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More details leak on Verizon's Ellipsis 7: a 'value' tablet for $250
A Verizon-branded tablet may not be top of mind for most consumers (or anyone, really), but that's not stopping the wireless operator from pursuing the 'value category' spurred by Google's Nexus 7. Leaked documents obtained by PhoneArena today paint a fuller picture of the Verizon Ellipsis tablet we first saw surface yesterday. According to the alleged documents, this budget tablet is to be the first in a new brand series and will feature an HD IPS display -- though actual resolution is unknown -- an unspecified 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of expandable memory and a considerable 4,000mAh battery. Naturally, it also incorporates 4G LTE, as well as WiFi and there's even mention of Verizon's Redbox Instant streaming app, so we assume it'll come pre-loaded. Beyond those few specs, there's not much else known about this Android Jelly Bean tablet save for a $250 price and mention of an on-contract promo. If there's truth to this leak, and indeed it does appear likely, all that's left is for Verizon to take this public and give it a ship date. Although, if and when that happens we're still not sure anyone will care.
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.
Sony Xperia C S39h is company's first MediaTek device, does the dual-SIM trick
There's no denying that MediaTek is becoming mainstream these days, to the point that even Sony finally decided to join the party. The manufacturer's first attempt in this space is the Xperia C (S39h), a 5-inch qHD phone with dual-SIM capability (WCDMA and GSM) destined for China Unicom, and it'll come in either black, white or purple. Like many flagship devices from Chinese brands these days, the handset packs a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 SoC, along with an 8-megapixel camera -- Exmor R, specifically -- with voice shutter function. On top of the hardware, users in China will also have access to 3 million tracks from local music content provider Duomi. There's no price or date just yet, so we'll be keeping an eye out for further announcements.
China's LeTV debuts 'Super TV' X60, throws in a quad-core S4 Prime chip
Quad-core smart TVs? Move over, Samsung and Haier, because another company's now joining the party. At a press event in Beijing yesterday, Chinese video content provider LeTV announced its first TV series dubbed "Super TV." Despite the cheesy name, there are a handful of big names behind it: Kai-Fu Lee's Innovation Works, Qualcomm, Foxconn and Sharp. The last two aren't surprising considering Foxconn's parent company, Hon Hai, is an investor of Sharp as well as LeTV. It's also worth noting, though, that Hon Hai already has a deal with RadioShack to make and sell a 60-inch TV, the RS60-V1, in China since January. The flagship X60 (pictured above at GMIC Beijing) features an aluminum alloy body that encases Sharp's 10th-generation 60-inch 1080p panel -- as featured on the RadioShack TV -- with 120Hz 3D, on top of a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Prime MPQ8064 (with 2GB of RAM and Adreno 320 graphics), dual-band WiFi and S/PDIF optical output. You can also add an optional 2.4GHz gyroscopic remote control and a PrimeSense motion sensor just for giggles. But most importantly, LeTV now streams over 2,000 TV apps as well as some 90,000 TV episodes and 5,000 movies for free (LeTV claims to own the rights to 95 percent of the video content). So, the ¥6,999 or $1,140 price tag seems a steal for the X60. There will also be a 39-inch 1080p (likely 2D only), dual-core S40 model priced at ¥1,999 or about $330, and both TVs will be available by the end of June.%Gallery-187824%
Little Chilli LA-M1 outshines other QRD-based quad-core budget phones, we go hands-on
Spotted outside the auditorium at Qualcomm's China QRD (Qualcomm Reference Design) Summit earlier today were a handful of -- surprise, surprise -- QRD-based smartphones from China, several of which featured the Cortex-A5-based quad-core MSM8x25Q announced back in September. The usual suspects were there in the quad-core lot: Yulong had its Coolpad 5890 (EVDO) and Coolpad 7268 (UMTS), along with Hisense's U958 (UMTS) and Tianyu's K-Touch U86 (UMTS). These all fall within the so-called "¥1,000 ($160) phone" category and yet they are also gifted with a second SIM slot. But what really got our attention was Beidou's Little Chilli LA-M1, which also does dual-SIM (UMTS) but packs an OGS gapless IPS display, while the others came with an LCD panel of obviously lesser quality. Read on to learn more about this mysterious phone, as well as checking out our hands-on photos of the other aforementioned quad-core QRD phones.
ZTE Grand S gets a fat sister: a V987 with 5-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core chip
It was only a matter of time before ZTE came out with another device that would use the same design language as its much anticipated Grand S, so we weren't at all surprised when this Android 4.1.2 sister device popped up on the Chinese regulatory database. Like the aforementioned flagship, this upcoming V987 also sports a 5-inch gapless display, except it is capped at a 720p resolution. Naturally, the rest of the phone is built with a smaller budget in mind: the 13-megapixel camera is sized down to eight megapixels, and the original 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro is replaced by an unknown 1.2GHz quad-core chip (hopefully the MediaTek MT6589). That said, there's dual-SIM support (WCDMA plus GSM) and a removable 2,500mAh battery -- much bigger than the Grand S' built-in 1,780mAh cell -- here, so it'll be interesting to see how well the V987 will outsell the Grand S.
Nubia Z5 unveiled in China with quad-core chip, 5-inch 1080p display and 7.6mm thickness
Much like many Chinese smartphone brands these days, ZTE sub-brand Nubia had prematurely given away the main selling points of its Z5 ahead of its Beijing launch today, but there were still some surprises. As you probably already know, here's yet another five-inch 1080p Android phone featuring Qualcomm's 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064, 2GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage, along with a 13-megapixel F2.2 main camera (with five-element optics by Konica Minolta, plus separate touch focus and touch exposure in the app) and a two-megapixel front-facing camera. For multimedia consumption, the Z5 supports WiFi Display and MHL output should you wish to beam content to a larger screen; whereas on the audio side you are spoiled with either Yamaha or Dolby Digital Plus. But wait, there's more! %Gallery-174115% %Gallery-174118%
Oppo Find 5 to hit more international markets in Q1 2013, adds a $569 32GB model
Ho ho ho! Even on this special day, the folks at Oppo decided to drop a bomb on its "Ofans." According to a fresh teaser on its Facebook page, not only will Oppo be offering the $499 16GB version of the quad-core, five-inch 1080p Find 5 in the US (as we already knew), but there'll also be a 32GB flavor for $569. What's more, the image also lists many additional countries: Canada, UK, Spain, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, Malaysia, Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Greece, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Japan and Hong Kong. Just to be sure, we reached out to Oppo and were told that it's aiming to hit all these markets within Q1 next year; and better yet, it'll try to do that as close to the early-January China launch as possible. Sounds like the company's pushing for a global online retail channel (the blurred out URL probably indicates that it'll be a centralized website), and it'll be interesting to compare its performance to Xiaomi's more humble attempt closer to home. Update: We've been told that this is only a partial list, so fret not if your country isn't there.
Huawei's 6.1-inch 1080p Ascend Mate flaunted by exec, leaves little surprise for CES (update: 720p only)
How big is too big? Well, that's clearly not Huawei's concern, as it's about to introduce a 6.1-inch 1080p Android phone at CES. But even two weeks (before the company's CES press day) is too much for the impatient Richard Yu, who went ahead and whipped out his beastly device in front of fans at a Huawei store in Guangzhou yesterday -- there's a video of the intimate moment after the break. According to earlier rumors, the Ascend Mate will feature a 1.8GHz HiSilicon K3V3 quad-core chip, along with a massive 4,000mAh battery, 9.9mm thickness and a price tag of just under ¥3,000 (about $480). Yu wrote on Sina Weibo saying the final specs may differ slightly, but the 43-year-old executive did add that the 361ppi display is of LTPS (low temperature polysilicon) nature. As with the Ascend W1 and the Ascend D2, all will be unveiled at CES. Update: Now that the Ascend Mate has been announced, we can confirm that its 6.1-inch display only has a 720p resolution. [Image credit: fengse (Sina Weibo)]
Huawei's Ascend W1 and D2 confirmed for CES, Richard Yu expresses worry over the latter
Huawei's first-ever Windows Phone, the Ascend W1, is no stranger to us at this point, but no one's been certain about its debut until now. After mourning his daughter's two stolen ducks on Sina Weibo, Senior Vice President Richard Yu said not only will his company formally introduce its WP8 device at CES next month, but it'll also be showing off its Android-powered Ascend D2 (pictured center and right). Interestingly, Yu also expressed concern that the D2 "Dream Phone" will be too expensive to produce due to the powerful specs: five-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.5GHz chip (undoubtedly Huawei's very own K3V2), 13-megapixel camera and 3,000mAh battery -- all according to leaked info from an internal event from late October, as well as a recent filing in the TENAA database. Don't worry, Richard, just give us a decent price tag and we'll be all over you.
Inevitable: Oppo Find 5 meets Xiaomi Phone 2 and Meizu MX2
With all three major Chinese phone makers now showing their quad-core cards, it's only natural for us to take a friendly portrait of their latest flagships: from left to right we have the Meizu MX2 (due December 19th), the Xiaomi Phone 2 (already out) and the freshly announced Oppo Find 5 (due January). At 8.86mm thick, the Find 5 is subtly slimmer than our two other 10.2mm-thick phones when compared visually, but the five-inch 1080p screen is clearly a winner in terms of size and pixel density -- the latter is made more obvious by the fine details on the tactfully designed icons; just too bad you won't be able to fit much 1080p video content into the 16GB built-in storage. As for aesthetics, we're currently leaning towards the Find 5 for its less obvious bezel around the glass panel, and the phone's shape is also a nice change from the usual rectangle-with-evenly-rounded-corners form factor. Still, the feel and contour of the Meizu MX2's crystal back cover gave the most comfortable grip out of the three, only to be hampered by the Flyme OS' eccentric UX. Obviously, we shall do a more detailed comparison once we have our review unit, so stay tuned.
Oppo Find 5 hands-on (updated with video)
Being our first time at an Oppo launch event, we were truly blown away by the efforts put into the quality show. And luckily, we can say the same for the phone itself. The Find 5 uses the same gorgeous five-inch 1080p screen as HTC's Droid DNA and Butterfly, but what really blew us away was the new phone's solid build quality -- a huge improvement from the older Finder we brought along, though the latter did achieve a 6.65mm thickness, whereas the new one comes in at 8.8mm thick. The Find 5's shape and feel also reminded us of Sony's Xperia S. It'll be about a month before Oppo pushes its new phone into various markets, so it'll be awhile before we get a review unit to test the various features. For now, enjoy our hands-on photos below. Update: Check out our hands-on video after the break! %Gallery-173178%
Oppo launches Find 5, touts 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core and 13MP camera
At last, the wait is over for Oppo's latest flagship device. Launched in Beijing earlier, the Find 5 comes with pretty much all the top ingredients in the current market -- many of which had been teased by the company multiple times already: 5-inch 1080p display, Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chip with 2GB RAM, a 2,500mAh battery and Android 4.1.2. There's also NFC, and on top of that, the Find 5 will come with two NFC tags (remember LG's Optimus LTE Tag and Sony's SmartTags?) plus a special version of Sina Weibo that uses the phone's NFC to let users instantly follow each other. The 13-megapixel, 5fps camera on the back isn't just about numbers, as it also packs fast hardware-enabled HDR for both photos and video! Oppo claims it's the first in the mobile industry to carry this awesome feature. Additionally, the main camera can capture slow motion of up to 120fps, though it isn't clear whether the resolution is reduced to achieve this. On the other side of the device there's also a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, which beats most phones these days. Audio-wise the Find 5 features Dirac HD, a technology that's embraced by the likes of BMW, Bentley, Rolls Royce and Datasat; making Oppo the first mobile phone brand to join the party. The included earphones are fine-tuned for Dirac, naturally. Alas, much like the Droid DNA, this Chinese superphone also suffers from the lack of microSD expansion, so users may struggle to fully appreciate the 441ppi screen with just 16GB of built-in storage. As for pricing, we already know that the US will offer the Find 5 for $499, and luckily, it'll just be ¥2,998 or about $480 in China, but it'll be about a month before the phone reaches its various markets, including the US. Stay tuned for our hands-on, and there's also a press release after the break for the time being. Update: Our hands-on is up!
Oppo Find 5 spec sheet pops up, heading to US for $499 unsubsidized
Quad-core APQ8064 chip: check. 5-inch 1080p display: check. That's right, it's the Oppo Find 5 again, but this time we're seeing the phone's full spec sheet courtesy of the manufacturer's overly simple US website -- we've already verified this with our contacts. Apart from the fact that Oppo will be selling the much anticipated Find 5 in the US, the product page also lists an unsubsidized price of just $499, which isn't bad when you look at the $600 HTC Droid DNA off contract. The specs also mention Android 4.1.2, a 2,500mAh battery, NFC, 16GB of built-in storage and 2GB of RAM, as well as compatibility with T-Mobile and AT&T's 3G networks. Now all we need are some pictures, but we'll even get to touch it at the Beijing launch event next Wednesday.
Meizu MX2 packs 1.6GHz quad-core chip, 4.4-inch display and Jelly Bean, due mid-December
Amidst the fierce competition in the Chinese mobile market, Meizu has managed to keep up with its annual cycle to unveil its latest flagship device, the MX2. Announced at the launch event in Beijing earlier today, the MX2 comes with a Samsung-made 1.6GHz, Cortex-A9 quad-core SoC dubbed "MX5S," along with 2GB of RAM, a 30-percent faster GPU, a 4.4-inch 347ppi (1,280 x 800) gapless display with 3.15mm bezel and efficient "New Mode 2" technology (the description of which sounds like IGZO to us), an improved eight-megapixel BSI F/2.4 camera and a choice of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of built-in memory. There's also a front-facing camera, dual-mic noise cancellation, MHL video output, S/PDIF audio output, a non-removable 1,800mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.0 and HSPA+ radio at 2,100MHz (2G at 900/1800). As before, the white double injection-molded back cover can be taken off to access the SIM card slot, but there should also be various color options in the near future. Read on for more info, and do also check out the official introduction video after the break. Update: We now have some hands-on photos courtesy of Stone Ip from Engadget Chinese. They're in the second gallery below.
Samsung's SCH-W2013 is a quad-core, dual-screen flip phone, designed for Jackie Chan
It's been almost a year since the ridiculously expensive SCH-W999 launched on China Telecom, so it's about time for Samsung to come up with yet another dual-screen flip phone to lure folks with too much money. Launched in conjunction with a big charity concert (again) earlier today is the SCH-W2013, a 1.4GHz quad-core (likely an Exynos 4412) device with Android 4.0 and dual-3.7-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED touchscreens. On top of that there's 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD expansion of up to 64GB, 1,850mAh of battery juice, an eight-megapixel main imager plus a whopping 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. As with many flagship devices on China Telecom, the W2013 comes with dual-SIM support: one for CDMA2000 800/1900 and the other for GSM 900/1800/1900. The damage? Well, there's nothing official yet, but it's believed to be somewhere between ¥18,000 ($2,900) and ¥20,000 ($3,210). After all, it ain't cheap to hire Jackie Chan (and he was also given a W2013 at the concert).
Oppo to unveil Find 5 in Beijing on December 12th, but we all know what's coming
We see what you did there, Oppo: a triple-12 date for the introduction of its next flagship phone, the Find 5. You'd think it'd be a tough act to follow after the Chinese company's crazy slim Finder from this summer, but as CEO Tony Chen's already teased previously, his next product will boast a five-inch 1080p (441ppi) display along with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064. It sure sounds a lot like HTC's Droid DNA, but we shall have to wait until the Beijing event to see what Oppo's "fifth element" actually looks like, as well as to see what other surprises it may have for us, so stay tuned.
Xiaomi Phone 2 review: high-end specs in a surprisingly affordable package
As mobile phones have become more powerful, prices for many flagship models have managed to linger were they always were -- at the top end. The Xiaomi has always been one exception, though. Last year, this Beijing startup launched its very first namesake phone at just CN¥1,999 ($320), which was rather impressive given that this was the first Chinese device to feature the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon MSM8260 chip (not to be mistaken with the Krait-based MSM8260A). This stimulated two fronts of the smartphone war: the price-per-performance ratio kind, and the cheap-as-hell kind. With regards to performance, we're looking at competitors like Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and good old Meizu; while the price battle involves taking on MediaTek-powered devices under various new brands -- many of which have done so well that they've now set up stores in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei area. Needless to say, Xiaomi is now facing a greater challenge -- one that barely existed a year ago. But on the brighter side of things, the company now has three Android devices spanning two price tiers: two editions of the Xiaomi Phone 1S for ¥1,299 ($210) or ¥1,499 ($240), and the quad-core Xiaomi Phone 2 -- the star of this review -- for ¥1,999, which is well below its ¥2,350 ($380) raw cost, according to CEO Lei Jun. There's no doubt that Xiaomi could recoup some of the costs from its vast range of accessories, and with the imminent launch of the Xiaomi TV set-top box next month, it's clear that the company's hoping to profit from content. Still, as mama said, it's the first impression that counts (especially for consumers outside China, anyway), so read on to see how we coped with Xiaomi's second-gen flagship phone.%Gallery-170578%
ZTE's U950 shows how Tegra 3 phone is done under $160
This might not be the $199 Tegra 3 tablet that NVIDIA's keen to see, but hey, a 999 yuan ($160) quad-core phone is just as impressive. Unveiled in China earlier today, this ZTE U950 smartphone packs a 1.3GHz Tegra 3 chip, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 2,000mAh battery beneath the 4.3-inch display. There's also a five-megapixel camera plus a VGA front-facing camera inside the 9mm-thick body. Pretty standard stuff for an Android 4.0 phone, except for the price-per-performance ratio, of course. The first 100,000 customers who register now will be eligible to order on November 11th, though chances are the quota's all gone by now.
Xiaomi Phone 2 officially launching in China on October 30th, 16GB and 32GB flavors offered
With all these Snapdragon S4 Pro phones popping up here and there, Xiaomi's finally announcing its launch plan for the retail version of its very own Xiaomi Phone 2 aka MI-Two, which is also powered by Qualcomm's APQ8064 SoC. Here's what's going to happen: on October 30th, the company's online store will release the first 50,000 units, followed by another 250,000 units (approximately) in mid-November. Additionally, the device will be offered in both 16GB and 32GB flavors, which are priced at ¥1,999 (about $320) and ¥2,299 (about $370), respectively. Folks who reside in China can now register online for a quota, but it'll probably be just a matter of time before we see these on eBay, anyway.
