honor brand challenges Xiaomi with 3X and 3C low-cost phones
Huawei's known for its Ascend smartphones around the world, but back in late 2011, the company also started toying with a small Honor series for select budget markets. Fast forward to today, the latter sub-brand has become Huawei's platform to compete with the sudden surge of affordable online brands in China -- most notably Xiaomi, the pioneer of that industry. With a little help from MediaTek (and ironically not Huawei's own HiSilicon), the phone maker is upping its firepower over this territory with two new dual-SIM devices: Honor 3X and Honor 3C. The Honor 3X joins the first wave of octa-core 1.7GHz MT6592-powered devices, and it boasts 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel f/2.2 main camera, a 5-megapixel 1.4-micron front imager plus a generous 3,000mAh battery. The 720p resolution on the glove-friendly, 5.5-inch IPS touchscreen may seem like a let-down, but in this case, Huawei reasoned that going 1080p would push power consumption up by as much as 20 percent, plus many folks may not notice the visual difference -- a point that Huawei Device Chairman Richard Yu has often echoed publicly.
MediaTek launches world's first true octa-core mobile chip, first devices due end of year
Qualcomm's nightmare has finally come true. Earlier today, MediaTek officially introduced the world's first true octa-core mobile processor, MT6592, and the first devices to feature it are expected to arrive as soon as end of year. This 28nm chip packs eight low-power Cortex-A7 cores, and courtesy of the Heterogeneous Multi-Processing use model on top of ARM's big.LITTLE architecture (though it's actually "LITTLE.LITTLE" in this case), all eight cores can operate simultaneously -- at up to between 1.7GHz and 2GHz, depending on the bin. MediaTek pointed that Chrome can already make use of all eight cores, and likewise with some map apps, video players plus multi-window function. According to the company's figures, the MT6592 manages to beat what appears to be the quad-core Snapdragon 800 in benchmarks, power consumption (as low as 40 percent) and temperature. You can see the full detail in this article's gallery.
Qualcomm trolls MediaTek's octa-core tech with not-so-subtle video (updated)
When MediaTek announced that it would be producing true eight-core mobile processors later this year, we knew it was only a matter of time before its main rival Qualcomm chimed in. As illustrated by a set of guitar amplifiers, the San Diego gang explains that while they rebuild their CPU cores for each generation (the latest architectures being Krait 300 and Krait 400), they claim that "Our Competitor" -- which is labeled with the same font and colors as MediaTek's logo -- simply "chooses to duplicate the same old cores" based on ARM's slower Cortex-A7 architecture. That said, it's worth a reminder that Qualcomm's cheaper Snapdragon 400 range also uses Cortex-A7. Later on in the video, Qualcomm uses a Guitar Hero-like visualization to compare the performance difference, as well as show how octa-core is overrated for most apps. Apparently only 17 out of the top 20 Android apps in China use two cores at most, hence the bare fretboard for the octa-core side. The Snapdragon side, meanwhile, combs through a denser bunch of apps at a higher speed. Of course, there's bound to be some bias here, so only time will tell how close to reality this argument is. Until then, enjoy the cheeky clip after the break. Update: After reaching out to MediaTek's reps, the response we got was the company "has no comment about the activities of its competitors." But hopefully it's also cooking up a retaliation.
MediaTek to launch true 8-core, 2GHz MT6592 chipset in November?
Samsung may already have its 8-core Exynos 5 Octa offering, but the original "big.LITTLE" implementation means only up to four cores work together at any time -- either the Cortex-A15 quartet or its lesser Cortex-A7 counterpart. In other words, we'd rather rename the chipset range to something like "Exynos 5 Quad Dual." But according to recent intel coming from Taipei and Shenzhen, it looks like Taiwan's MediaTek is well on its way to ship a true 8-core mobile chipset in Q4 this year.
