PARROT BEBOP REVIEW

Parrot was one of the first companies to make a splash in the consumer UAV space when it released its AR 2.0 drone back in 2010. Now, just a few years later, it’s back with the Bebop — a smaller, smarter, more camera-focused drone.
Priced at just $500, the Bebop promises many of the same features as drones that cost twice as much money, including GPS and streaming video. But can it really compare to more expensive UAVs? We took it for a spin to find out.

Purported Vivo Xshot3 photos and specification leaked

Vivo are focusing on teasing their Vivo X5Pro, but is that really the only phone the Chinese phone maker have? Leaks of the Vivo Xhot3 suggests no.

Vivo have been teasing details of their upcoming Vivo X5Pro. Those official teasers point at long battery life a 3D curved display and advanced camera features.

So while Vivo have been talking about the X5Pro, what have the tipsters been looking at? Today’s leaks claim to show images of the next generation Vivo Xshot, the Xshot3.

In the images the device has a similar camera design to the Xshot but on the left side rather than the center. An rounded alloy chassis looks more comfortable than the current Xshots and retains a physical shutter button.

VECTOR LUNA SMARTWATCH

There are very few startups innovating with phones. But the smartwatch market is different. Whether it’s the current interest that makes funding easier, or its close ties with the fashion industry — where small names can flourish — little firms with unique ideas are coming up with interesting, real products.
Vector is one of them. You may not know the name, but it has made quite a splash since its high profile smartwatch launch at the Baselworld watch fair in March. Why? Because it’s giving people what they want – long battery life. It’s not just a concept device with some eye-catching on-paper specs, either. The Vector smartwatch is a real product, and we got to try it out.

Oppo Find 7 getting a long overdue Lollipop update

Believe it or not but owners of the Oppo Find 7 are still running Android 4.4 Kitkat, but come May Lollipop will finally arrive.

Although the OnePlus One and the Oppo Find 7 are essentially the same device, customers who opted for the Oppo Flagship are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to getting the latest Android updates.

Finally though, the Oppo Find 7 is going to receive an Android 5.0 Lollipop update with the a coming ColorOS update in May. The coming version of ColorOS will be based on Android 5.0.2, at this moment details of the ROM and any additional features are currently not known.

Mlais release details of another device! Enter the 4800mAh Mlais MX

Mlais have grabbed our attention with the M52, and the upcoming M7, however another Mlais device lurks in the shadows too! The 4800mAh Mlais MX.

It is our understanding that the Mlias M7 and Mlais MX will launch at around the same time sometime next week along with another product (possibly and accessory). We’ve covered the M7 a here, but the Mlais MX is something new.

The render above shows a 5-inch smartphone running Android 5.0 Lollipop with a very large 4800mAh battery. That’s enough juice for the MX to be used as a powerbank for other devices.

Mlais have also sent over photos of the chassis of the MX, made of Magnesium for light-weight and excellent cooling properties.

Specifications for the Mlias MX should be announced in the coming days, but if we were to hazard a guess we expect the phone to sport a MT6732 chipset and around 2GB RAM.

New Pictures of Mlais M4 Note emerges in the web

The Mlais M4 Note has made his first appearance a while ago. Currently on pre-sales, new images of upcoming device from Mlais, surfaced on the Internet through a company profile on Instagram.

With a Design that clearly resembles the Galaxy Note 4, the Mlais M4 Note has his virtues among the thousand others devices, or even knock-offs, inspired in the phablet. With decent specs and a good construction the phone turns in a very respectful choice for the price.

Through a profile of Mlais on Instagram, we found some pictures which give us a good look on the phones final design. This time with a unit in full black color as Mlais describe it:

The Mlais M4 Note carries the MT6732 64-bit 1.5Ghz Quadcore, along with that we find 2GB of Ram and 16GB on-board storage. The camera listed specs are a 13MP unit on the rear and 8MP on the front, on display of 5.5-inches 720p unit powered by a battery of 2400mAh.

The listed specifications in fact do not show a big difference among the competitors in the same price range, and even the Mlais has a good example of device with higher specs in the same price range, the M52 Red Note. However the major difference presented and possibly greater justification in the handset is its construction, that includes materials like metal on frame and buttons, which have even the tactile finish in volume buttons.

Elephone will be shipping new 2K flagships with 4GB RAM not 3GB

Elephone have managed to keep themselves in the headlines everyday this week, and here they are again with a new announcement for their upcoming flagship devices with 2K panels.

We have discovered that Elephone are working on two unnamed flagship phones with very high-end specifications. Current known as Version A and Version B, the two devices are set for launch in May and June.

Version A has a Mediatek MT6795 chipset, 2K display, 20 mega-pixel camera and Android 5.0 Lollipop, while Version B has a quad-core Intel processor, 2K display, 20 mega-pixel camera but offers the choise of either Windows 10 or Android 5.0 Lollipop OS.

OnePlus cuts accessory prices by %50 for one year anniversary

Celebrating their first year anniversary, OnePlus have cut the cost of accessories by %50.

Following on from their recent announcement to scrap the invite system for the OnePlus One, but not up coming OnePlus models, the phone maker has reduced the cost of OPO accessories by %50.

Flip covers can now be had for as little as 6.50 Euros, Tempered glass protectors for 5.80 Euros and even the JBL E1+ earphones have been slashed from 36.99 Euro to just 18.50 Euro.

OnePlus are also holding a competition to celebrate their landmark offering Sandstone Black OPO bundles up for grabs.

Top 5 Chinese Action Cameras You Can Buy For Summer

Chinese tech companies aren’t just about tablets and phones, but also action cameras for capturing those extreme moments. Here are our top 5 Chinese Action Camera picks for this summer.

GoPro might have a huge following, but their high pricing has meant that Chinese manufacturers have been able to move in and offer similar performing devices at a lower retail price. Here are a few action cameras you can take a look at for the coming summer.

Xiaomi Mi4i “Mi 4 India” launched at $205 (12,999 INR), coming to all Xiaomi markets later in the year

Today over in New Dehli the Xiaomi team have unveiled a new smartphone device aimed at the Indian market only. The Mi4i will be launched in all current Xiaomi markets later in the year. Keep reading for details of the Xiaomi Mi4i.

In his introduction of the new Xiaomi phone, Hugo Barra told reporters that the Xiaomi Mi4i is a device for India, even telling that Mi4i means “Mi 4 India”. So what is the Xiaomi Mi4i? Well the leaks told us to expect something along the lines of the Mi4, only with a plastic shell, and this is exactly what Xiaomi have delivered.

The Mi4i comes in a choice of yellow, blue,  pink, black or white and is made of polycarbonate. Think of the 5-inch unibody device as Xiaomi’s version of the iPhone 5C. The Mi4i measures in at 69.6 x 138.1 x 7.8mm which makes the phone slightly thinner than the metal bodied Mi4 at a weight of 130g

Exclusive: Zopo Speed 7 and Speed 7 Plus MT6753 flagship specifications

What’s this! A new Zopo phone with near bezel less design, up to 3GB RAM, Lollipop, 64bit and LTE! Here are full details of the new Zopo Speed 7 and Zopo Speed 7 Plus phones.

Zopo have promised that this year we are going to see a big change from them. We have already tried their $169 Zopo ZP530, and have to agree that the new Zopo does make quality phones, but what can they do for a flagship?

These exclusive images and specifications have been sent to us listing all the details of the new Zopo Speed 7 Plus and Zopo Speed 7 flagship devices, phones that share the same design and offer high-end hardware.

As the names suggest, the Speed 7 is a smaller 5-inch FHD (146 x 71 x 8.5mm) phone while the Speed 7 Plus has a 5.5-inch 1080p display (153.6 x 76.5 x 8.5mm). The Speed 7 Plus also has 3GB RAM and 3000mAh battery while the Speed 7 gets 2GB RAM and a 2500mAh battery.

At the heart of both new Zopo phones is the new octacore Mediatek MT6753 64bit chipset. As far as we are aware this is the first time this chipset has been used in a phone so far. Features of the MT6753 include Ca9 LTE support, and a Mali T720 GPU.

The chipset also brings GSM, 3G and LTE support for the following bands. GSM 850/900/1800/1900Mhz, WCDMA 900/1900/2100Mhz, and FDD-LTE 800/1800/2600Mhz. Zopo have also kept dual SIM support and left space for up to a 64GB SD card.

Ported Cyanogenmod 11 arrives for Umi Zero!

XDA developers have performed their magic once again with a port of the popular CyanogenMod 11 for the UMi Zero.

UMi is on a roll in terms of providing updates and custom roms for Umi Zero that are intended not only to improve the user experience but also reach all tastes and give a high range of options to them. Nevertheless there are always users who are still not satisfied with what’s on offer and are always looking for something else. Which brings us to the first port of CyanogenMod 11 for Umi Zero.

CyanogenMod 11 is a custom version of Stock Android 4.4 that includes some features and optimizations that were not present when Google made it. The ported ROM can currently be installed on Umi Zero trough a Custom Recovery like TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project) as recommended by the Author of the build.

When asked about the Port, Umi on their forums, says it has a lot of bugs and they are also testing it right now, and 1 phone was harmed, also they ask users to not rush ahead and install the ROM as they will announce news when a more stable version is available.

Cube iWork 11 is an 11.6-inch tablet with call features

Popular tablet maker Cube have released yet another Windows tablet. The new Cube iWork 11 boasts all the usual Windows tablet details with the inclusion of call features.

With a big screen and the ability to use as a phone the Cube iWork 11 is still a tablet no matter how you look at it, there is now way you could get away with calling it a phablet! The 11.6-inch display is simply too large.

Pipo X8 showcased, a mini PC with a built in touchscreen display. Why? Because they can!

Windows powered mini PCs are quite the in thing right now, and OEMs are making sure they exercise all of their creativity just to ensure they don’t miss out on the next big idea.

The Pipo X8 seems like another one of these design exercises. Unlike any other Windows mini PC on the market, the X8 comes with an actual display on-board which also acts as a touchscreen. Basically, it is up to you to call it either a sort-of-portable but tethered desktop (notice I’m not using the word ‘tablet’ here — there’s no batteries in the X8) or a mini PC that needs a larger display and other components to be fully usable.

If this does take off, it’ll most certainly be so because of the ‘unique’ touchscreen display which is a 7-inch panel with a 1024 x 600 pixel display. Apart from that, the Pipo X8 is pretty much your run-of-the-mill mini PC; there’ll either be an Intel Atom Z3735F or an Atom Z3736F Bay Trail powering the system, along with 2GB of RAM, and 32/64GB of on-board storage apart from 4x USB ports, microSD slot, WiFi and Bluetooth.

OnePlus bid adieu to invites, for good this time

The OnePlus One was one of the best phones from 2014, but it had its own share own controversy thanks to the crazy invite system.

However, a little less than a year since its announcement (the phone was announced April 23rd, 2014), the company has revealed that the phone will finally be available invite-free. Up until now, since a couple of months or so, the phone had been having weekly invite-free Tuesdays.

Part of the Xiaomi Mi4i’s low cost could be due to iPhone 5c style plastic body

Xiaomi may have wrapped it’s downgraded Xiaomi Mi4i in plastic similar to the iPhone 5c to keep it’s retail cost down.

Earlier today we reported that the Xiaomi Mi4i tipped for released in India could cost as little as $161. Part of the cost cutting will come in the form or a Snapdragon 615 rather than 801 chipset, but much of it could be due to a plastic construction.

The Xiaomi Mi4 represented the first phone from Xiaomi to focus on build quality with glass front and alloy chassis. These details might not be present on the new phone and instead have a polycarbonate material with dual SIM tray.

Other details include a 5-inch 1080p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB memory, 13 mega-pixel main camera and 5 mega-pixel front.

Xiaomi are expected to show off the Mi4i on April 23rd.

Xiaomi will live stream “i Is Coming” event

For those of us not heading to India on the 23rd of April we don’t have to miss out on the Xiaomi action as the event will be streamed live.

Xiaomi have been teasing fans over on their Facebook for the upcoming launch to be held in just 3 days. The majority of fans and rumours so far point at the release of a Xiaomi Mi4i with Snapdragon 615 and plastic body, however the teasers on Facebook suggest a high-resolution device with higher than standard craftsmanship.

Aston Martin sign deal with LeTV for in car technology

For a new hardware makers, LeTV are already making some exciting partnerships, the most interesting so far with British luxury car maker Aston Martin.

Even if you aren’t a petrol head there is a good chance you already know Aston Martin if not then just stick a James Bond movie on and you will have a good chance of seeing one with rockets and machine guns attached.

Aston Martin a making great progress with sales in China, like many other luxury car brands, so it comes as no surprise that they are planning to work with a local technology company on new in car features.

Google will be changing up your mobile search results

It seems that Google will begin placing a heavier emphasis on mobile sites when populating mobile search results on smartphones. The implications of this formula shift reach far and wide, as mobile optimized sites will receive preferential treatment over desktop only sites. This could have a vast effect on what nearby businesses receive exposure when their industry (restaurant, mechanic etc.) is searched from a mobile device.
The new formula is set to roll out Tuesday and will have companies kicking their developers into gear. Itai Sadan, the CEO of the website-building service Duda told AP “Some sites are going to be in for a big surprise when they find a drastic change in the amount of people visiting them from mobile devices.”

Samsung shipped more smartphones than anyone in Q1 2015, Huawei climbs the list

Samsung extended its lead over Apple in terms of worldwide smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2015, before the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge even began shipping. The gap between the two smartphone manufacturers will widen in the second quarter, according to technology market intelligence firm TrendForce.
In the first quarter, a total of 291.2 million smartphone units were shipped around the world, a 9.2 percent decline from the 320.8 million units shipped in the prior quarter. The larger-than-expected drop is attributed to a weak market in China, according to Taiwan-based TrendForce.
Related: Samsung says there might not be enough Galaxy S6 Edge phones for everyone
Samsung was the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer in the first quarter, claiming 27.8 percent of all worldwide shipments. Apple was second with 19.9 percent of the market. In the fourth quarter of 2014, the gap between the two top dogs was narrower (24.7 percent of Samsung, 23.3 percent for Apple).

In a couple years, you’ll be able to sleep in while this robot makes you breakfast

IBM’s Watson has a little competition in the kitchen. The artificial intelligence machine just released a cookbook, but Moley Robotics wants to put an entire robotic chef in your kitchen. Debuting at international robotics show Hanover Messe, the prototype is a sneak peek at what the company hopes to release to consumers in 2017.
The prototype is a result of a collaboration Moley and the Shadow Robot Company, which actually created the hands. At the show, the robot is whipping up crab bisque, which it “learned” to make by mimicking BBC MasterChef winner Tim Anderson; a 3D camera filmed him making the recipe, and the robot’s commands were based on the chef’s movements.

If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em: Segway bought by Chinese competitor Ninebot

It’s not an oft-used tactic, but one way to settle a dispute is to invite the other side to join your team – or pay them to do so. That seems to be exactly what is happening here, as China-based Ninebot has acquired Segway, the very company that accused it of copyright infringement just last year.

At least six companies were named in a U.S. trade complaint filed by Segway last year, and Ninebot was among them, Bloomberg reports. All of the companies sold products that seem very similar to the now-familiar two-wheeled electric scooter, described by its creator as a “people mover.”

Ninebot has quickly grown to be one of the top makers of two-wheeled transportation after starting just two years ago as a crowdfunded project. The acquisition came earlier this month, after Ninebot raised $80 million with help from Xiaomi and Sequoia Capital, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Related: In the future, your phone could use electric smart pants to steer you around the city

Scientists develop contact lenses that eliminate dreaded ‘halo effect’

Since the dawn of the contact lens, wearers with presbyopia have had to endure the notorious “halo effect,” an obtrusive glare around bright lights (think street lamps and car headlights) that invades the periphery of the eye and makes activities like driving at night extremely difficult. Luckily for them, a corrective method discovered by Israeli scientists may help beat back the blinding nuisances once and for all.
Presbyopia, which occurs as a result of natural aging, affects more than 135 million Americans, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The condition involves a thickening of and loss of flexibility in the eye’s natural lens, which leads to difficulty reading small print. Multifocal lenses correct for Presbyopia by diffracting light as it interacts with the eye, but in the process produces the dreaded halo effect.

Skully’s AR-1 puts a HUD, music, rear-view cam inside one smart helmet

A smart helmet to protect motorcyclists’ brains is a no-brainer, especially with all the wild and wacky wearables available. Enter what may be the smartest motorcycle helmet in the world, the Skully AR-1.

Designers hit upon smart helmets as early as 2005, but it’s tech and availability that set the Skully AR-1 apart. We picked up on that when we first took a look at it a couple years ago. As the product nears availability — it’s projected for release in May — we learn more about it. Like the price tag: $1,500, which isn’t so bad considering the features.
Of those smart helmets that are near to market or already available, none of them have the AR-1’s features. Don’t let the looks of a traditional full-face motorcycle helmet fool you; inside the DOT/ECE certified shell, wearers get intelligent audio — helmet-to-helmet communication, hands-free calling, and music streaming — and GPS navigation via Bluetooth to a cell phone, in addition to a wide-angle rear view camera that shows up on a transparent heads-up display built into the visor (fog, scratch, and glare resistant, of course).