Lenovo to launch fast camera phone on May 18th?

Lenovo tell us that they have a product launch on May 18th, which will have a feature that is as fast as a bulit! Another camera phone from the PC maker?

Lenovo have already entered the camera-centric market with their Vibe Shot, but another model with faster focus could be ready to launch as early as May 18th. Specifics are not yet known but the phone seems to heading to China only (at least for the start) and will feature a super fast camera.

Vivo just recently released the Vivo X5Pro with PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus), and it seems likely the new Lenovo device will share a similar technology allowing for extremely fast and accurate focus. If you’re not sure about PDAF then take a look at iPhone 6 camera reviews to get an idea of what the system if capable of.

If this is just an updated version of the current Vibe Shot then we also expect OIS, and a triple LED arrangement. More details later in the month.

Ulefone Be Pro gets Android 5.0 Lollipop but not an OTA

Ulefone have announced that a stable build of Android 5.0 Lollipop has been released for the Ulefone Be Pro.

With a quad-core 64bit processor and 2GB RAM, the Ulefone Be Pro was just begging for a Lollipop update, and here it is. The good news is that this is a stable build (according to Ulefone) and comes after various beta versions were tested by fans, the bad news is that it is a manual update and not an OTA.

Ulefone’s official word on this is that there is an issues with Mediatek which prevents an Android 5.0 Lollipop to be successful if sent OTA. We’re not sure if this is accurate but it might explain issues other phone makers have had with their updates from Kitkat.

Thankfully Ulefone have provided update instructions over on their official website.

Meizu to finally announce something in India on 18th May, and we think it’s the m1 note

Meizu has for a while been active on its social streams in India. There was also a bloggers meet that was hosted in Bangalore sometime back, but no real announcements were made as such.

Today however, the company shared a rather cheesy render to tell us about the fact that there’s going to be something announced on the 18th of May. And because Meizu had earlier given away that the first phone they launch in India would be the m1 note, we believe the 18th will see the launch of the phone.

Coming to the render that was shared, it reads ‘Are you ok?’. If you aren’t aware, this is the phrase that went viral after Lei Jun’s speech in India during the Mi 4i launch, something that also made him the butt of many jokes.

Meizu MX4 Pro discontinued! Could the MediaTek investment have something to do with this?

A Meizu forum reveals that the most powerful of the recent lot of phones from Meizu, i.e., the MX4 Pro has been discontinued.

The MX4 Pro was announced a little after the initial MX4, which in itself was quite a success. We don’t really know why the phone is discontinued, but the development has been officially confirmed by the company. What is encouraging though is the fact that the MX4 Pro will continue to receive software support from the company.

This comes right around the time when rumours and leaks around the next Meizu flagship — the MX5 — are starting to show. From what we’re hearing, Meizu will be a little early this time in bringing the flagship phone for this year, which could possibly be within the next two months.

Also, if you connect the dots, the idea of MediaTek pressure arises in your mind. If you aren’t aware, MediaTek recently announced it would be investing in the smartphone maker; the MX4 Pro that is the current Meizu flagship, comes with a Samsung Exynos processor… which could be a last.

We hope the MX5 just doesn’t end up being a filler for the MX4 Pro just with a different processor.

OnePlus to launch another device on 28th May?

On 28th May OnePlus will release Hydrogen OS for the OnePlus One, and also a new product that could be a new device.

We already know that Hydrogen OS will make an appearance at the end of the month, but now we see a mystery OnePlus box has been shown on Weibo possibly indicating a new product launch.

There is a lot of speculation about what could be inside the silver OnePlus box. Could it be a new OnePlus smartphone, an accessory for the current OPO, or is it simple a box for an invitation?

The Siswoo R9 Darkmoon is a dual screen flagship phone with better specs than the Yotaphone 2

New kids on the block Siswoo have just sent details over of their new Siswoo R9 Darkmoon phone with dual screen set up, 64bit processor, 3GB RAM and LTE!

If we asked you to think of the dual screen phone you would most likely say the Yotaphone, but that is no longer the only 2 screen phone on the market. The new Siswoo R9 Darkmoon also boasts a secondary E-ink panel on the rear, while beating the Yotaphone 2 spec for spec.

The R9 Darkmoon is a 5-inch phone with octacore 64bit Mediatek MT6752 processor, similar to the Siswoo i9 Cooper we recently reviewed, but aimed at phone users who need more memory, and want the the benefit of a low energy E-ink display.

Gionee Elife E8 to take photos in 100MP! Yes, you read it right.

More rumors of the Gionee new flagship! We already reported about the camera this week, but now, new sources claim the capability of taking 100 Mega-Pixels photos!

News about Gionee Elife S8, began to emerge with strength during these weeks. The phone that comes to replace the old E7, after a long reign, has appeared in TENAA in the last week. This week we have shown some finds about the camera that will be present on the device.

Now after a few teasers, rumors began to emerge indicating that the device can take pictures in 100Mega-Pixels! That may sound an overstatement, or even impossible, When it appears that the device in question might feature a 23.8MP sensor, probably the OmniVision OV23850.

But if we remember the case of some Oppo phones, the camera software did all the work, an advanced interpolation which resulted in crisp and beautiful 51MP pictures. We can assume that Gionee will make a similar job to result in pictures with so insane size.

Regardless, we must remember that the Elife E7 16MP camera, still offer one of the best cameras of the market, even after so long. Results of choice not only of a good sensor, but also due the good software responsible for the final work.

The Gionee Elife E8 is set to launch sometime in this year, other specs include a 2K display, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 8 mega-pixel front camera, 3250mAh battery, Fingerprint and Android 5.0, probably powered by the MT6795 SoC, but this still remains to be confirmed.

16GB OnePlus One price cut in China to just 1499 Yuan

Since the OnePlus One has been on sale for over a year now and a replacement is in the wings the price of the current 16GB model has been slashed to just 1499 Yuan in China.

When launched the OnePlus One cost just 1999 Yuan in China. At the time of launch, early 2014, this was a great price for a 5.5-inch FHD flagship with 3GB RAM, Snapdragon 801 and Sony IMX214 camera, but these days the price isn’t quite so competitive.

Pipo X8 Mini (tablet/PC hybrid) now on pre-sale for $108

The Pipo X8 is a rather interesting (for the lack of a more descriptive word) device. It is not a phone, not a tablet, not a phablet (phone/tablet hybrid)… but a combination of a tablet and a mini PC.

We’ve talked about it before, and even back then we were as surprised as you are now. It turns out that fitting a screen is cheaper than obtaining a legit Windows 8.1 licence and hence the weird combination.

Inside, it is powered by an Intel Z3736F processor along with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM. It has the usual radio goodies in the form of WiFi and Bluetooth. In addition to being a Windows PC, the Pipo X8 Mini can also boot Android 4.4 KitKat.

Bluboo X550, narrow bezels, large battery and PUMP Express Plus!

Press images of the Bluboo X550 have been doing the rounds showing the phone with impressive narrow bezel design, large battery and Mediatek’s Pump Express Plus.

Having not seen the Bluboo X550 in the flesh just yet, we don’t know how much creative license the designer who made this press artwork is using as the bezels on the X550 look impressive to say the least.

If we take the press images as gospel then the big battery Bluboo will have narrow bezels either side of the display and very little left over body above and below the panel.

Standout features of the Bluboo X550 are it’s 5300mAh battery from battery specialists Amprius which is good for 4 days of “normal use” and 30 days standby. Even with that huge battery on tap charging times are amazing thanks to the implementation of Pump Express Plus. Using the hilariously named technology, Bluboo claim 50% charge in only 40min and 75% in just an hour.

We’re all buying more phablets than ever before

Bad news if you prefer smartphones that you can actually fit in the palm of your hand: Phablet sales are taking off in the U.S. and it doesn’t look like they’ll be slowing down any time soon. 21 percent of all phone sales in Q1 2015 were for phablet-sized devices, Kantar World Panel research says, up from just 6 percent in Q1 2014.
These super-sized smartphones were once the exception, but they’re fast becoming the rule, with smaller phones becoming rarer. The market study found that the iPhone 6 Plus accounted for 44 percent of all phablet sales, justifying Apple’s decision to go large with an extra handset alongside the 4.7-inch iPhone 6.

Manufacturers are always going to devote most of their time and resources to the handsets that are most in demand — and that could lead to smaller phones getting edged out. Google’s Nexus 6 is close to 6 inches from corner to corner and there have been recent rumors that the next Huawei-made Nexus is going to measure a not inconsiderable 5.7 inches.