OnePlus One gets official Android 5.0 Lollipop alpha ROM

OnePlus has been quietly developing its own Android 5.0 Lollipop based ROM for the OnePlus One. Following the controversy with Cyanogen licensing in India, the company had announced that it will be providing an early build to customers, which will replace the Cyanogen OS on their devices.

The company has now released an alpha build of the ROM on its forums, and is available to download and flash right now.

The ROM looks pretty much identical to stock Android Lollipop on Nexus devices but with a few minor changes, such as the ability to have either onscreen or physical navigation buttons.

This is an alpha build so there definitely are bugs, many of which are listed on the forum and others no doubt you'll find while using it. There are also clear instructions on how to install the ROM and the things you need to keep in mind, so make sure you read everything properly and know what you're doing before you take the plunge.

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Happy New Year 2015 from our team and best wishes to all

With 2014 coming to an end we can't help but feel a little nostalgic and look back at what the past twelve months have brought us. We couldn't be happier with what we do and we have all of you, our loyal readers to thank for our success.

The website is slowly, but determinedly climbing up the internet statistics ladder and Alexa.com, now ranks us as the 328th most-popular website across the globe (at one point we even made it in the top 300). We are so very thankful for all the love and attention and promise to strive to better ourselves and our work constantly and remain dedicated to our work and our fans.

During the past 360 or so days, we have been hard at work to bring you news and insights form the tech world and we managed to ramp up more than 3175 news articles, 2920 blog posts and as many as 170 reviews.

We are also extremely thankful for all the support in different social media. Our YouTube channel now has almost 100,000 subscribers and over 73,000,000 views. We have also been experimenting with new and engaging lifestyle videos and commentary, which we hope will make for a better multimedia experience.

Our Facebook group has also grown and now has over 800,000 likes and counting and so has out Twitter account, with over 75,000 followers reading along. We've also expanded our social media presence over at Google+, where we now have over 75,000 subscribers.

Our team also spent many hours developing exciting new features. Our advanced Phone Finder underwent a massive overhaul and now looks and works better than ever. Looking through our extensive smartphone and tablet database has never been easier and we hope it serves as an aid to find the best device for your need. We have also made battery life scores more accessible and easily searchable through our interactive Battery life table.

We are all set for 2015 and will be reporting live from CES 2015 (January 6 to January 9 2015) and can't wait to see what the New Year is going to bring to the tech world and we hope you stick around so we can share it with you.

Happy New Year to you and all those you hold dear and we wish you true happiness, joy and success in the months to come. Cheers!

The GSMArena team

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Sony creates limited edition Xperia Z3 series for Germany

Sony has launched a limited edition series of the Xperia Z3 devices, including the Z3, Z3 Compact, Z3 Tablet Compact. The devices feature an exclusive etched pattern on the glass back.

Three designers were chosen for the job, who each chose a city of their choice to etch on the back of these devices as part of the Stadt Talente peoject. Vesa Tapani Sammalisto chose Berlin to etch on the back of the Z3, Shinpei Hasegawa chose Tokyo for the back of the Z3 Compact, and Jan Feliks Kallwejt chose Warsaw for the Z3 Tablet Compact.

The devices are available as limited edition, with 33 being made of each and sold only in Germany.

Source (German) • Via

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Xiaomi Redmi 1s with dual-LTE set to launch on January 4

Xiaomi will launch a new version of its popular Redmi 1s smartphone this coming Sunday, on January 4. The device will hit the shelves soon after its unveiling.

Both SIM card slots of the newcomer will support 4G LTE connectivity. The current dual-SIM of the Redmi 1s does not support LTE connectivity at all.

The new version of the Xiaomi Redmi 1s passed through TENAA in China earlier this month. Its specs include 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC, 1GB of RAM, 4.7” 720p display, and 8MP main camera.

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Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 arrive in the US in unlocked form

While Samsung hasn't officially launched the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 in the US through any carriers, the two metal smartphones are now available to buy stateside. That's possible because they're being offered by Expansys, a third party retailer specializing in selling unlocked (SIM-free) units.

So you won't be signing any long-term agreements with carriers to get them, but on the flip side you will be paying more for the handsets than you may be used to.

Because these are unlocked devices, they're priced accordingly. So the Galaxy A3 will set you back $329.99, whereas the Galaxy A5 is going for $409.99. In both cases, you're getting dual-SIM functionality baked in, though as always only one of those slots supports high speed data connectivity.

Both phones have 4G LTE, but before you buy make sure to check if your favorite carrier's bands are supported. Information about which bands each smartphone supports is available in their respective listings.

It's still unclear whether we'll ever see the Galaxy A3 and A5 released by any US carriers, so if you must have one as soon as possible then this is pretty much your only option right now.

Source 1 • Source 2 | Via

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Oppo R5 will be up for pre-order in India on January 1

The Oppo R5 held the title of for what has to be the smallest amount of time ever. It was announced at the end of October, but by early December the Vivo X5 Max had already overtaken it in this insane race.

Still, the thickness difference between the two is barely noticeable, so this doesn't mean that the R5 has suddenly become fat. No, it's the same slender slab it's always been.

And now we know when pre-orders for it will start in India. If you want to be among the first people in the subcontinent to own an Oppo R5, then get ready to pre-order one starting on January 1 - that's in just a couple of days.

The amount of cash you'll need to shell out for this privilege is INR 29,990. At the current exchange rates that translates into $473 or €389. Considering the upper-midrange specs inside the Oppo R5, that price seems reasonable. Naturally though, this phone's unique selling point will be how slim it is - even if it's not the world's slimmest anymore.

An actual release date for the R5 in India has not been revealed by the Chinese company, at least not yet.

The Oppo R5 has a 5.2-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 2,000 mAh battery. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset with an octa-core CPU, and it runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

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Android Lollipop has a memory leak bug, fix is on the way

Lollipop may be the latest version of the mobile OS developed by the search giant, but it's clearly not the most stable yet. In fact, the new and handsome iteration of Android has a memory leak bug that has some nasty effects.

On Android 5.0.1, the bug kills open apps and forces constant reloading of the home screen. On Google's Android Issue Tracker it's been revealed that a few Nexus devices are affected, such as the Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 4, and Nexus 5.

In some cases the bug makes the Android system eat up to 1.2GB of RAM, whereas a normal value would be somewhere around 500MB. So this is a pretty big deal, and quite an annoying bug if you happen to encounter it.

The good news is that a fix may have been found, and it will be included in the next software update from Google. The only downside right now is that there's no indication as to when that will begin rolling out. It's unlikely that we'll see a specific update only addressing this issue, so the fix will make it to the next planned release - whichever that happens to be, and whenever that comes out.

So if you do suffer from the effects of this bug, you're still required to have some patience. Since Android 5.0.2 is already out for the Nexus 7 (2012), this bugfix will probably be released as part of Android 5.0.3.

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HTC to focus on the Desire lineup at CES

As expected the HTC One (M8) successor rumored as HTC Hima won’t make it to CES 2015 in Vegas early next year. While HTC has already sent invitations for a special press event on January 5 in Las Vegas and HTC Hima has even leaked via AnTuTu, it seems the flagship won't be stealing the spotlight just yet.

A newly released teaser on Weibo says "Always Desire more", which clearly means new Desire smartphone or smartphones will be announced at CES. This isn't such a surprise though as both HTC One and HTC One (M8) weren't introduced on CES, but prior and after the MWC expos in February-March.

HTC may want to announce the new One flagship at a stand-alone event once again thus not sharing the news with any major competition.

So, a new Desire or Desire phones are coming. One of them is probably the recently leaked HTC A-12 mid-ranger powered by the Snapdragon 410 chipset and offering a 4.7" 720p display. The rest of its rumored specs include 1GB of RAM, an 8MP cam and a 2,100 mAh battery. Android KitKat and Sense UI should be in charge of operations.

HTC A12 will allegedly launch on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless in the United States. We will keep an eye out for more details on the handset going forward.

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AdDuplex: Lumia 630 and 535 on the rise, LG may be coming back

Time for a final report on Windows Phone before 2014 comes to an end. There's some good news for Microsoft – the new Lumia 630 is weakening the stranglehold of Lumia 520 and LG might be coming back to the platform.

First things first, the Nokia Lumia 630 is the second most popular WP handset worldwide, a wide margin behind the 520. Its LTE-enabled sibling, the Lumia 635, has now reached the Top 10. The entry-level Lumia 530 is also on board.

Microsoft first own-branded phone, the Microsoft Lumia 535, managed to make its mark too – only in India for now where it matched the Lumia 530 for eighth place at 4.1%.

Lumia 800's market share has slipped, which leaves the Lumia 710 as the only Windows Phone 7.x handset in the Top 10. Worldwide the 7.x branch accounts for 15% of devices, but regionally the story is different – it's on 69% of handsets in South Africa, 40% in Mexico but not even 1% in Turkey.

AdDuplex Windows Phone Statistics Report, December 2014 from AdDuplex

An LG VW820 with a 4.7" screen with 480 x 854px resolution was spotted in Korea by AdDuplex, which may signal the return of LG. The company dropped Windows Phone and went exclusively with Android back in 2012 but it may be looking to diversify its offerings, even including a WebOS smartwatch.

The situation is pretty dire at the moment – there are as many as 30 different brands of Windows Phone handsets out there, but there's a "Nokia" label on 95.51% of all sold devices.

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Samsung Galaxy Core Prime review: Core values

GSMArena team, 30 December 2014.

Introduction

The Galaxy Core lineup represents Samsung's take on the essential smartphone. The Galaxy Core Prime updates the base formula in two areas - a slightly better camera and slightly better chipset - and it serves as a smaller alternative to Galaxy Grand Prime.

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime official photos

The Core Prime was announced mere months after Galaxy Core II (not to mention Core LTE, Core Lite LTE and several others), but brings definite improvements over all members of the family, even if most specs are shared among the Cores.

For one, the 64-bit capable Snapdragon 410 is definitely a first. The 5MP/720p camera has been done on other Cores, but it is still the best in the lineup. The front-facing camera is the best one yet - a 2MP/480p shooter - that goes over the low bar of having no selfie camera at all or a 1MP one. It defiantly lacks the ambition of the Galaxy Grand Prime's selfie camera but it's also not very ambition when it comes to pricing so it all sounds fair.

Key features

• Optional Dual SIM version available


• 4.5" 480 x 800 TFT display with 207ppi


• Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI


• Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 processor, Adreno 306 GPU, 1GB of RAM, Snapdragon 410 chipset


• 8GB built-in storage, microSD card slot


• 8MP camera with LED flash, 720p video recording; 2MP front-facing camera


• Cat. 4 LTE (150/50Mbps); Wi-Fi b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; NFC; GPS; microUSB, FM radio


• 2,000mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• Screen ppi is entry-level


• No screen protection glass


• No automatic brightness sensor

Coming off our Galaxy Grand Prime review, we know that a lot of the 64-bit benefits hang on an Android 5.0 Lollipop update. Considering the Core Prime was announced only recently, the prognosis on an update is good, but nothing is guaranteed.

The camera department is a definite update over the Galaxy Core II, where the 5MP snapper only recorded 480p video and there was a 480p front-facing camera. Three other Core models (Plus, LTE and Lite LTE) also shoot 720p video, but they all lack the Core Prime high quality selfie snapper.

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime at the office

Speaking of the Grand, in its review we discussed the recent popularity of large screens with low resolution. While in terms of pixel density the Galaxy Core Prime is in the same range, its entry-level position makes us more willing to forgive the sub-HD resolution and the lack of an IPS screen matrix.

True to its position in the market, the phone has a dual-SIM flavor. One version, the G360F, even reaches above its station with 4G LTE connectivity, but that's exclusive to China and Taiwan.

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Possible Xiaomi Mi5 black edition photo leaked

A rather interesting picture was brought to our attention by a tipper. The shot surfaced on Weibo and shows what arrears to be the next generation Mi smartphone by Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer is rumored to unveil the Xiaomi Mi5 at CES in a few days, so the leak seems credible enough.

The handset bears a lot of similarity to the Xiaomi Mi5. Design seems to be pretty much the same, the signature MIUI is also clearly visible. This new mystery device does, however, appear to be significantly larger than the 5-inch Mi4. And although scale is hard to judge properly an estimate would put the display firmly in phablet territory - around 5.5 to 5.7 inches.

The alleged Mi5 does appear to have a remarkably thin bezel, significantly thinner than its predecessor. Last month we reported on a set of spy production shots of what was supposedly the screen assembly for the same phone.

Relying solely on visual comparison, they do seem to match up, but the newly leaked photo shows a black device with a lit-up screen, making it nearly impossible to spot the logo and the sensors and speaker position. So a definite match can not be confirmed.

Diving further into the rumor mill reveals some alleged specs for the device. It is said to have 4G LTE connectivity, a QHD display with a Snapdragon 805 SoC and at least 3GB of RAM. While none of the information about the mysterious phone is confirmed and should be taken with a grain of salt we can at least rest easy, knowing that things will definitely clear up very soon, with CES right around the corner.

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ZTE unveils a redesigned logo and new company philosophy

The Chinese tech giant ZTE unveiled a redesigned logo. The new branding presents a new corporate identity, which falls in line with the company’s focus on innovating in the M-ICT field. The latter stands for Media Information Communications Technology.

ZTE’s new logo is noticeably sleeker than the one its replaces - it embodies that company’s new Cool-Green-Open philosophy. Going forward, the company will focus on products that are “dynamic, youthful and compelling to users, sustainable and environmentally responsible, as well as open-minded and collaborative.”

The Chinese manufacturer has a CES press conference scheduled for Monday, January 5. We will be covering it live, so be sure to tune in to find out what ZTE has in store for 2015.

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Moto G (2014) with 4G LTE connectivity appears in Brazil

Unsurprisingly, Motorola has a Moto G (2014) with 4G LTE connectivity coming our way. The yet to be revealed successor of Moto G 4G appeared on Motorola’s official website in Brazil.

The LTE-capable second generation Moto G will feature a slightly larger 2,390mAh battery than the 3G-only model. The latter makes do with a non-removable 2,070mAh unit.

The Brazilian product page of the new Moto G also reveals that the LTE model will only be available with 16GB of built-in memory. At 155 grams, the upcoming device will also be a tad heavier than its regular sibling (149 grams).

Battery and weight aside, the LTE Moto G (2014) has familiar specs. They include Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, 1GB of RAM, 5” 720p display, 8MP camera, and stereo speakers.

There is no word on the launch date of the new Moto G version just yet. We doubt it will be a long wait.

Source (in Portuguese) | Via

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Qualcomm teaser shows an LG G Flex sequel on the way

Qualcomm teased the successor of the curved LG G Flex on Twitter. The upcoming high-end smartphone will make its official debut next week during CES 2015 in Las Vegas - in line with past rumors.

The image gives us a peak of a device’s back without mentioning its manufacturer. However, the buttons on the back, coupled with the distinctive pattern that LG’s self-healing polycarbonate totes, leave no room for doubt that the device is indeed from the Korean manufacturer.

Curiously, the tweet states that the device will pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset. We reckon that the company refers to the Snapdragon 801 or Snapdragon 805 however, as both are technically part of the 800 lineup. Seeing the device launch with last year’s Snapdragon 800 seems unlikely.

We will be live from Vegas next week, so be sure to tune in for the full scoop on the next LG G Flex.

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Samsung Galaxy A7 and Galaxy Grand Max leak in Korea

The Samsung Galaxy A7 has leaked a lot up until this point, yet for some reason the smartphone maker still hasn't announced it to complement the two existing members in the A series - the A3 and the A5.

So the Galaxy A7 just keeps on leaking. Today we can see it in a leaked catalogue for South Korea. This listing gives us another round of specs for the device. What's perhaps more interesting is that alongside the A7 the Galaxy Grand Max has leaked too, as part of the same leaflet.

Samsung Galaxy A7 and Galaxy Grand Max

So, here's what we should expect from the Galaxy A7, in terms of specs. It will come with a 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front snapper, a 1.5 GHz octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and a 2,500 mAh battery. It will run Android 4.4.4 KitKat and will sport connectivity options such as LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The A7 will be just 6.3mm thin and it will weigh 140g.

Moving on, the Galaxy Grand Max has a 5.2-inch 720p LCD touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front-facing camera, a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD cards), and a 2,500 mAh battery. It too will come with Android 4.4 KitKat preinstalled, as well as LTE support. It's 7.9mm thin.

These two phones are headed to South Korea in the near future, where the Galaxy A7 will be offered by all three carriers over there. There's been no word on whether these devices are going to be sold elsewhere in the future, but our guess would be that they will. It's just unclear when.

Source

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha may be discontinued by February

If you like the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, perhaps now's the time to go and purchase one. Because if the latest rumor from the company's native South Korea is to be believed, you won't be able to do that for much longer.

The report says that Samsung will discontinue the production of the Galaxy Alpha by early February. The manufacturer will allegedly produce the metal-clad smartphone only until the materials it currently has in inventory for it are all used up - there are no plans to order more parts for the Alpha.

This all apparently comes from an unnamed "industry insider", so the usual cautions apply about taking such things for granted. If you're wondering why Samsung may kill the Galaxy Alpha so soon after its release, that is said to have something to do with the Galaxy A5.

That's supposed to be the replacement for the Galaxy Alpha, at least on the Korean market. There the A5 is expected to launch in the mid-January to early February time frame. Samsung will focus on more affordable devices in its home market next year, and the A5 is the first of those.

The Galaxy A5 will be priced at approximately KRW 400,000 (that's about $363 or €298). Samsung clearly hopes it will be more popular in Korean than the Galaxy Alpha, which wasn't a huge success.

Of course Samsung hasn't confirmed any of this yet, as you may have expected. So it can still go either way.

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Lollipop update for Galaxy S5 spreads further in Europe

The update to Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Samsung Galaxy S5 just keeps on spreading throughout the world, it seems. After Poland and South Korea, today it was Spain's turn to get the rollout on its way.

This might mean that more European countries will have Lollipop on the Galaxy S5 soon. That's because Samsung generally tests its updates in one market, and that's usually Poland, after which a wider rollout quickly comes.

The S5 handsets sold in Poland have already seen three Lollipop updates, so we assume Samsung is now pretty satisfied with the status of its software and has thus decided to expand its geographical reach.

For now, units that were bought unlocked and SIM-free from Spain will benefit. But more territories will soon follow, that's pretty much a given. And after that happens, maybe we'll see the newest version of Android finally being headed to the Galaxy Note 4 as well.

Source | Via

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Samsung Galaxy A7 and Galaxy E5 listed on Russian web site

Two of Samsung's new phones have hit the pages of Russian distributor Merlion, the Samsung Galaxy A7 and the Galaxy E5. They come with a full list of specifications, not that there was much left unknown about the two unofficial handsets.

Samsung Galaxy A7

Starting off with the A-series flagship, the Samsung Galaxy A7 features a 5.5" 1080p screen. It's powered by the same chipset as one of the Galaxy Note 4 versions, namely the Exynos 5433 chipset. The phablet has the same dimensions as the Note 4, so it will be positioned as a more affordable alternative to Samsung's phablet top dog.

The Galaxy A7 also packs a 13MP main camera, 5MP front-camera. Its well-versed in connectivity with 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and an IR blaster. The phablet will launch with Android 4.4 KitKat but there's no exact date or price yet.

Samsung Galaxy E5

Next up is the Samsung Galaxy E5. This one comes in 4G LTE and 3G dual-SIM flavors. The phone will be more compact with a 5" 1080p screen (a bit bigger and heavier than the Galaxy S4). A comment on the bottom of the page mentions Galaxy S4 Active's ability to shoot photos underwater, but that's probably a mistake.

The Galaxy E5 is powered by an unknown quad-core 1.9GHz processor and is listed as running Android 4.1, which is most likely another typo. It has an 8MP camera on the back and a 2MP selfie camera. Other than the optional dual-SIM, there's Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

Samsung Galaxy J1

A third phone is also on its way – the entry-level Samsung Galaxy J1. It will offer a modest 4.3" WVGA screen and run on a Spreadtrum SC6815 chipset with quad Cortex-A7 processor (1.2GHz) and Mali-400 GPU. It will come with 1GB RAM and 4GB of built-in storage.

The front and back cameras of the Galaxy J1 are equals – 5MP stills and 1080p video. The phone will also have 4G LTE and 3G dual-SIM versions.

Note that a Galaxy J1 version (SM-J100F) passed through GFX Bench with a Marvell chipset. The benchmark claims a 4.8" screen on that one and "0.6GB" of RAM. It remains to be seen which hardware setup Samsung has settled on.

Source 1 | Source 2 | Via (in Russian)

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HTC Hima specs show up on AnTuTu

Rumor mill patron @upleaks is back with more on the HTC Hima – the upcoming One (M8) replacement – and this time there's an AnTuTu screenshot to back up the claimed specs.

Going against the flow of the market, HTC will keep the 5" screen size for its next flagship instead of going bigger (resolution stays at 1080p as well). The chipset will follow a more familiar path and move to a Snapdragon 810 – an ARM-designed 64-bit octa-core processor paired with Qualcomm's Adreno 430. 3GB of RAM will also be attached.

The camera department will be a massive upgrade, however, with a 20.7MP camera catapulting HTC's flagship from the bottom of the range to the top. The selfie camera will match the 13MP camera of the HTC Desire Eye.

The HTC Hima will launch with Android 5.0.1 Lollipop and Sense UI 7.0, but it may come after the MWC. Instead it's set to debut at its own event. It's not clear if this delay is deliberate (to avoid sharing the MWC stage with other flagships) or not.

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HTC to hold a press conference on January 5 at CES

The annual CES expo is upon us, opening for the public on January 6 in Las Vegas, USA. It's a tradition major players to announce their devices the day before at dedicated pre-CES events.

LG will be first opening first at 8AM local time, followed by Samsung at 2PM and Sony at 5PM. Sharp and Panasonic will be showing off their latest tech the same day as well.

HTC has also sent invitations for an event on January 5 though the time is yet to be confirmed. The company is expected to introduce the rumored HTC One (M8) successor known as HTC Hima. It should be one really snappy device packing the fastest chipset available and running on 1080p resolution display.

We'll be on CES to cover everything for you, so stay tuned!

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LG G4 to sport a stylus, directly compete with the Galaxy Note 4

According to unconfirmed information originating from Asia, the upcoming LG G4 is aimed to directly rival with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. To do that, LG is said to equip the G4 with a stylus.

More specifically, the LG G4 is said to sport a 5.3" display with a QHD resolution and very narrow bezels, akin to the G3. Internally, the G4 is believed to come out with a Snapdragon 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB storage variations.

LG filed for a trademark of the "LG G Pen" moniker earlier this month. We're likely to see the company try to emulate the success of the Samsung S Pen and work on a multitude of software features that enable superior multitasking than its competitors using the upcoming G Pen.

While the rumor isn't backed up by solid evidence, it does seem plausible for LG to try and take on the Galaxy Note 4. It also aligns with previous reports that LG will be axing its Pro lineup.

With MWC 2015 fast approaching, it's a matter of time for more evidence and rumors of the upcoming LG G4 to pop up.

Source | Via

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