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OnePlus 2 is a $329+ metallic upgrade with a beefed-up camera
Almost exactly 15 months ago, the OnePlus One made its debut as a $299 flagship smartphone to wow the geeks; and it's even been lowered to $249 as of last month. That, of course, is to make way for the company's next act, the OnePlus 2 (we were asked to stick with "2" instead of "Two"). This update is actually not all that secretive no thanks to the teasers and a recent leak, but that's not to say you should lose interest in it, especially given the improved camera, better display, extra RAM and the switch from plastic to a more resilient magnesium alloy frame. Not to mention that the 2 also comes with a USB Type-C port, a fingerprint reader, dual nano-SIM slots and a special "alert" slider. As for the OnePlus 2's price: the 64GB version will retail for $389 while the 16GB version will cost you $329. Let's break it down.
Richard Lai07.27.2015
Qualcomm set to axe up to 10 percent of its workforce
Qualcomm has been besieged by problems lately and quite a few of its employees may soon pay the price. It's planning to lay off around 10 percent of its workforce -- several thousand employees -- according to The Information. The WSJ is also reporting that the company will conduct a comprehensive review of its operations and may split into two separate businesses: chip production and patent licensing. Qualcomm profits dropped drastically last quarter due to delays in the launch of its flagship Snapdragon 810 chip and the loss of one of its largest customers, Samsung. The company was ordered to pay a $975 million antitrust fine in China and is facing the same problem in the EU.
Steve Dent07.21.2015
Here are the world's first USB Type-C 'Superphones' from China
Following the Nokia N1, the new Chromebook and the new MacBook, who knew the world's first USB Type-C smartphones would come from a Chinese company? The brand in question is LeTV, who has today unveiled three new Android 5.0 "Superphones" that feature the reversible socket. The flagship aluminum Le Max (pictured above) is all about the absolute top specs: a 6.33-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 810 chip (2GHz, octa-core, 64-bit), 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a whopping 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, a 21-megapixel f/2.0 camera (with Sony's new IMX230 sensor, plus optical stabilization and dual-tone flash) and a bright UltraPixel selfie imager.
Richard Lai04.14.2015
HTC's next flagship appears to flaunt 20MP camera in leaked shots
Leak happens, and poor HTC might have just become the first victim out of the MWC lot this year. What we're looking at here are two alleged spyshots of the company's upcoming flagship, the "Hima" aka "M9," courtesy of Nowhereelse.fr, who has since removed the images. While the French blog has a mixed record of credibility when it comes to leaks, we're struggling to find signs of tampering in these photos, but that's not to say we're convinced just yet. For one, the amusingly large camera hump on the back (remember the M8 Prime?) is a total eyesore on the familiar-looking but seemingly slimmer body; and it even reminds us of the Huawei Ascend Mate 7's own imager. If real, then HTC better have a very good justification for this. Maybe some love for a stealthy optical zoom feature? Or a larger sensor for bigger pixels? As for the pseudo-depth-sensing camera normally positioned at the top, the tipster may have cropped it out just to irritate us all.
Richard Lai01.20.2015