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Thursday, March 26, 2015
Report: Samsung To Ramp Up The Galaxy S6 Edge Production
As you all know by now, Samsung has released two new flagship devices during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this month. This Korean tech giant took a different approach this time around, the recently-announced Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge handsets are the first metal unibody smartphones Samsung has ever announced. The metal frame is combined with glass panels on both front and back, and the devices just look and feel premium. The Galaxy S6 is a regularly-shaped device, while Samsung took a bold approach with the Galaxy S6 Edge. This handset sports a curved display on both its left and right side, which makes it unique for sure.
As you might recall, Samsung has already announced a smartphone sporting a curved display last year, the Galaxy Note Edge. Unlike the Note Edge, the Galaxy S6 Edge sports curves on both sides, and it seems like Samsung is getting a lot of pre-orders for this thing. We’ve already covered several reports claiming that Samsung has upped the production of their Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge devices, and another report from Korea came knocking today. According to ETNews, Samsung intends to triple the production volume of the Galaxy S6 Edge. Japan’s Alps Electronics might not be the only supplier of TSP (Touchscreen Panels) for this Korean tech giant. The company intends to partner up with an additional company / companies in order to up the production volume. S-MAC was mentioned as one of the possible manufacturers, but that’s just a guess at this point.
As you might recall, a recent report said that Samsung might sell 55 million units of their newest flagships by the end of the year. Judging by all these reports that are surfacing, it seems like Samsung has underestimated the demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge handset. This device was well-received when launched earlier this month, and many people were intrigued. It seems like Samsung is getting a lot of orders for this particular device, which was not exactly the case with the Galaxy Note Edge, although the availability of that handset was / is very limited. It will be interesting to see how many Galaxy S6 Edge handset will the company ship by the end of the year.
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Motorola president says company has no plans to make tablets
It’s no secret Motorola’s first tablet — the late Motorola XOOM — wasn’t the most successful venture ever. It came to market with an outrageously high price tag, lack of LTE (it was later offered for those who didn’t mind shipping their device back in) and a whole gang of bugs. But it was important in that it was the first tablet to champion Android for the big screen. They then followed up with the DROID Xyboard family that was exclusive to Verizon.
We’ve always wondered whether the company would look to introduce another one in more modern times, especially with Verizon having dropped hints of a new Motorola tablet in the past, but it looks like those plans were taken out back and lit on fire. Rick Osterloh, Motorola Mobility’s president, confirmed on Twitter that the company has no plans to create Android tablets (and opted to name drop his parent company Lenovo as a fine source for Android tablets).
A rumor back in 2013 suggested Motorola was going to take what they’ve learned from the successful launch of Moto Maker and the Moto X to provide a tablet with similar qualities (that is, one that is simple, clean and can be made-to-order depending on your style). A lot can change in two years in the tech space, though, and it seems those exciting plans were lost throughout all the hubbub of being bought by Google, then subsequently sold to Lenovo.
That said, it’s worth remembering that “no plans” doesn’t mean plans can’t change. We’re still holding out hope for Motorola to make a comeback in the tablet space, but if you’re somehow still waiting for a new slate from the company after four long years then it’s safe to say you should look to move on. We hear that Nexus 9 is pretty darn good.
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Download: Android 5.1 build LMY47I factory images now available for Nexus 6 and Nexus 5
Another minor firmware upgrade for those on Android 5.1 has been released by Google, and it’s headed to both the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6. It’s build LMY47I, and there doesn’t appear to be much new compared to the base release of Android 5.1. It’s our understanding that this release deals with a couple of bugs pertaining to dual-SIM support, but that’s about it.
If you’re in a rush to get it and don’t want to wait for the OTA you’ll be happy to know that the factory images for both are now available for download directly from Google.
As always, you’ll need fastboot (available in the SDK tools) to flash the system image to your Nexus device. Google has instructions laid out at the aforementioned link so be sure to reference it if your flashing skills are a bit rusty. Let us know how it’s treating your device once you’ve gotten it loaded up!
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You can officially buy the HTC One M9 in the US this Friday, March 27th
After initially launching in Taiwan last week, we learned of HTC’s plans to make available their new flagship — the HTC One M9 — on April 10th here in the states, coincidentally the same day the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge hit the market. While it’s true, April 10th is the day the One M9 will be available in carrier stores, you can actually pick up the phone a lot earlier than that if you’re willing to pay full price.
HTC announced today that they will begin selling the HTC One M9 directly from their site this Friday, March 27th. Sales will officially go live tonight at midnight 12:01 ET time but if paying $650 is too much right now, you’ll also have the option to finance the phone interest free for 12 months from HTC.
The HTC One M9 comes with HTC’s new “UH OH” Protection guarantee which allows you to replace the phone within 12 months after purchase date should any damage befall the device, or even if you decide to switch carriers down the road. If you don’t get a replacement during this time, you’ll receive a $100-off coupon for next year’s HTC One M10 just for being so careful.
For everyone else waiting around for carrier availability, you can pick up the HTC One M9 as scheduled on April 10th at T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, or Verizon, and at retailers like Costco, Target, Amazon and Best Buy. HTC says carrier versions will also be available on their site if you’re looking to go that route, as well as new accessories for the M9 like their 2nd-gen HTC Dot View case or IP68 water resistant HTC Active Pro case. Head to HTC.com for more details.
If you’re still on the fence, you can check out our “Everything you need to know about the HTC One M9″ post here , or a handful of reviews we compiled from around the net (international model) right here . As always, you can join the HTC One M9 discussion over on AndroidForums.com.
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HTC One M9 Goes on Sale at Midnight, Available in Store on April 10th
Finally. Finally we have confirmed dates for when the HTC One M9 will be available for those in the US. HTC has just passed word that the HTC One M9 will be available beginning at 12:01am EDT on March 27th, that’s midnight tonight. It’ll be available at carriers and major retailers beginning April 10th. The Unlocked HTC One M9 will retail at about $649. Which seems to be the normal asking price for a flagship smartphone these days. The Galaxy S6 will likely come in at about the same price.
“The craftsmanship of our new HTC One M9 resembles that of a fine watch. We’ve retained our iconic design but made it even better while not compromising on what is important to our customers,” said Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC America.
The HTC One M9 will be available in Gunmetal Gray as well as Silver/Gold. We got hands on with both colors at Mobile World Congress earlier this month. HTC believes that the design and make of the HTC One M9 in silver with the gold trim is “jewelry-like”, we’ll let you be the judge of that when you get your hands on it, shortly. HTC has a 5-inch 1080p display on the One M9. Along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage along with a microSD card slot, and a very capable 20MP camera on the back. HTC has taken the UltraPixel camera from the back and brought it to the front of the device. So you have an excellent front-facing UltraPixel camera. HTC also has some pretty amazing front-facing speakers which are using Dolby’s software this time around, along with Qualcomm’s immersive sound. Which we also got to demo at MWC.
On the software side, the HTC One M9 is now running Android 5.0.2. along with Sense 7. Sense 7 brings some changes, but not a ton. One of the bigger changes is the addition of themes. Which allows you to change the wallpaper, sounds, icons, fonts and much more. You can change them individually or as part of the theme. One of the cooler features, that I really like, is that you can get a picture from your gallery and create a theme from that picture. To make your HTC One M9 super customizable and personal.
In addition to all of that, HTC also launched their “Uh Oh” protection program last week. This protection program will replace your device in the first 12 months if you crack the screen or damage the device at all. That includes water damage. If you don’t get a replacement, then you will get a $100 rebate on your next HTC One purchase after those 12 months. This protection program does not include stolen or lost smartphones, unfortunately. It does also protect the HTC One M8, in addition to the new HTC One M9.
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Lenovo To Bring A7000 Mid-Ranger to India On April 7th
Lenovo has announced a number of smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona earlier this month. The Lenovo Vibe Shot definitely got the most media attention, but there were other solid products announced, like the Lenovo A7000 for example. This is a really capable mid-range offering by Lenovo which costs only $169, which is not that bad considering its specifications. Anyhow, the company seems ready to launch this device for the Indian market.
This China-based company has started sending out invites, stating that they’ll hold an event in India on April 7. The company didn’t directly confirm that the A7000 will land, but that’s the most probable outcome. The company has released their A6000 handset back in January. That handset is available via Flipkart, and it seems like its successor will be offered through this retailer as well. We still don’t know how much will the Lenovo A7000 cost in India, but it might retail for around Rs. 10,999, which is around $175. The company might even opt to offer it at a lower price point, at around Rs. 9,999. Either way, we’ll find out soon.
The Lenovo A7000 comes sporting a 5.5-inch 720p (1280 x 720) IPS display along with 2GB of RAM for your multitasking needs and 8GB of expandable internal storage. This thing is powered by MediaTek’s MT6752M octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and a 16-core Mali-T760 GPU for graphics. 8-megapixel snapper is available on the back of the device and flanked by an LED flash, while a 5-megapixel snapper is located up front. 2,900mAh battery will ship with this device along with Android 5.0 Lollipop with Lenovo’s skin on top of Google’s operating system. Dolby Atmos stereo audio is also a part of this package (first Lenovo-branded device to offer this audio system), and the device offers 4G LTE connectivity as well. The Lenovo A7000 measures 152.6 x 76.2 x 7.9mm, weighs 140 grams and comes with dual-SIM support (two micro SIM card slots). If you’d like to check out our hands-on coverage of this handset, click here. That’s it folks, the company will announce the availability of this device on April 7th, stay tuned for that.
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