Entry Level HTC Desire 516 Is Now Available In Europe

Announced on HTC’s website, the HTC Desire 516 will makes its debut in Europe. The device originally was released in China back in March, but now HTC has made it available for the Europe market. According to HTC “There are still many consumers who want to keep separate their business and personal contacts and therefore need to juggle multiple phones,” said Eric Matthes, Country Manager, HTC Austria and Switzerland. “With the HTC Desire 516 we offer consumers an inexpensive, good quality smart phone that can hold two SIM cards. This saves space in your pocket and makes it easier to manage work and personal life with a device.”

The HTC Desire 516 will first be available in Austria and Switzerland in early August. The price for the device unlocked will cost €199; state side that will be $270. The device will also be available in the Indian market. The HTC Desire will come in two different colors, grey and white, so you don’t have that many options. The phone isn’t a top of the line device, the hardware under the hood is what you would expect in a low-end device. The HTC Desire sports a 5 inch screen with 580 x 960 screen resolution. The device runs on a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB of RAM. The phone includes 4GB of expandable memory and a dual SIM tray. The real big downside to this device is that HTC didn’t put Android 4.4 Kitkat. Instead the HTC Desire runs on Jellybean which is quite outdated due to Kitkat being the current OS and the release of Android L which will soon take over Android phones later this fall.

The HTC Desire 516 is pretty much an entry level phone with out any perks. Aside from not having the most up to date hardware and software, the phone is selling for a reasonable price. We have no word on whether or not this device will be available in other markets, it may just very well stay in the three markets that it will sell in later this fall. If you just so happen to live in the three available countries, you can take a look in the gallery below of the device. It may not be the best internally, but its a phone, and it may help you when you are in dire need.

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Up, Up and Away: HTC hits earnings estimate for Q2, turns profit

Look at that!

HTC delivered a phone worthy of high praises in the HTC One M8, and the hard work paid off.

The OEM looked like it was spiraling downwards just a few months ago, as CEOs said they were looking ahead to a June rebound. And they were right.

HTC’s June numbers arrived today to close out Q2, and things are looking up.

Revenue is up over May (but down from April), and the company even turned a profit of $75.5 million (post-tax) this quarter. The quarterly projections were also hit.

While this is good news, the company is going to have many more months like this in order to be on the right track again. The quality of the next flagship and longevity of the One (M8) are going to be extremely important in the next few months for HTC.

Source: HTC

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[Bonus Round] Bounden, Nexionode, Blek, Disney Bola Soccer, And Let It Goat

Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a game that gives you an excuse to "dance" with people, a science fiction puzzler, a game made out of squiggles, dots, and lines, Disney's half-hearted soccer cash-in, and a half-hearted Disney spoof.

[Bonus Round] Bounden, Nexionode, Blek, Disney Bola Soccer, And Let It Goat was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Verizon Prepaid to get 4G LTE on July 17

It looks as though Verizon Prepaid will finally be able take advantage of the carriers 4G LTE network, starting on July 17. This is good news for Verizon users, who may have been frustrated that the company has been lagging behind in prepaid data speeds.

Verizon’s ALLSET plan, which includes 500MB of data, will get 4G LTE access and users can add what the company calls BRIDGE DATA to the plan, at 500MB for $5, or 3GB for $20. We are not sure yet whether or not the 4G LTE access will be full or throttled, or if BRIDGE data pricing will change.

Source: Droid-Life

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T-Mobile’s New Simplified Billing Is In, First Wave Of Bills Begin To Reach Customers

Sometimes there’s good news and sometimes there’s bad news when it comes to just about anything, and even America’s darling carrier T-Mobile is no different. Not too long ago Big Magenta was receiving some bad press over a filing from the FTC about unwanted and unwarranted, as well as seemingly bogus SMS message fees that were being charged to customers. John Legere of course, being the widely outspoken CEO that he is wasn’t going to do nothing about the matter, and promptly took to Twitter utilizing 140 characters to explain that the accusations were grossly overrated and completely unfounded. He also mentioned that he and the company were aware of these charges making their way onto customers bills and that T-mobile prides itself on being a carrier that is all about the consumer, and that they were doing everything they could to revert these fees and issue back refunds.

That seems like a pretty decent fix coming from a customer standpoint. Now that the negative press has somewhat blown over on the issue, we can move onto more positive notes about T-mobile and what they have to offer besides all the Uncarrier 5.0/6.0 stuff that was announced earlier last month. The whole music things is fantastic, but even more so is the fact that T-mobile has once again listened to customers and are providing them with new simplified billing, so bills will now be easier to read and look over than ever before. When you first open your bill you’ll see a little preview of what your bill/account looks like, an overview if you will, and then the pages that follow will hold all the details of the bill for that cycle.

A nice new additive is the “bill highlights” box, where it breaks down and alerts you of any changes that happened during the last billing cycle so you can see them at a glance. This is a great little option so you don’t have to get a hold of a rep over the phone or try logging into your account online just to see those changes. You should already know the changes you might have made but in case you forgot or in case you gave the authority for someone else on the account to make account or plan alterations, you can now see what those were right from the bill. The new bills break down all charges accordingly and line by line if you have more than one on your account, which includes all plan charges as well as any outstanding EIP balances that you have left. Are you a current T-Mobile customer? If so are you enjoying the new simplified billing system that the carrier has set up?

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Clear Notification button created for Android L by Koush

Android L is now available to Nexus owners to download in beta, however, because of the fact that it’s still in beta, it is a little buggy. There are a number of issues with the software in its current form. Luckily Koush has developed a solution to one of those problems.

The new notification system in Android L is nice, but it lacks a way to clear all notifications, and instead users have to clear them one by one. That solution has now been fixed. But not by Google.

Developer Koush has created the fix, an app that adds a Clear Notification button. It looks great, is simple, and works perfectly!

Source: +Koushik Dutta

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CyanogenMod’s Roman Birg Adds Nav Bar Arrow Buttons To The Latest Build Of CM

The best thing about custom ROMs is the nifty little features that developers add into the code to bring users useful functions. Each custom ROM has their niche, like my two favorites, the pie controls and hover feature of Paranoid Android. Another custom ROM and one of the most popular, CyanogenMod, is getting a trusty feature in the latest build that should be a welcomed addition and met with much positive feedback. CM’s Roman Birg has stated that he is “finally adding the arrow nav bar keys to CM”. It’s the little things like this that make custom ROMs like CyanogenMod and others worth while, even if they only work in specific instances.

The arrow keys in the nav bar appear when you open up any text box on your device and the keyboard pops up, and they allow you to manipulate the text cursor so that you can more easily navigate between characters if you need to, like if you miss a letter for example when typing. There is already the option to touch and drag the little pin to move the cursor but it feels quite a bit easier and more accurate to use something like these arrow keys. Having placement down in the nav bar also seems like it might have a more natural feel to it.

Having the arrow key buttons present is definitely a nice feature, but we know that some users may not have the need for them and further more may not even have the nav bar displayed in the first placed. For the users that may not want the arrow buttons appearing, the option is there to turn them off, although they are turned on by default after you install the latest build. If you’re a CM user and you wish to access this feature to turn it off you can do so by navigating to the buttons settings menu within the regular settings. Would you find a feature like this useful or do you find it just as easy to use the cursor that is already available in the text box itself? Let us know what you think in the comments if you use Cyanogenmod and if you’re already testing the feature out does it make typing any easier if you need to preposition the cursor?

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Sprint to release LG G3 on July 18

The LG G3 is making its way around the world, and being released in the US is a top priority. Today it was announced that the device would be available from Sprint starting on July 18th, or for pre-order starting in July 11th.

We don’t yet know how much the device will cost on Sprint, but we do know that users will be able to get it for a $0 down payment, and $25 monthly payments for two years. Not only that, but if you purchase the G3 between July 11 and July 24, you’ll get a $150 cash reward card. Or, if you purchase is between July 24 and August 14, you’ll get a $100 reward card.

Source: Sprint

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If these leaked specs from the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact are true, it just might be my next phone

Earlier this week we got a sneak peak at what could be the front panels from the upcoming Sony Xperia Z3 and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. Other than it’s large bezels, the images didn’t reveal much. And while it seems crazy for some to think that Sony could already be looking to release a Sony Xperia Z2 followup, there was really nothing indicating the phone would launch anytime soon.

Be that as it may, we were definitely intrigued at the idea of a Sony Xperia Z2 with updated hardware, (even if the Z2′s specs are more than adequate at present). Yesterday, XDA developer DooMLoRD tweeted out a screen shot allegedly taken from the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, along with some of the device’s specs. Let’s just say there may be a market for what Sony’s cooking up. Here’s what we could be looking at:

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (D580x)

• 4.5-inch display,


• Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor / Adreno 330 GPU


• 2GB RAM


• 20.7MP rear / 2.1MP front facing cameras

Although the screenshot shows Android 4.4.2, we have no reason to believe the phone could at least ship, or immediately be updated to Android 4.4.4 which recently began rolling out to a number of Xperia Z devices. Although consumers normally have to compromise in areas like performance when looking for a smaller Android device, this Z3 doesn’t seem to sacrifice much.

Still up in the air is the battery size or display resolution, but if everything checks out, it’s looking like this could be my next phone (providing it ever comes to the US). With the current trend of Android smartphones growing larger and larger every year, personally, I had given up hope that an OEM would ever release a smaller device with flagship specs. C’mon, Sony. Do it for me.

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Want to see a new feature come to Chromecast? Just ask.

Have you ever sat back while using your Chromecast, only to find out that the feature you’d like to have on the device doesn’t exist?

Have you ever wanted to tell Google about it?

Well now you can.

Google recently asked what Android apps users would like to see on Chrome OS, and now they’re doing the same with the Chromecast, with a new suggestion page.

You can even look at the submitted ideas from others and vote for them. Here are just a few.

“Add streaming from Google Drive”

“Connect to Android TV so you would only need one Android TV per house, meaning multi-room multiplayer, watch different/same thing on two different tvs etc”

“A Chromecast enabled remote. Once playing a video, I hate having to turn my phone’s screen on, and find the pause button by looking at it. A simple Bluetooth remote akin to the Roku’s remote that worked once a stream is started would be ideal.”

Want to submit your own idea? Just click on the link in the source below.

Source: Chromecast Suggestions Page

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Could The ZTE Nubia NX507J Be The Nubia Z7 Mini?

Recently the ZTE Nubia Z7 leaked out on the internet giving us a glimpse of what is in store for the future to come. With the words beautiful written at the top of the image and a focused shot of the large camera, ZTE quietly teased us with what looks to be an incredible device. As usual, smartphone makers are creating mini’s of their devices for people who wish to have a smaller device instead of the ever so popular “phablet” phones. Found on a Chinese Authority database were two models of what are expected to be the Nubia Z7 and the Z7 mini. The Nubia NX507J and NX505J were the two models found on the database. The Nubia NX505J is said to have a 5.5 inch display which leads us to think that the Nubia NX507J is the mini.

Specifications of the Nubia Z7 (NX507J) have surfaced due to the Chinese Telecommunications Authority certifying it a few weeks back. As expected, the device features a 5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. The device is running a 2GHz quad-core processor, comes with 2GB of RAM, and has 16GB of native storage. A microSD card slot may be included on the device so the 16GB can very well be expanded for more space should one need it. For taking pictures, the Nubia Z7 has a 5 megapixel front facing camera and an 8 megapixel rear camera with a CMOS sensor. The rear camera also supports 1080p video recording, which should be some awesome video quality. Out of the box, both models will be running Android 4.4.2 Kitkat.

What makes things confusing are the dimensions of the devices. Claims were made that the NX507J and the NX505J are closely the same which is odd due to the screen size of the mini being .5 smaller. Detailed specs of the NX505J have yet to be revealed, so dimensions of the two devices have yet to be confirmed. Images of the Nubia Z7 can be viewed below in the gallery. Let us know what you think of the device. Could the leaked images that recently surfaced just really be the Nubia Z7 mini?

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ZAGG InvisibleShield protectors 20% off this weekend!

Screen protectors are essential for keeping your device in optimal conditions, especially for those of us who manage to scratch even the most resistant materials around. Those looking to find a great screen protector for a good price are in luck this weekend!

ZAGG InvisibleShield sreen protectors are among the best in the market, and they often make it to our favorites. They are in our lists of favorite protectors for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, for example. If you are looking for a reason to get one of these, you can cash into the latest deal the manufacturer is offering.

All ZAGG InvisibleShield protectors are discounted by 20% this weekend! The deal ends on July 6th, so make sure you sign up to get yours as soon as possible. All you need to do is head to ZAGG’s website and look for your device’s InvisibleShield.

Simply use the coupon code USA20 upon checkout and you should be ready to go! You can check out one of our tutorials for installing a ZAGG InvisibleShield. Just so you can get it all taken care of once your protector gets to you. I happen to love their glass protectors. They may be a bit more expensive, but the difference in quality really feels.

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Will Android L Bring New Permission Standards Or Will They Continue As They Always Have?

Many people have had an issue with the way that Android apps handle permissions and we don’t blame them. Essentially any application that you want to install comes along with certain permissions and by installing that application you’re permitting the app to go along and utilize the things that it’s asking for before the app is even downloaded. While most of us just go along with the permissions from the apps we adore and use on a daily basis, it could be better to give users the option to accept or decline permissions on an individual level when they go to use an application, instead of having to accept them or go on without the app at all.

Lots of the best and most reputable applications don’t ask for permissions that are too outlandish, but all the same as a user wants to install any given app, they have to accept those permissions if they want to use it. There is less choice there for the user. Android has always done things this way when it comes to permissions, and it can more or less be considered a one time question of whether or not users want to permit certain apps to have access to certain things, however it still leaves less of a choice for the user as applications are only available to you if you accept the permissions. Hopefully when we see an official release with Android L Google will change this and allow permissions to be accepted or not on a feature based level, which would allow users to install apps and at the time of using said application, would ask for the permissions to do things like use your location for example(which many apps currently request)but still give the option to decline the use of the location tracker.

If we were to see this change made to app permissions for everything going forward, users would have a little more control over what each application would be asking for the rights to access. The possible downside is that some users may not want to be bothered each and every time an application wants to access certain data to provide a better user experience. Accepting things as the app is being installed gets it out of the way immediately and for good, but it’s also a take it or leave it scenario. If you want to use an app, you have to accept the permissions with no if”s, and’s, or but’s. Do you mind permissions being this way? Or would you rather have the option to use an app but decline a specific permission when the application asks for it?

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Android L Developer Preview walkthrough

For the first time, Google released a new version of Android as a developer preview. Android L (or whatever they will call it) probably won’t get a final release until October, but if you own a Nexus 5 or a Nexus 7 (2013), you can give it a try now. As I am sure you have read elsewhere, it’s pretty buggy. The biggest problem is that so many apps won’t work with it so my advice is to stay away for now. Still, I know there are a lot of you that can’t handle not having the latest and greatest, so go for it if you insist.

Since the preview is only available to a couple of devices, the majority of you won’t be able to actually test it out so we put together this walkthrough showing you many of the new features. There’s still a lot more to come, but for now, you can check out Material Design as part of the new Dialer app, settings, battery saver, ripple effects, the lock screen notifications, Heads Up, the recent apps UI, and more. Hit the break for our hands on.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Talon for Twitter Updated with New Android L Material Design Look and Feel

Now that Android L and Material Design have been unleashed upon the world, developers are going to start updating their apps. Talon for Twitter is the latest to do so, but this update comes with a twist. It’s not just a new theme for the app. It’s an overhaul that requires the new Android L to even install the updated app.

The updated Talon for Twitter app features a newly updated timeline view and tweet view, in addition the general Material Design face lift. Luke Klinker, the lead developer for Talon for Twitter, has released an early version of the updated app with the Material Design UI. You can download it here. Like I said, you’ll need to be running Android L or the app won’t install. It’s also an early preview build, so Klinker isn’t looking for any feedback or bug reports. It’s just something to play with as we get closer to an actual Android L release sometime in the fall.

The current Talon for Twitter app is pretty solid, and if you haven’t checked it out, you should. It’s a pretty feature packed Twitter app, and it’s only $1.99. The app on the Play Store was last updated on June 22, and it’s currently sporting KitKat stylings with light and dark theme options. There’s a theme engine, too, so you can roll your own Talon theme if you want. Some of the other custom features include ‘Talon’ and ‘Hangouts’ options, custom text sizes, a night mode, and custom notification settings. Talon is a relative newcomer to the Android Twitter app game, but it’s come on quickly and it’s a solid option. We’re going to start seeing this happen a lot as devs get ready for Android L and the Material Design UI guidelines. Some devs will release early or beta previews of their apps for us to check out, but all of them are going to be working hard to get their apps in line with what Google is doing.

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Protip: Want Okay Google Now everywhere on your phone? Try searching it

Click to play GIF

There’s a good chance that, by now, most of you have received the Google Search app’s new ability to enable the “Ok Google” hotword detection everywhere on your Android device, even while it’s sleeping (as long as it’s charging). It’s a super useful feature and one that, up until now, only the Motorola Moto X was able to pull off (although, the X still has the benefit of always listening, even when not charging.

Because not everyone has received this new feature in their Google Search apps (something to do with a per-account basis), we though this latest tip might come in use for some of you. Apparently, a user on Reddit discovered the craziest trick to get the system-wide “Ok Google everywhere” up and running on his device: simply search for that term in Google Search.

While we haven’t been able to confirm if the trick works (all our devices received the functionality earlier this week), we’ve seen reports from Android users reporting success. Again, it’s not full proof, just one more hoop you can jump through if you want this new killer feature on your Android before the 4th of July weekend. Good luck!

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‘OK Google’ now works in 9 new languages, dialects, accents

The “OK Google” command on both Android and Chrome has been expanding in both use and languages lately, and today, Google has announced 9 new compatibles languages to activate the service. Hit the break for the full list:

• German


• English (now supports all accents / dialects)


• Spanish (Spain and Mexico only)


• French


• Italian


• Portuguese (Brazilian only)


• Russian


• Korean


• Japanese

If you’re not seeing the update yet, it’s slowly rolling out so be patient.

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LG G3 coming to Sprint July 18

The LG G3 is slowly rolling out to markets across the globe, with the USA being of high priority. The device is now available for pre-order from T-Mobile, but Sprint is not staying far behind. The Now network is ready to bring the mighty G3 to market.

Sprint is announcing the LG G3 will be available starting July 18th, in black and gold colors. You can pre-order the device starting July 11th. While the price is not directly specified yet, customers can get it with a $0 down payment and $25 monthly payments for two years. You will also love the reward early birds are getting.

$150 reward cards are available for those who purchase the device between July 11 and July 24. Meanwhile, those who get it between July 24 and August 14 will only enjoy a $100 reward card. Not a bad deal if you ask us! That is possibly near a fourth of the smartphone’s retail price!

The LG G3 is one hell of a smartphone, and we can be sure it will not let you down. This version happens to support Sprint’s Spark network, but everything else should come pretty standard.

The device performed amazingly in our review, which you should definitely read if you are interested in purchasing the LG G3. Some specs include a stunning 5.5-inch 2560x1440p display, a powerful 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801, 2 GB of RAM, 13MP/2.1MP cameras and a resourceful 3000 mAh battery.

You can go ahead and pre-order the LG G3 straight from Sprint’s website, as soon as July 11th comes around. Also remember this smartphone will be available from all four major carriers in the USA. We still haven’t heard from AT&T, but rumors say Verizon will have it available this July 17th, with pre-orders going up on July 10th.

Stick around and stay tuned for more details to come! How many of you guys will be getting an LG G3 when it becomes available?

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Verizon Wireless Will Be Launching ALLSET Prepaid Plans Along With 4G LTE For Prepaid On July 17th

When it comes to 4G LTE service coverage, Verizon Wireless prepaid customers have been left out of the loop. Luckily though, that will no longer be the case and those who use the prepaid services of Big Red will have their first chance at utilizing Verizon’s network at the speeds the rest of the subscribers have already been getting. Of course we have no way of confirming that prepaid customers will get the same 4G LTE speeds as those who are on postpaid plans but the hope is that Verizon won’t slow down the speeds for their prepaid customers.

Verizon Wireless will begin opening up its “exclusive club” of 4G LTE network speeds to prepaid customers starting on July 17th, so prepaid plan subscribers won’t have to wait long before they move up from 3G, just a couple more weeks. The 4G LTE is being ushered in for prepaid along with the arrival of Verizon’s ALLSET prepaid plan which comes along with a $45 price tag per month. That $45 gets you a mere 500MB of data, but it does also come with unlimited talk and text for those that still communicate to friends and family via the “old ways”. The good news if you’ll be considering signing up for the ALLSET plan once it’s available later this month is that you can simply add more data to it with Verizon’s bridge data options, which allows the customer to pick varied data bucket amounts to tack on to the 500MB they’ll have initially with the ALLSET plan.

Data from the bridge data packages ranges from 500MB to 3GB, so depending on what you need you could be spending an extra $5 or you could be adding as much as $20 to your plan if you wish to pick up an extra 3GB. In total the ALLSET plan could come with as much 3.5GB in the end, and while that isn’t enough for some of us power users who eat through data like daily meals needed to sustain lifeforce, it should be plenty for those who might be around WiFi often enough that they don’t really need to tap into their network data bucket as much.

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Is the Moto 360 Smartwatch Exorbitantly Costly? Chinese Listing Says So

Google’s upcoming OS platform for wearable devices – Android Wear – will be coming into the hands of users thanks to OEMs LG, Samsung and Motorola. The three manufacturers have lined up their own wearable devices – LG has the G Watch, Samsung is offering up the Gear Live, while Motorola has announced the Moto 360. A lot of news and information pertaining to the LG G Watch and Samsung’s Gear Live have come to us, however the Moto 360 smartwatch is still shrouded in mystery.

In terms of looks alone, the Moto 360 seems to trump both the G Watch and the Gear Live. The device has a premium look to it, with the high standard of build quality reflecting in the devices’ look. Motorola has been smart enough to stick to the classic round watch-face look for the Moto 360, which sets it leagues apart from the current competition. Where the G Watch and the Gear Live appear to be hardware running Android Wear, the Moto 360 appears to be a premium fashion item. However, does this premium build quality and design philosophy justify the price tag that has been revealed by a Chinese website? Chinese website JD.com has listed the Motorola Moto 360 for an asking price of CNY 2800 (~$451), however the same website has listed the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch for CNY 1500. Another interesting fact is that during the watch face contest, Motorola had stated the Moto 360 to be priced at $249, however this price point was later redacted.

It is an undeniable fact that the Moto 360 has been garnering a lot of interest, as such it could be possible that the Chinese retailer is simply wanting to cash in on this. However, if the pricing information is accurate, then there is cause for concern. The LG G watch and the Gear Live are good devices per se, however the Moto 360 would definitely lose out on some good business, not to mention it becoming unaffordable for most of us. All in all we would still advise you to take this price point with a pinch of salt, as the only official confirmation will come directly from the proverbial horses’ mouth – Motorola – sometime soon. We would like to hear your views on this. Do write to us in the comments below.

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