MWC 2015: here's what to expect

MWC 2015: here's what to expect

The Mobile World Congress 2015 kicks off soon (March 1st is when all major announcements should take place), and it promises to live up to its name of the biggest mobile show for the year as it is expected to introduce us to the high-profile flagships from many of the biggest phone companies.

We already know what the big stars of MWC 2015 will be: the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9, but those are far from the only newcomers. Rumors speculate that Samsung might release a version of the Galaxy S6 with a wrap-around edge display (or that could just be the S6 itself), and HTC is said to bring two flagships with identical specifications, but a different size (a regular, 5"-ish one and a phablet-sized one). Then, we've seen Lenovo tease a whole new family of four Android devices, and many other companies will bring their latest and greatest.

Good news is that all of the companies are expected to unveil new phones that run on Android 5.0 Lollipop, a big change over KitKat in both looks and performance speeds. We already know a lot about these expected MWC 2015 new smartphones, so if you want to know more about what's coming up, just take a look right below.

Samsung

Rumors so far say that the Galaxy S6 will feature a 5.1-inch display (some say that it will have a Quad HD resolution), a Samsung-made octa-core Exynos system chip, but the big focus seems to be on the camera. After all, Samsung itself released a teaser of the new shooter in the Galaxy S6 setting expectations high. We came away impressed with what the Galaxy Note 4 offered, and we're looking forward to see how Samsung tops itself in this regard.

HTC

The HTC One M9 is expected to come with a 5-inch, 1080p display, and it will most probably be powered by Qualcomm's 64-bit Snapdragon 810 chip. We expect 3GB of DDR4 RAM to make a debut for the first time in an HTC device. The battery is tipped to be a 2,840mAh unit.

One of the more interesting aspects of the specs sheet is the expected inclusion of a regular 20MP rear camera in favor of the generally under-performing UltraPixel camera that graced both the HTC One (M7) and (M8). The camera sensor, in particular, is expected to be 1/2.4" in size and made by Toshiba. As far as the front-facing shooter is concerned, we expect the One M9 to sport an UltraPixel snapper, though, which is fine considering its performance in low-light situations.  Source

Galaxy S6 depiction with a taller home key hints at a new touch finger sensor for Samsung Pay

Galaxy S6 depiction with a taller home key hints at a new touch finger sensor for Samsung Pay

We heard last month that Samsung will follow in the footsteps of Apple, Meizu and Huawei, introducing a touch-based fingerprint sensor with the Galaxy S6, instead of the more cumbersome swipe one it currently uses for the S5, Note 4 and Note Edge handsets. Touch is definitely better and faster than swipe, especially on big-screen phones that require a lot of stretching down until you reach the home key, and its embedded finger scanner. The home button was also tipped to be larger, so that you can more comfortably use its touch-based finger recognition function.

Well, now that we have a leaked official render of the Galaxy S6 Edge handset from T-Mobile, we can definitely see that Korean publications were right to claim that we will have a new, taller and more handsome fingerprint reader on Samsung's upcoming flagship, which seems to be of the touch-based, instead of the swipe variety indeed. In fact, the sensor depicted above, pretty much resembles the squarish touch one on the Meizu MX4 Pro.

Samsung has one very big reason to switch to the more expensive touch finger sensor, and it might be called Samsung Pay. Besides unlocking the phone, and other general access security features, the new fingerprint reader would serve very well for mobile payment verification purposes, adding the additional security layer that banks, merchants and payment processors demand. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S6 this Sunday, before the MWC expo officially commences. source

Meizu MX5 rumors suggest crazy hi-res camera, fingerprint sensor not on home button

Meizu MX5 rumors suggest crazy hi-res camera, fingerprint sensor not on home button

Seeing as the Meizu MX4 launched back in September, 2014, we'd expect that the screen-to-body champion's next iteration – most probably bearing the name MX5 – is still quite away from even hitting the production lines, so we'd take any rumors about the next gen Meizu with a grain of salt. Still, this little whisper suggests a couple of interesting things, and mentions Nokia once more – let us remind you that, just a month ago, there were rumors claiming that the two companies may work together on a phone, though, it was firmly denied by Meizu's VP of Science and Technology.

Coming from China-based tech blogging site MyDrivers, the latest MX5 rumor says that the handset will sport a 5.5" 2K screen (we wouldn't wager on the exact resolution, as the MX4 surprised all of us with its unorthodox 5:3 aspect ratio), will again be powered by a MediaTek SoC, and will be loaded with 4 GB of RAM.

Now, for the interesting bits – the publication says that the handset will have a fingerprint scanner, but will maintain the classic Meizu capacitive home button on the front. Could this mean a fingerprint scanner on the back? We wouldn't say it's unlikely, though, in the MX4 Pro, Meizu did do away with the capacitive O-shaped button, in order to house a biometric sensor instead. Secondly, the rumors speak of a 41 MP sensor for the phone's main camera – supposedly, a Nokia-made one at that! Now, the MX4 and MX4 Pro were both loaded with a 21 megapixel Sony IMX220 and we quite liked the results. If this rumor is true, we'd be more than curious to see the outcome. But for now – we'll just take this grain of salt in hand and wait patiently for some more reliable leaks. Source

Here's a couple of concept renders to tide you over in the meantime!

More tiny details about the HTC One M9 tipped: camera aperture, CPU clock speed

More tiny details about the HTC One M9 tipped: camera aperture, CPU clock speed

The noise around HTC's upcoming One M9 flagship has become deafening, and the handset is claimed to sport a vastly improved camera on the back, as hinted by the huge camera opening in the recent leaks. A few One M9 cases have appeared for preorder on Amazon, by the usual culprit Spigen, and they reconfirm the 20 MP camera lens shape and size.

We've got another tip today, claiming to "fill in the blanks" around said 20 MP rear camera. The shooter is expected to sport f/2.2 aperture, and 27.8 mm lens equivalent, which means that the sensor might not be Sony's 20 MP model in the Xperia Z3 or Meizu MX4, for instance, but rather something else. In fact, resident leakster Ricciolo tipped right after this publication that the sensor is made by Toshiba, meaning we might be in for additional surprise from HTC in the camera department, save for the whopping fivefold increase in resolution from the M8 to the M9. To that we have to add that, according to Ricciolo, who's always had a good track record, the camera sensor is 1/2.4" in size.

Furthermore, according to Bloomberg, the phone will be powered by Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 810 chipset, and the tipster confirms it, adding that the four Cortex-A57 cores will be clocked at 2 GHz maximums, while the frugal Cortex-A53 quarter will hum at 1.5 GHz at the most. Allegedly, these goodies will all be managed by Android 5.0.2, with a brand spanking new Sense 7 UI. The MWC expo is only a few days away, so not much left to wait until we see what HTC has in store for us on Sunday. Source

Best Chinese smartphones you can buy in the US right now

Best Chinese smartphones you can buy in the US right now

Chinese smartphones are increasingly becoming the best value-for-money efforts in the mobile industry, offering great specs and at times even good design for their price tag. Consider that a Xiaomi, Huawei or Lenovo flagships run 20-30% less than a similar offer from Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC and other more popular names, while in the midrange scenario they might start you at half off compared to the competing brand juggernauts, and it's not hard to grasp why the Chinese brands are grabbing more and more market share from Samsung and the rest.

The relatively unknown Xiaomi, for instance, used to be lumped in the "Others" category just in 2013, while this year it is projected to be the world's fifth, and maybe even fourth maker. Huawei is also doing pretty well, raising its market share about two percentage points in the span of two years. Lenovo's Motorola acquisition quickly catapulted it to third place with a 7.4% market share forecast for the year, and, overall, the ascend can only be attributable to the Chinese phone makers getting stronger, with Samsung getting weaker.

Well, that's market forces at work for you, but the problem with getting Chinese brands is usually accessibility and the fact that they are rarely offered on contract from major carriers - the way here in the US phones are predominantly bought. With the advent of T-Mobile's and other prepaid offers, however, buying a handset directly instead of tying yourself on a lengthy expensive contract in exchange for some phone subsidies, is becoming increasingly attractive. What better value-for-money in such scenario than the Chinese brands, that's why we have compiled a list of the best phones from Xiaomi, Lenovo, Meizu, Huawei that you can buy in the US right now, pop your SIM card in, and go. These puppies are all in stock and can be bought from the linked credible stores (Amazon, Expansys, Newegg) directly right now.

Xiaomi Mi4

The Xiaomi Mi 4 comes with a 5-inch 1080p, fully laminated display and top notch hardware: it runs on the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 system chip clocked at up to 2.5GHz, and comes with a plentiful 3GB of RAM. The battery is a sizable 3080 mAh pack that can last around a day and a half according to Xiaomi, more than most other 5-inch flagship phones. The Mi 4 also supports quick charging, so you can juice it up to 60% in less than an hour. In terms of cameras, the Mi 4 boasts a 13-megapixel rear one and a high-res, 8-megapixel shooter with a Sony sensor up front. The Mi 4 comes in two versions: one with 16GB of internal storage, and another one that makes a jump directly to 64GB, skipping a 32GB model. The storage is also of the fastest eMMC 5.0 kind.

OnePlus One

The OnePlus One sports Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974-AC), clocked at 2.5GHz, 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM, and a 3100 mAh cell. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, 2.4G/5G Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. Wrapped within a magnesium chassis, the One is a relatively compact 5.5-incher, measuring 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm, and weighing just 162 grams. The 1080x1920 pixel resolution screen is literally slapped on top of the chassis, so the top and bottom bezels are actually recessed. At the back we have a 13-megapixel Sony IMX214 sensor with 6 lenses and a wide, f/2.0 aperture. Lastly, the OnePlus One is powered by a customized version of CyanogenMod OS, which has been redesigned with a minimal, completely flat UI.

Meixu MX4

Meizu's MX4 is offered at a great price and can now be ordered directly. It comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat, with Meizu's own Flyme 4.0 on top of it. It sports a large 5.36" display, MT6595 octa-core CPU with four Cortex-A17 cores, clocked at 2.2 GHz, and four Cortex-A7, running at up to 1.7 GHz each. 2 GB of RAM are on board. The device does not offer a microSD slot for external cards and comes in three storage space variants – 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB. The MX4 also offers a 20.7 Exmor RS camera and a 2MP front snapper.

Huawei Honor 6

The Honor 6 features a 5-inch 1080 x 1920-pixel Full HD display, an 8-core Kirin 920 processor, 3 GB of RAM, and a 13MP main camera, as well as a secondary 5 MP one, all in a thin and light body, what's not to like at this price tag.


ZTE Nubia Z7 mini

The ZTE nubia Z7 mini sports a 5-inch 1080p display, 13 megapixel shooter with flash and two SIM card slots. The device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip featuring a 2GHz quad core processor and 2GB of RAM. The available storage space equates to 16GB and is expandable via a microSD card slot. Source

Is buying a Chinese smartphone a good idea? We lived with the UMi Zero Android smartphone to find out

Is buying a Chinese smartphone a good idea? We lived with the UMi Zero Android smartphone to find out

If you take a good look around the back of any electronic device, chances are you'll come across a label that says "Made in China". This goes for anything from your toaster or microwave to your TV, stereo, and, of course, your smartphone or tablet. For example, while iPhones and iPads are designed in the U.S., most of them are actually built by Chinese workers in a Chinese factory. Even electronic gadgets made elsewhere, according to their label, have components sourced from a Chinese manufacturer inside of them.

However, you'd be wrong if you assume that Chinese electronics companies are only good at manufacturing components and at building others' products. Huawei, Lenovo, and Alcatel, to name a few, have been selling their own original hardware throughout Europe and the U.S. for a pretty long time. Yet the subject of this article they're not. What we're about to bring your attention to are the lesser-known Chinese smartphone companies, as well as the pros and cons of buying devices straight from China.

We were inspired to write this post by the skyrocketing number of ambitious Chinese companies selling seemingly great smartphones at highly aggressive prices. Xiaomi, Meizu, Gionee, and IUNI are just some of these exotic brands practically unknown to the western consumer, except to the followers of our "Monsters from Asia" series. Their phones, as unpopular as they are, promise outstanding value for money, which makes them a tempting buy. We could not resist buying one either – the promising mid-ranger known as the UMi Zero – although honestly, we think we should have tried harder. read more here

The HTC One M9 will most probably be available in these color combinations

The HTC One M9 will most probably be available in these color combinations

We have to put out thinking caps on if we want to think of anything that we seemingly don't know about the HTC One M9. Specs, official renders, as well as pricing have been extensively leaked over the last weeks or so, leaving almost nothing to the imagination about HTC's announcement event on March 1.

Of course, when it comes to color options, HTC is not expected to surprise us - it will certainly stay true to sound logic and offer traditional color options fit for its flagship. Popular leakster @upleaks claimed that the manufacturer from Taiwan will put its faith into three different color combinations - dark gunmetal, gold, and a version with gold front paired with a silver back (probably not gunmetal).

Frankly, we don't expect HTC to surprise us in the color department in particular. We'll get to know if these will indeed end up being the color options for the HTC One M9 in the end of the week, on March 1. Source

Are you still excited or the numerous leaks have already made you lose your interest in the One M9?