Tag Archives: android smartphone

ECOO 04 Plus Turns It Up a Notch with 3GB of RAM

Posted on by
ECOO E04 Plus 3GB RAM Android Smartphone 01

Android users have made a habit from running more and more resource-hungry apps at a time, and smartphone manufacturers need to accommodate by increasing the amount of RAM of their devices.

ECOO, a subsidiary of the better-known Chinese smartphone manufacturer Elephone, has launched an advanced version of its flagship, as it’s always a great idea to add a tad of diversity to performance. The only difference between the E04 Aurora and the E04 Plus is that the latter comes with 3GB of RAM, as opposed to the former’s 2GB, while all the other great aspects have been maintained.

The E04 Plus may not be the best-performing Android out there, but it offers a quality-price ratio that’s rather hard to beat. The first thing to catch the eye of the user is the build quality. E04 Plus’ magnesium alloy chassis is meant to make it a lot more durable than its plastic counterparts, which often even cost more. On the back, both the black (or rather deep blue) and the white versions of the phone feature a carbon fiber pattern, even though that’s probably nothing more than just polycarbonate.

Saying that ECOO’s latest 4G LTE Android smartphone is beautifully designed would really be an understatement. The 5.5″ IPS display with a resolution of 1920×1080 resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi is protected by a 2.5D Arc screen.

Under the hood, the E04 Plus hosts Mediatek’s MT6752 64-bit chipset, which includes a 1.7GHz Cortex-A53 octa-core CPU (that’s almost twice as fast as the 32-bit MT6582 and 20% faster than the 32-bit MT6592) and a Mali-T760 GPU. In terms of memory, the phablet has the aforementioned 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. ECOO hasn’t considered launching multiple variants with different amounts of storage since it included a microSD card slot with support for up to 32GB of additional storage.

As far as mobile photography is concerned, the E04 Plus packs an 16MP camera on the back and an 8MP camera in the front. The rear one has a dual-tone LED flash next to it, to make sure that color reproduction is as natural as possible.

ECOO is only concerned about the performance of its flagship, but also about the users’ security and privacy. To protect these aspects, ECOO included a fingerprint scanner in the home button, to help users lock not only the screen, but also messages, picture galleries and apps. This implementation is much convenient, not to mention better-looking, than the one of the phones that feature fingerprint scanners on the back, right next to the camera. ECOO claims that it only takes the scanner 0.1s to identify the fingerprint, with an estimated accuracy of 96%.

Unlike many modern flagships, the E04 Plus has a removable battery, fact that really makes it a keeper. The 3,000mAh capacity, correlated with the phablet’s power-efficient, yet very capable MT6752 chipset, hint at a long-enough battery life to get you through a day or two at the office.

Both the Deep Blue and the White version of ECOO 04 Plus are $198.99 on GearBest, but you can get either of them for $179.99 by using coupon code E04PLUS at checkout. The pre-sale ends on April 15, and the store will start shipping them soon after that.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Mlais M52 Red Note, or OnePlus’ game-changing upcoming product.

Mlais M52 Keeps Redmi Note and M1 Note in Check

Posted on by
Mlais M52 Red Note 02

Just when you thought that Chinese smartphones couldn’t possible be any more affordable, Mlais launched the M52 Red Note, a 64-bit 4G LTE Android smartphone that’s inspired by (and competes against) Xiaomi’s Redmi Note and Meizu’s M1 Note.

Mlais is a fairly new player on the Chinese smartphone market, having launched the sub-$100 octacore M9 not long ago. However, this company is very ambitious, as it wants to go against Xiaomi and Meizu, which are literal giants in the local industry. To do so, it launched the M52 Red Note, the most affordable 4G Android smartphone sporting Mediatek’s latest octacore 64-bit MT6752 SoC.

The 64-bit Cortex-A53 (ARMv8-A) CPU and the Mali-T760 GPU are paired with 2GB of RAM to deliver great performance on a 5.5-inch 1280×720 IPS display. Considering how high of a resolution modern smartphones have today, this might not sound like much, but the pixel density of 267 ppi is more than enough, especially considering that the human eye can’t discern anything higher than 300 ppi. Besides, HD displays are more forgiving on the battery, whereas their high-res counterparts often lead to shorter battery lives. Add to that the fact that the MT6752 is more power-efficient than Mediatek’s older chipsets, and you should get a lot of playtime out of the 3,200mAh battery the M52 Red Note comes with.

With an advertised Antutu score of 42,000, Mlais M52 is on par with the Meizu M1 Note and well above any version of Xiaomi Redmi Note, but we’ll have to wait until this phablet is available in order to see how it stacks against those two in real-life scenarios.

One aspect most people are concerned about is the software support. The Mlais M52 Note will get Android 5.0 Lollipop as an over-the-air update at first, and then it will come with this version out of the box, with the hope to get more OTA updates as they become available. Regardless if the phablet will come with vanilla Android or a custom ROM, it won’t be able to compete against Xiaomi’s MIUI or Meizu’s FlyMe OS, at least in the beginning, but assuming that Mlais will have a considering following that provides feedback constantly, the Android version might improve in time.

For the sake of diversity, the M52 Red Note will be available in four different colors: black, white, peach red and blue. While the overall build quality can only be assessed after the phablet is officially launch, one can’t help but notice how the design follows similar lines to the Xiaomi Redmi Note, while the color options could make one think of the Meizu M1 Note.

Mlais M52 Red Note can be pre-ordered on GearBest for $136 with the coupon code GBM52. The pre-sale will end on March 29 and orders will be shipped soon after. It should be noted that several other Chinese stores are running a pre-sale for this Android smartphone, but it’s nowhere as affordable as at this one.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Xiaomi smartwatch or the Xiaomi Yi action camera.

LG Wine Smart Is the Latest Android Flip Phone

Posted on by
LG Wine Smart Android Flip Phone

Just when everybody believed that flip phones are dead, buried and long forgotten, LG launched another one. Mind you, it’s not a feature phone, but a smart one that’s running Android 4.4 KitKat.

Bar phones with gigantic touchscreens now represent the main form factor when it comes to these mobile gadgets. Despite of that fact, some smartphone manufacturers still swim against the tide and launch either sliders or flip phones. If it wasn’t LG who committed this sin, we probably could’ve turned a blind eye, but it’s the maker of the G3, one of the best smartphones around, that we’re talking about. While this could seem an illogical strategy for the Korean company, there are a few things that might explain the launch of LG Wine Smart in this day and age.

LG Wine Smart is not a bad phone, considering its specs, but it definitely won’t appeal to anyone looking for a flagship. It packs a 1.2 Ghz quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage that can be furthermore expanded via a microSD card, and a 1,700 mAh battery. Given the form factor, LG only included a 3.5″ display with a 480×320 resolution, something that in the age of QHD displays looks like ancient technology.

The form factor and the specs suggest that this phone was built with an older audience in mind. After all, seniors are not that picky when it comes to technology. The extra-loud speaker and the emergency alert option also hint at the fact that the device was made for the elderly.

To be frank, I cannot wrap my mind around the name of this flip phone. Why call it Wine Smart, LG? When did smartphones have anything to do with wine? It’s not even a reference to the device’s color, as neither red, nor purple are to be seen. If anything, the name sounds more like an advice, but even so, it has nothing to do with smartphones. On the other hand, wine makes people a lot more communicative, and phones represent a means of communication, so there may lie the key to this flip phone’s name.

Wine Smart will only be available in South Korea, and it’s probably for the best that it’s not getting a global launch. Maybe older people should get a taste of the latest technology, as well!

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Blackberry Strong concept that showcases Passport as a slider, and the LG Lifeband Touch and webOS TV.

Galaxy S5 Mini and Updated Core, Ace, Young, and Star See the Light of Day

Posted on by
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini

Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S5 mini and four new iterations of budget Android smartphones: Core II, Ace 4, Young 2, and Star 2, just to make sure that people are happy, no matter how much they’re willing to spend on a mobile device.

Frankly, Galaxy S5 mini is nowhere near is great as Samsung’s flagship, but it does come with all of the sensors of the original S5. Since this is a miniaturized version, the display is obviously smaller, not only in dimensions, but also in resolution. The 4.5″ Super AMOLED screen sports 720p resolution, with a pixel density of 326ppi, a clear improvement from S4 mini’s 256ppi. The Galaxy S5 mini is IP67 certified, which means that it can withstand dust, sand and water for limited periods of time. The mini versions are regarded as pricy downgrades for the previous generation of flagships, so it’s probably better to own an S4, rather than an S5 mini.

The Galaxy Ace 4 is the only smartphone in this line-up to come with a 4″ display, the others being either smaller or larger than this. It does not excel spec-wise, but there will be an LTE version with a slightly better battery.

Core II (I’ll never understand why Samsung uses arab numbers for some devices and roman numerals for others) looks like a dumbed-down version of Galaxy S5 mini, with an equally large display, but of a poorer quality. Obviously, Core II doesn’t pack all the sensors of the S5 mini, nor the 8MP rear-facing camera, being equipped only with a 5MP one.

Star 2 is among the basic models that were officially announced by Samsung. This 3.5-incher sports a 320 x 480 pixel resolution, 512MB RAM and a single 2MP camera. Don’t expect multi-core CPUs or advanced connectivity in such a device, as you might be disappointed.

Galaxy Young 2 is very much alike the Star 2, with the exception of a better camera with 3.15MP.

The good part about all of these phones is that they will run Android 4.4.2. KitKat, which isn’t pretentious at all, in terms of RAM or CPU power. The “simplified TouchWiz Essence” UI should contribute to a smooth experience.

As an owner of a Samsung Android smartphone, I used to think that the mobile devices made by the Korean company are of a high-quality. Nowadays, these “budget” Android smartphones are too expensive for what they offer, and the world would probably be better off buying Chinese alternatives or LG devices.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom and the Samsung Galaxy S4 sliding Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard case.

OnePlus One Is a Potential Nexus 5 and iPhone 5S-Killer

Posted on by
OnePlus One

iPhone 5S and Nexus 5′s reign might come to a sudden stop once OnePlus One is released in Europe and the US in May. This highly customizable smartphone seems to be the perfect mix of sleek design and top specs.

LG and Apple’s flagship smartphones are in danger, as a Chinese startup launched in December 2013 is looking to launch an Android device capable of outsmarting both of these. The impressive specs of the OnePlus One include a Snapdragon 801 quad-core CPU running at 2.5Ghz, 3GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 5.5-inch screen with 1080P resolution, 13MP camera with F2.0 aperture and Sony image sensor, NFC, and stereo speakers. In other words, plenty of processing power to run even the most demanding apps out there.

In a recent blog post, the company explained that “Embodying the OnePlus motto of ‘Never Settle’, the OnePlus One boasts industry leading design, superior build quality and top of the line specs at a disruptive price point.”

As the phone runs a custom version of CyanogenMod based on Android 4.4, Steve Kondik meant to express his enthusiasm: “I am incredibly proud of the effort our team has put in to the CyanogenMod build for the OnePlus One. We’ve brought out the full potential of the hardware and complemented it with innovative new features to give users a fresh new experience and the tools to tailor the One to their personal style. We will continue to expand this effort to provide a genuinely enjoyable and powerful operating system for the user.”

Pete Lau, CEO of OnePlus pointed out that “By paying attention to the smallest details, taking a holistic approach to product design, and working with the best partners such as Cyanogen Inc. and Qualcomm Technologies, we have been able to create the greatest day to day user experience in a smartphone without compromise.”

The manufacturers plan to launch OnePlus One in

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Hong Kong
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Taiwan
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

There will be a 16GB Silk White version that will sell for $299/269 and a 64GB Sandstone Black for $349/299. That is considerable less than the $600+ people have to pay for a no-contract Nexus 5, iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S5. Mind you, the price is only one of the aspects that makes this device a Nexus and iPhone-killer.

All in all, many aspects of this phone are rather impressive, but I wish they had come with a better name for it, as it’s very easy to mistake it for HTC’s One.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Google’s Project Tango and Boeing Black, the self-destructing smartphone.

Google Nexus 6 with Astonishing Specs to Be Launched in October

Posted on by
Google Nexus 6

Neither Google, nor Nexus 6′s manufacturer has made any official announcements, but this didn’t stop the world from speculating as to what features the smartphone will have.

Even the launch date is a wild guess when it comes to Google’s next Nexus smartphone, but after analyzing the previous schedule of Google, it’s quite easy to predict that it will be launched in October. Google Android chief Sundar Pichai stated at MWC 2014 that the next Nexus will be launched later this year. This statement must have broken the hearts of all those who were hoping for a June or July launch, but all that waiting will pay off eventually, given the specs Nexus 6 is supposed to come.

First of all, people can’t be 100% certain of who is manufacturing the phone before it’s being released, as Google made a habit from using different makers for its products. Still, given LG’s recent history as a close collaborator of Google, it’s easy to understand why most fingers are pointing at this South Korean company.

Nexus 6 is said to leave quad-core CPUs behind, as it’s most likely to include a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 805 or 810. Both these options pack enough computing power to withstand even the most demanding apps out there. The latest Adreno GPU should join the party, along with 4GB of RAM, more than plenty for running a lot of apps at the same time.

As far as the display is concerned, rumor has it that Nexus 6 might sport 2K resolution. Of course, the design should include no bezel on the sides. As far as I’m concerned, I doubt it that smartphones could become any more thinner than they already are, so I don’t that the Nexus 6 will bring anything spectacular in this department.

Google might launch a new version of Android soon, which could make the perfect debut on Nexus 6. If the tech giant will continue its partnership with Nestle, there are great chances the name of the next version will be Lion Bar. Otherwise, Lollipop is as good a name as any.

Whatever innovations Nexus 6 will bring later this year, one thing is certain: the price will be ridiculously low, especially in comparison to the likes of Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 or Apple iPhone 5C.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the best cases for LG’s Google Nexus 4 and Nexus 4′s price cut on Google Play.

Boeing Black: The Self-Destructing Smartphone James Bond Would Use

Posted on by
Boeing Black

FCC documents filled by the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer suggest that Boeing locked its target on the smartphone market, more specifically on the paranoia-ridden privacy-focused niche of that market.

As one of the two main commercial aircraft makers (the other one being Airbus), Boeing must know one thing or two about hardware, engineering and security, right? The company wants to put all that to a test in a privacy focused smartphone called Boeing Black. This color (or rather non-color, but that’s debatable), while not new to smartphone manufacturers, seems to gain a new meaning. In other words, black smartphones are the equivalent of ninja fighters in terms of stealth presence, if you will. What made me say that? The newly launched PrivatOS Blackphone, of course! Boeing’s Black smartphone will also run Android, but it is currently unknown how much the OS will be customized by the manufacturer.

Besides being secure, Boeing Black is also modular, sign that the manufacturer didn’t take only privacy in consideration, but also the productivity of whoever is going to use this device. Until we get to see Google’s Project Ara (a modular phone supposed to cost $50) hit the market, any chance to change the looks and functionality of a smartphone by adding or removing modules should be appreciated.

The FCC documents include a description of how Boeing Black destructs itself: “The Boeing Black phone is manufactured as a sealed device both with epoxy around the casing and with screws, the heads of which are covered with tamper proof covering to identify attempted disassembly. Any attempt to break open the casing of the device would trigger functions that would delete the data and software contained within the device and make the device inoperable.”

In other words, this phone discourages disassembly and triggers data deletion not only when sensing unauthorized access within the software, but also when someone attempts to alter the hardware. In my opinion, this is a much better solution than a software smartphone kill switch, despite being similar in concept.

Since NSA is not the only governmental agency that listens in to the citizens, and USA is not the only country where such things happen, it’s great to see that more and more companies are concerned about the security and privacy of people.

Check the video located here to see some of the best selling points of the Boeing Black smartphone. The availability and price of this device are yet to be announced, but the initiative is definitely worth some applause.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the smartphone kill switch that could become mandatory if the US Senate passes the law, and the PrivatOS Blackphone, another smartphone focusing on privacy.

Nokia Brings out its X Platform of Android Devices

Posted on by

Nokia has just come up with its X and X+ not to mention XL smartphones. The X platform by Nokia has shown that it is capable of holding the audience’s attention. The Android OS is being featured on...

Google’s Project Tango Is a Smartphone Aware of Space and Motion

Posted on by
Google Project Tango

Project Aria wasn’t the only reason why Google insisted to keep Motorola Mobility’s employees when handing over this company to Lenovo. At the time, they were also involved in creating Project Tango, a smartphone capable of 3D mapping the physical world.

This revolutionary smartphone has a lot of useful applications, including capturing the dimensions of a house prior to purchasing furniture, mapping buildings to avoid getting lost in them, creating directions to new locations that are more accurate than just street-level. All in all, Project Tango is a great experiment with space and motion, and intends to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of these notions. It should be noted that unlike Google X projects, which are kept in great secret most of the time, this experimental smartphone is launched with an invitation for software developers to come help Google build it faster.

Johnny Lee, head of the ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) team, pointed out that this 3D mapping smartphone is the result of a collective effort: “Over the past year, our team has been working with universities, research labs, and industrial partners spanning nine countries around the world to harvest research from the last decade of work in robotics and computer vision, concentrating that technology into a unique mobile phone. Now, we’re ready to put early prototypes into the hands of developers that can imagine the possibilities and help bring those ideas into reality.”

Project Tango is a 5-inch smartphone that packs custom hardware and software needed for tracking the full 3D motion of the device. More precisely, the prototype phone comes with a 4 MP camera, a motion tracking camera, an integrated depth sensor and two computer vision processors. The entire assemble can easily map the surrounding environment for future use in various contexts. As the sensors collect 250,000 3D measurements every second, accuracy is the least of the problems for this prototype.

At the moment, there are only 200 prototype dev kits that Google is looking to share with professional developers. The future collaborators will make experiments either in indoor navigation or single and multiplayer games that use the surrounding environment. By March 14th, 2014, Google intends to get rid of all the dev kits, so if you happen to have an idea about how the 3D mapping smartphone could be used, don’t hesitate to fill in the form available on the Project Tango page.

Google wanted to stress that while this smartphone runs Android, the 3D mapping technology and the software used for collecting data from the sensors is not yet part of this mobile OS, and it may take a while till it becomes so.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Clover concept phone and the Google-developed Ingress game that helps the search giant take over reality.

OPPO Find 7 Gets a Launch Date and a Price Estimation

Posted on by
OPPO Find 7

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer that took the world by storm last year with its Find 5 and N1 has a new flagship in store for us, in the shape of the OPPO Find 7.

There are plenty of news outlets that recommend giving Chinese manufacturers a chance, and since most of these recommendations are backed by strong arguments, people should take them into consideration. The price of Android smartphones and tablets is only one of the things that should tip the balance in favor of the Chinese manufacturers. Build quality may give birth to some concerns, but in OPPO’s case, all of them are simply blown away. Find 5 and N1 both have a strong structure, a trend that will surely be followed by Find 7. On top of that, N1 came last year with a rotating 13MP double flash camera that turned video calling into a totally different experience. Wonder how the Find 7 will stack against its predecessors and its competitors?

Well, you’ll have to wait till the end of February, as recent reports suggest that OPPO will launch Find 7 at the MWC (Mobile World Congress). Given the impressive rumored specs of this Android smartphone, it would be safe to say that a lot of people are waiting to get their mittens on it.

According to one of OPPO’s recent tweets, “gloves and wet hands will not be an issue with the sensitive screen of Find 7.” Even though this doesn’t suggest that the company’s next flagship is waterproof, it still means that Find 7′s 5.5-inch QHD (1440 x 2560) display will function in all sorts of weather conditions. Besides a glove friendly screen, OPPO Find 7 is also said to feature a quad-core (even though octa-core would be the way to go now in China) Snapdragon 805 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 13 MP/5 MP cameras, 3 GB RAM, and a 4,000 mAh battery. Mind you, a mini version featuring a 5″ HD display is also rumored to be released at MWC.

As far as pricing goes, the latest reports suggest that OPPO will offer Find 7 for CNY3,598 (around $595). While not an affordable phone, it would still be able to destabilize such manufacturers as Samsung, LG or HTC. It remains to be seen what OPPO will really include in Find 7 once MWC starts in Barcelona. A lot of other great phones will be announced then, so there’ll be a lot of competition.

If you liked this post, please check the Xiaomi MI3 gaming smartphone and the rumored specs of Samsung Galaxy S5.