As part of our tour of Huawei's China facilities, we were given an exclusive look at the company's Research & Development labs. In the second of a two part-series, we look at the ways that Huawei tests the ability of its handsets to survive environment and climate changes as well as the key part; the reliability of its smartphones and their various ports and buttons.
In the first part of this series, we covered how Huawei tests its handsets for network performance and compliance with radiation emissions regulations and in this second part, we're going to look at the tests that really affect mobile handsets - the reliability of the handset and its ports and the ability of the handset to handle different environments and climate changing.
Climate and Environment Testing
As a global business, Huawei's handsets are approved for use in many different markets around the world making the environment testing crucial to the success of its devices business. From the tropical heat of the Middle East and Asia to the freezing weather in Russia and the ever-changing climate in the West, a smartphone needs to be able to handle different heats.
Huawei conducts its climate testing in a room that can be ...
As part of our tour of Huawei's China facilities, we were given an exclusive look at the company's Research & Development labs. In the second of a two part-series, we look at the ways that Huawei tests the ability of its handsets to survive environment and climate changes as well as the key part; the reliability of its smartphones and their various ports and buttons.
In the first part of this series, we covered how Huawei tests its handsets for network performance and compliance with radiation emissions regulations and in this second part, we're going to look at the tests that really affect mobile handsets - the reliability of the handset and its ports and the ability of the handset to handle different environments and climate changing.
Climate and Environment Testing
As a global business, Huawei's handsets are approved for use in many different markets around the world making the environment testing crucial to the success of its devices business. From the tropical heat of the Middle East and Asia to the freezing weather in Russia and the ever-changing climate in the West, a smartphone needs to be able to handle different heats.
Huawei conducts its climate testing in a room that can be ...
Following the successful launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G in India, the Chinese manufacturer has begun seeding the new MIUI V6.3.5.0 (KHIMIBL) firmware update to Redmi Note 4G handsets in India and Taiwan. Unfortunately, the handset isn't the long-awaited update based on Android 5.0 Lollipop and is instead still based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat.
Redmi Note 4G users have previously complained about issues with their handset freezing and sub-standard camera performance and these are just some of the issues that Xiaomi has set out to fix with the latest MIUI update. Other notable fixes including lag within the camera and issues with musical performance although the update does also give a welcome boost to the overall performance of the Redmi Note 4G.
According to TheNextDigit, MIUI v6.3.5 seems to resemble elements of iOS 8 and Google's Material Design (from Android Lollipop) into a single flatter interface. With this in mind, here's a few screenshots of the new OS and let's see what other goodies Xiaomi's next firmware update will bring.
You can also download the ROM from the website if you have not received the update yet. If you're a Redmi Note 4G user in India or Taiwan, have you received the update? If so, do you like the improvements ...
Earlier today, Sony released the SmartEyeglass companion app on the Google Play Store. The company has also launched the SmartEyeglass Developer Edition SED-E1 augmented reality glasses.
The SmartEyeglass will be be available for pre-order in 10 countries next month for $840. Units will be available in Japan, Germany, the UK and US from March 10. In addition to the US, the UK, and Germany, Sony says it's providing the developer version of the SmartEyeglass to enterprise customers in other European countries. The display is a full-frame transparent lens that fills your field of vision for a true augmented reality experience. The UI painted on top of your vision is only monochrome, but like Glass it ties into your phone to do navigation, searching, and messaging. The developer edition comes with a controller that features a speaker, mic, NFC and touch sensor for controlling the display. It offers up to 150 minutes of battery life during continuous use and has a 3MP camera.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx7O_h09HKA
An upgraded version of the SDK will be made available for developers to start creating apps. The company aims to accelerate production and marketing efforts to commercialize the product in 2016. Smartphones are required to have Android 4.4 or higher installed ...
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 may be dominating the rumour mill at the moment but it's not the only handset that Samsung is working on. A new report from SamMobile indicates that the South Korean manufacturer is also developing successors to its Galaxy Tab S range to take on the Apple iPad Air 2.
According to the report, Samsung will use "premium materials" such as a metal frame in the build of the tablets, "to make it feel even more premium". Along with the improved build - the current Tab S range has inverted dimples on its rear cover - the new tablets could be even slimmer with SamMobile suggesting Samsung is targeting the 6.1 mm thickness of the iPad Air 2 as the benchmark for its Tab S2 range.
It's not made clear exactly how thin the Galaxy Tab S2 tablets will be but the report suggests that Samsung will offer the same tablet in a range of sizes and will have 8 inch and 9.7 inch models in-store (presumably these will replace the 8.4 inch and 10.5 inch sizes of the current Tab S).
It's unclear when Samsung expects to announce its new tablets but with scarce information currently available, we'd ...
Micromax has announced that it has started rolling out Android 5.0 (Lollipop) update for its Canvas Xpress A99 smartphone, which was released couple of months back. It has promised that it will be rolling out Android 5.0 update for its popular Canvas series of smartphones, but the company did not reveal the time frame for the roll out yet.
MediaTek recently ported Lollipop for the MT6582 chipset hence the roll out is quick. Xolo recently released Lollipop updates for the Xolo One and Xolo Q610s smartphones powered by MT6582 chipset.
Regarding the roll out of Lollipop update, Spokesperson of Micromax Informatics Ltd. said,
As a brand, we are committed to keep our customers delighted with best in class technologies and experience. Riding on the same thought, we are today rolling out the Android L update with Canvas Xpress, making the overall user experience more efficient and seamless. Micromax thrives on consumer centricity and that is clearly visible through the company’s continued growth trajectory and high recall in consumer mind share.
Android Lollipop update for the Canvas Xpress users is available OTA (over the air). They will get a notification on the smartphone that will allow them to download the update. Users can also check manually for the upgrade from ...
The Mi Note and the Mi Note Pro were announced, a month back, in China. These two devices occupy Xiaomi's phablet range, a category that was kickstarted at the lower end with the Redmi Note. Samsung used this suffix to denote the inclusion of a stylus, but for Xiaomi, it means only one thing, a larger screened version of a similar device. The Mi Note is positioned as the larger screened variant of the current flagship device, Mi 4. With similar hardware and design, it certainly is a phablet variant of the flagship, but could it possibly be more than just that? We unboxed the device to find out.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfZiFKPS0HY
By design, the Mi Note is supposed to look like a bigger Mi 4, which it certainly achieves, with similarly thin bezels and similarly curved corners. However, with a sensibly engineered curved glass back and thinner sides, the chunkiness of the Mi 4 has, thankfully, not been replicated here. Thankfully, because this is a large device and a better fit in the hands is very necessary.
The curved back is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass, which might reduce the chances of serious damage, but in case a drop exceeds the threshold, you won't ...
Samsung Galaxy E5 and Galaxy E7 smartphones have received a minor price cut in India within a month after the launch. Both these smartphones were launched for Rs. 19,300 and Rs. 23,000, respectively. According to Mumbai-based retailer Manish Khatri from Mahesh Telecom, the Galaxy E5 and Galaxy E7 smartphones are now available at Rs. 18, 250 and Rs. 21,300, respectively.
These smartphones are available on Amazon.in even cheaper. The Galaxy E5 is now available for Rs. 17,900 and the Galaxy E7 is available for Rs. 20,900. Samsung is still selling these smartphones at the launch price through its official eStore in India. These smartphones have have 5-inch and 5.5-inch Super AMOLED displays, respectively. These E series smartphones are powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 SoC, come with dual SIM support and run on Android 4.4 (KitKat). These are just 7.3mm thick.
Samsung launched the Galaxy A7 smartphone, the top-end device in the A series in India earlier this week for Rs. 30,499. It also launched the Galaxy Grand Max smartphone this week at Rs. 15,900.
Micromax Bolt A82, the company’s latest smartphone in the Bolt series running Android 4.4 (KitKat) is now available on HomeShop18. It has a 5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6572 processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has 3G connectivity, dual SIM support, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage with expansion slot and a 1800 mAh battery. It also has support for 20 Indian regional languages & English. All the specifications of the smartphone are similar to the Micromax Bolt A069 that went on sale last year, the only difference it that the Bolt A82 comes with 3G support.
Micromax Bolt A82 specifications
5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
1.3GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6572 processor
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat)
5MP rear camera with LED flash
0.3MP front-facing camera
Dual SIM with dual standby
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Dimensions: 147 x 75 x 9.3mm
3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
1800 mAh battery
The Micromax Bolt A82 comes in Grey color and is priced at Rs. 5,499.
Samsung may be launching its new flagship phone in less than a week but that hasn't stopped the company from continuing its Android 5.0 Lollipop rollout. Last week we saw the European Galaxy Note 4 get treated to some Lollipop-flavoured candy and now it's seems the Galaxy Note Edge (SM-N915G) is following suit in Australia.
Reports are surfacing that the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update is being pushed to Galaxy Note Edge users OTA (Over The Air) and as long as the update is free of any major bugs, it could be rolled out in more countries in a few weeks (or even sooner).
The Galaxy Note Edge shares many of the same internal components as the Galaxy Note 4 which is one reason the update rollouts are close together. It's worth noting however that Samsung will probably need to refine the new OS to work with the Edge Screen on the Note Edge so it might take an update or two for the real benefits of Lollipop to become apparent on the handset.
If you have a Note Edge and you're in Australia (as well as other countries although it's likely the update won't be available yet), head over to your Settings and check ...
Samsung's new Galaxy S6 is expected to be unveiled in under two weeks during the company's MWC 2015 press conference and ahead of the launch, Samsung has been teasing it's new smartphone. The first teaser promised excellent camera performance and today's teaser is all about the speed.
Last week the Galaxy S6 Edge apparently made a visit to reputable benchmarking applications AnTuTu and Geekbench 3 and as we covered, it rocked the house in the first test by recording the highest ever ranking in AnTuTu's history. This led to numerous reports that the Galaxy S6 would be the fastest smartphone ever made and Samsung's new teaser (seen in the tweet below) suggests this may well be the case.
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With less than stellar sales of its current Galaxy S5 flagship coupled with poor performance by its mobile division, Samsung needs the Galaxy S6 to sell, and sell very well. The current rumoured specs of the handset include a 5.1 inch Quad HD display, powerful octa-core Exynos 64-bit processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 20MP camera and 5MP front facing camera.
The Galaxy S6 will run on the Android Lollipop operating system - which brings support for 64 bit processors - with Samsung's own ...
We were pretty sure of this but just to clear up any confusion, HTC has confirmed the new HTC One flagship is launching on March 1st. The company tweeted an image with the tagline "let them share" whilst also confirming its new flagship will be announced at MWC 2015 in Barcelona.
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The HTC One M9 is to be announced at HTC's press conference on March 1st (the day before Mobile World Congress officially begins) and will be joined just a few hours later by Samsung's new Galaxy S6. The press conference takes place at 4pm local time (8:30pm IST) and as you might have guessed - we're going to be there reporting live.
The One M9 is expected to be an evolutionary upgrade of the award-winning HTC One M8 (rather than a revolutionary change) and should feature an all-metal body coupled with a 5 inch Full HD screen and 20MP camera. The camera is the key part as previous devices have used a 4MP Ultrapixel camera that has often fell short of the mark and for the first time, HTC will use a non Ultrapixel camera in its HTC One range.
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Just in case HTC's tweet wasn't enough, the company also advertised their new ...
Amazon India has announced that the YU YUREKA smartphone will be available today for select customers those who have shown a high level of interest to buy the smartphone but were unable to get it. The sale happens today, Wednesday, February 18, 2015 from 2 PM to 5 PM. Only registered customers who were unable to purchase the YUREKA will be eligible to participate in today’s sale and will receive an email from Amazon.in informing them of their access to the sale, said the company.
The YU YUREKA got the first Cyanogen OS update few weeks back, which fixed a lot of bugs. YU has promised to push OTA updates for the YUREKA smartphone every month . The company sold 25,000 smartphones in 5 seconds in its last sale on February 12th. So far the company has sold 75,000 units of YUREKA smartphones in the first five sales. The sixth sale happens tomorrow, Thursday, February 19th on Amazon.in at 2PM. The company has not revealed the number of units that go up for sale tomorrow.
Registrations for the next sale is still open on Amazon. Users will have to register to participate in the weekly flash sale and registrations of previous sales will not be valid for future sales. ...
Xiaomi has surpassed Samsung as the largest smartphone maker in China, as per a latest report from IDC. The Chinese smartphone maker reported a market share of 12.5% in 2014, overtaking Samsung which stood at 12.1%.
Xiaomi's market share has increased from 5.3% in 2013 to 12.5% in 2014 whereas Samsung's share dropped from 18.7% in 2013 to 12.1% in 2014. Xiaomi claims sales of more than 61 million smartphones last year, up 227 per cent from 2013. In Q3 2014 Xiaomi became the third largest smartphone vendor in the entire world and in August 2014 a report by Canalys said that Xiaomi had already became the largest vendor catering to the Chinese market.
Meanwhile, Apple did not even made it to the top 5 smartphone vendors in China. As per the report, smartphone shipments for China by all vendors reached 420.7 million units in 2014. Xiaomi is also betting strong on emerging markets especially India. The Chinese smartphone maker secured $1 billion funding in December bringing its valuation to $45 billion. Last week, Xiaomi announced that it will foray into the U.S with accessories and not smartphones.
Lenovo Miix 3 (10.1), the company's latest tablet running Windows 8.1 is now available in India from the official Lenovo Store. It has a 10.1-inch full HD display, is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom Z3735F Processor (up to 1.86 GHz) and comes bundled with a detachable keyboard that lets you take advantage of two more modes - Laptop for productive activities and Stand for socialization, apart from Tablet.
Lenovo Miix 3 (10.1) specifications
10.1-inch (1920×1200 pixels) Full HD IPS multitouch display, 180-degree viewing angle
up to 1.8 GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3735F processor
2GB RAM, 32GB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD
Bundled Keyboard Dock
Windows 8.1 (with Bing for Tablets)
2MP HD front-facing camera
Dimensions: 256.8 x 172 x 9.3mm; Weight: 549 grams (not including keyboard)
WiFi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, Micro HDMI-out, 2 x USB 2.0 in keyboard
6800mAh battery with up to 7 hours of usage
The Lenovo Miix 3 (10.1) comes in Black color and is available for Rs. 21,999 from Lenovo Store.
Apple has been awarded a patent for a head-mounted virtual reality set that is compatible for iPhone. The latest patent has been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent is titled as"Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display," which details a virtual reality headset powered by an iPhone. It has a similar functionality to that of Samsung's Gear VR heaset that uses a Galaxy Note 4 for display.
The patent details many of the features including using remote and exterior controls, tapping into the connected device’s camera, and using haptics and sensors to enhance the experience. Similar to Gear VR, Apple's proposed device uses the screen of the inserted mobile phone as the headset's display. As per the patent images, there is a separate, hand-held remote control that can be used to access the UI on the VR headset. Apple had filed for the patent in 2008 which means that the company thought of the concept before Samsung's Gear VR and Google's cardboard.
Google has updated Play Music for iOS with Material Design features. The version 2.0.3828 offers visual improvements and a new cleaner design.
Elements of Material Design like small animations have been added to the UI along with a floating action button on each album screen. the Play Music app now features “beautiful new artist and album pages with descriptions” and an”immersive Now Playing experience.” Google also has added several “small visual improvements throughout. Album and artist pages have been updated with descriptions and a new layout.
In addition, the update adds improvements to streaming and automatic caching, which should make music playback faster and more reliable. Google Play Music for Android received Material Design update in October.
App Link - Google Play Music
Asus has announced Fonepad 7 FE375CL, the company's latest Fonepad 7 variant with LTE support and Android 5.0 (Lollipop). It has the same 7-inch HD display seen on Asus Fonepad 7 (FE375CG) that was introduced last year, but this is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3530 processor and comes with single SIM support. It also has voice calling capabilities and dual front-facing speakers with SonicMaster technology.
Asus Fonepad 7 (FE375CL) specifications
7-inch (1280 x 800) HD IPS display with 10 finger multi-touch and Anti-fingerprint coating
1.3 GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3530 processor with PowerVR Series 6 – G6430 GPU
2GB RAM, 8GB / 16GB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD
Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with Zen UI
9.8mm thick and weighs 299 grams
5MP rear camera with 1080p Full HD video recording
2MP front-facing camera with 720p Video Recording
4G LTE / 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS
3,950mAh battery with up to 12 hours of battery life
The Asus Fonepad 7 (FE375CL) comes in Black and White colors and is priced at NT$ 7,990 (US$ 250 / Rs. 15,700 approx) in Taiwan. No details about the global roll out yet.
Microsoft Outlook for iOS and Android has received first update after its launch two weeks back. The latest update focuses on adding security enhancements.
For starters, Outlook app on Android and iOS is getting PIN lock support. This means Outlook now implements password enforcement using Exchange ActiveSync. If your company email policy requires that devices have a password in order to sync mail, Outlook will enforce this at the device level. On Apple devices the encryption uses iOS 8’s built-in security feature after the password feature is enabled while in case of Android, Outlook enforces screen lock rules, and offers a walkthrough to enable the degree of security needed for your company.
The next addition to the update is improvement in remote wipes which will erase you Outlook data within seconds if your device is compromised. Outlook for Android and iOS now has IMAP support as the service uses IMAP IDLE whenever possible this means that push-like behavior is possible even with IMAP accounts.
Finally, Android users are getting customize Outlook’s gestures which allows then to configure left or right swipes on emails. Already available on iOS, it includes delete, archive, move, flag mark as read or schedule. Whereas, iOS will be able to turn off the conversation view, which ...
Microsoft has updated its Office app on iOS and web to make it easier for cloud services to integrate with the suite. Outlook now supports third-party storage providers that integrate their service into the Office apps for iOS via an open API.
The Office iOS app will allow users to access to third party cloud storage services like iCloud and Box. This means Word, Excel, and PowerPoint users can open, edit, and save documents from these providers directly in the apps. Support for more third party clients is coming soon to the Office apps for Windows 10 and Android.
Microsoft also announced new Cloud Storage Partner Program, which will allow third party cloud services to integrate Office Online into their apps. That will allow users to, for example, open a Word doc in the Office Online UI within another app. Box, Citrix, and Salesforce have already partnered with Microsoft and the company is looking to add more names to the list. Last year, Microsoft partnered with Dropbox that will allow document editing capabilities from directly inside Dropbox.
Huawei has announced the appointment of Zhao Ming as the new head of Honor business. He will be replacing Jeff Liu who is the President of the Huawei Honor Brand, Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG).
Jeff Liu will be leaving the company within the first half of 2015. Before appointing as the new head of Honor biz, Zhao Ming was the Vice President of Huawei’s Western Europe Region. He joined Huawei in 1998 and has rich R&D, marketing, and international market experience. Ming has served in various leadership roles including as Head of the Wireless Product Management Department, Sales Director of Global Wireless Solutions, President of the Wireless CDMA & WiMAX Product Line, Representative of Huawei Device Italy, and most recently Vice President for the Western Europe region.
"During his 19 years with Huawei, Jeff has effectively served across multiple business units including as head of the Honor brand since 2013. We will remain forever indebted to Jeff for his work in growing the Honor brand which has been instrumental in the global success of our consumer business.
said Mr. Ken Hu, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Rotating CEO, Huawei.
Huawei claimed that its Honor smartphone shipments accounted for 20 million units, recording sales revenue ...
