Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch is back in stock

Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch is back in stock in the manufacturer’s online store in both black and metal finish. Best Buy also has the two color options of device listed as available to order in the United States.

Moto 360 sold out hours after its retail launch in early September alongside the new Moto G and the 2014 Moto X. The Android Wear gadget is undoubtedly the one of the most anticipated wearable devices to launch this year.

A recent firmware update to the Moto 360 brought improvements to its battery life. Motorola is yet to comment on how many units of the smartwatch it sold this far.

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Alleged press image of HTC M8 Eye makes the rounds

The yet to be announced HTC M8 Eye appeared in an alleged press image. The previously leaked high-end handset is expected to debut next week, on October 8 alongside an action camera from HTC.

As you can see in the image above, HTC M8 Eye has the same design as the HTC One (M8) we know already. However, the newcomer will swap the underwhelming 4MP UltraPixel camera of the HTC One (M8) for a proper 13MP snapper (likely the same as in the HTC Butterfly 2). The secondary sensor for depth of field measuring will also be on board.

Camera aside, the specs of the HTC M8 Eye are tipped to be identical to those of the original. They include Snapdragon 801 chipset, 5” 1080p display, and Sense-d Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

Overall, the HTC M8 Eye brings back memories of the HTC One X+. Launched in October 2012, the latter addressed some of shortcomings of the original One X.

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Project Ara smartphones will allow module hot-swapping

The recent silence surrounding Google's modular smartphone Project Ara has been broken at the Linaro Connect US 2014 conference. There, Project Ara team leader Paul Eremenko announced that users will be able to swap parts of the modular phone when it's powered on.

For example, if the memory of the phone is full, you'll be able to swap with another memory module and go on with your day. Swapping the battery is also possible without turning the phone off thanks to a power reserve.

The only two parts that will not be hot-swappable are the phone's processor and display. Google is targeting a $50 entry price tag for the Project Ara smartphone. Pricing of the various modular blocks isn't known yet.

Expect the first Project Ara modular smartphone to get its official announcement in January 2015. It will run a modified version of Android L, which will be also interesting to check out.

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NTT DoCoMo outs the Galaxy S5 Active, Note Edge and Tab S 8.4

Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo is having a Samsung field day today with a triple announcement. The carrier is launching today the Galaxy S5 Active, Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy Tab S 8.4.

The carrier will start selling the Galaxy Note in black from the end of October. NTT DoCoMo is currently taking pre-orders for the device, which will also available in frost white from the middle of November.

The Galaxy Note Edge will come with Xi LTE and VoLTE support as well as FeliCa, NFC and Wi-Fi 802.11ac.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active will hit Japan in Camo green and Titanium gray from October 4. The IP67 and MIL-STD-810G certified smartphone packs a 5.1" 1080p Super AMOLED display and a 2,800 mAh battery.

Finally, the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 will be the last to hit NTT DoCoMo shelves in December. The tablet is lightweight at 298 grams and packs an 8.4" 2560x1600 pixel Super AMOLED display.

Specific pricing for SIM-free versions of the devices hasn't been specified by NTT DoCoMo yet.

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Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus kicks off in China on October 17

The Chinese regulator approved the iPhone 6 for sale in the country just a few hours ago and Apple has rushed to announce the new generation iPhones' pricing and availability.

Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will become officially available on October 17 in the Apple online and retail stores. The online pre-orders will kick off on Friday, October 10, while in-store pickup will be available from Tuesday, October 14.

The two models will be available in all three color flavors and all three storage options. Here is the official pricing:

Apple iPhone 6:

• 16GB - CNY 5,288 (€678)


• 64GB - CNY 6,088 (€780)


• 128GB - CNY 6,888 (€883)

Apple iPhone 6 Plus:

• 16GB - CNY 6,088 (€780)


• 64GB - CNY 6,888 (€883)


• 128GB - CNY 7,788 (€999)

The iPhone 6 duo was initially available in the United States, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. As of September 25 it also launched in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and UAE.

Even more countries will be joining those until the end of the year.

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Chinese regulator approves iPhone 6 for sale in the country

Apple can now officially sell iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in China. The Cupertino giant received a license that allows the duo of smartphones to be used on the country’s networks.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology delivered the news about the approval. It tested the security credentials of the iPhone 6 before clearing it to hit the shelves.

Apple is expected to begin selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in China on October 10. The large market is considered vital for Cupertino’s financial performance. Entering it will likely propel Apple to a record-shattering financial performance during the quarter that includes the holiday shopping season.

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More purported details on Nexus 6 by Motorola emerge

More alleged details on the upcoming Nexus 6 made the rounds on the web. The high-end device from Motorola is expected to debut at some point in the second half of October.

The new report reveals new details on the homescreen layout of the device. As seen in the render above, the Nexus 6 will come with revamped icons, as well as a brand new folder for Google Drive and its suite of editing apps. It will join the Google and Play folders.

The latest rumor confirms the device’s previously leaked specs. They include Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC, 5.9” QHD display with 496ppi, 13MP camera, and front-facing stereo speakers.

Nexus 6 will feature similar design as the new Moto X, but in a larger form factor. The upcoming handset is also said to be capable with the Motorola turbo charger.

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BlackBerry has another unusual device in the works

Hot on the heels of last week’s BlackBerry Passport launch, a word got out that the company plans to introduce more devices with unconventional design going forward. The head of BlackBerry’s Devices unit, Ron Louks delivered the news in an interview with Reuters.

According to Mr. Louks, the trimming of BlackBerry’s losses allows it to take more risks and introduce more unconventional smartphones in the future. The company will be looking to introduce at least one unconventional device every year.

Furthermore, the high-level BlackBerry executive hinted that the company has a new unconventional device in the works already. Wireless carrier partners have reportedly given positive feedback on the new project.

Despite its quirky design and questionable ergonomics, BlackBerry Passport has so far been well received by the public - it sold out within hours of its retail launch in many outlets and raked in more than 200,000 sales in three days.

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OnePlus 2 coming in Q2 or Q3 of 2015, may be smaller

While being an interesting exercise in making high-end smartphones more affordable, the OnePlus One has had its fair share of issues this year - most of them having to do with how hard it's been to get your hands on one.

Regardless, OnePlus the company is growing and apparently it's already planned its next release. This will be the OnePlus 2, and it should be out either in the second or the third quarter of 2015.

So we're talking a rough time frame spanning from April to September. The information comes straight from company execs who did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session over on Reddit today.

Furthermore, OnePlus is seriously thinking about the possibility of making a smaller device. The message for people who have asked them for just such a thing is: "we hear you". It's unclear however if the OnePlus 2 may be smaller than its predecessor, or if the company will launch a different handset alongside it, in order to appeal to the phablet-hating crowd.

Interestingly though, the much-hated invite system will probably be used for the OnePlus 2 as well, at least at the beginning, for a short period of time - after that we should see pre-orders getting under way (hopefully faster than this year).

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Apple is already working on iOS 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3

Apple has gotten us used to one big iOS release per year, followed by a ".1" update a few months later. The big one is tied to the company's new mobile device launches - like, for example, iOS 8 debuted this year alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Things, however, may be changing.

According to an unnamed iOS developer, as well as analytics data for an Apple-focused website, iOS 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 are already in development.

In the past, after the ".1" release, there would only be bug fix iterations of Apple's mobile OS until the next big version hit. But this won't be the case for iOS 8. Although sources say we should expect all of the three aforementioned versions to hit the streets at some point in the future, it's still unclear what this all means.

It could be that Apple won't tie its iOS releases to hardware launches anymore. This will hopefully lead to less situations where the big new iOS version that comes alongside new devices is quite buggy at first. In this case, we may not see an iOS 9 next year, just these incremental updates. One of them might even be tailor made for an upcoming 13-inch iPad.

On the other hand, the company may simply be speeding up software development. If this is true, then there will be an iOS 9 next fall, and 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 will all be out before then. Earlier leaks about iOS 8 talked about it sporting big improvements for the Maps app, but those never came. Maybe they'll be part of one of these updates, which could also bring support for the Apple Watch when that goes on sale, as well as a new split-screen mode for iPads (which has been rumored before).

Finally, there's also a possibility that Apple has simply decided to stop incrementing the number in each iOS release, emulating what it's been doing with Mac OS - which has been at 10.x for years. If this pans out, then there will never be an iOS 9, just many more 8.x releases.

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Motorola Droid Turbo has specs detailed via benchmark

Motorola's next high-end Droid-branded handset for Verizon will apparently be called Droid Turbo. A few days ago we saw the first picture of its back, and today a comprehensive list of its specs has leaked.

This happened because someone put the Droid Turbo through the paces of the GFXBench benchmark, which helpfully has a publicly available list of specs for each device that runs it.

Hence, the Droid Turbo shall come with a 5.2-inch touchscreen with QHD (2,560X1,440) resolution, 3GB of RAM, a 20 MP rear camera, and a 2 MP front snapper.

The smartphone will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset with a 2.65 GHz quad-core CPU and an Adreno 420 GPU. Internal storage is probably going to be 32GB, and the handset should also sport Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, a gyroscope, and a compass. It will run Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

That's all we know for now, but it's plenty to realize that this will be one top of the line device. It's still unclear when it will launch, but given all the recent leaks that has to happen sooner rather than later.

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Samsung Galaxy A3 shows its face in TENAA photos

The Samsung Galaxy A series of smartphones is coming closer to launch and the latest evidence to prove this is the Galaxy A3 hitting the Chinese TENAA. Additionally, we get to see the first photos of the phone showing it in its full glory.

The metal frame of the phone is going to be the the main characterizing aesthetic of the Galaxy A-series with both the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 sporting it.

In terms of specs, the Galaxy A3 is pretty much set in stone. It's going to sport a 4.52-inch AMOLED display with 540x960 pixel resolution and Qualcomm's 64-bit Snapdragon 410 chipset. It is featuring a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, aided by 1GB of RAM.

Internal memory is 8GB expandable via microSD cards. The phone's dimensions, previously reported at 130.1 x 65.5 x 6.9 mm, are confirmed by TENAA, too, as is the weight of the phone - 112 grams. It runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat, which will most likely be updated to Android L.

At the back, the 8MP camera coupled with LED flash will be capable of recording full HD video. The 5MP selfie unit at the front will be also welcome, we're sure. Samsung hasn't hinted a time frame for the Galaxy A series smartphones announcement yet, but with leaks so intense, we guess it's going to be sooner rather than later.

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First Samsung Galaxy Note 4 units plagued by build issues

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 went earlier on sale than originally planned in order to compete with the iPhone 6 Plus. However, it seems that Samsung's rush has resulted in some defective Galaxy Note 4 units, a report from South Korea suggests.

As you can see, there's a gap between the Galaxy Note 4's 5.7" QHD Super AMOLED display and the metal casing next to it. The report suggests, the gap is wide enough to fit 2 sheets of A4 paper or a business card.

There's no official comment from Samsung regarding the mishap of the number of affected Galaxy Note 4 customers. We guess if there are more such cases, we'll be hearing from the company sooner than later.

In South Korea a SIM-free Galaxy Note 4 will run you at approximately $920, which is the cheapest of any Note phablet so far. Pre-orders of the Galaxy Note 4 are already underway in the US. There, the phone is confirmed to launch on AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile on October 14.

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Samsung Galaxy Ace Style LTE with AMOLED screen unveiled

Samsung has silently outed a Galaxy Ace 4 version with an AMOLED display in Germany. The phone is called the Galaxy Ace Style LTE and features a 4.3" Super AMOLED screen with a 800x480 resolution.

The phone is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Internal memory is 4GB, but is expandable thanks to the microSD card slot. At the back of the Galaxy Ace Style LTE, there's a 5MP camera capable of shooting 720p video. It's also joined by an LED flash.

Samsung helps you tell the Galaxy Ace Style LTE apart from the Galaxy Ace 4 by placing a wide, grey accent line on the back cover. Popping it open reveals a 1,900mAh battery. It can last for up to 11 hours of 3G talk time or 9 hours of LTE web browsing.

The single-SIM phone also comes with NFC. It's currently available for purchase in Germany for $199 in black and white.

Thanks for the tip, Taylor!

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Huawei Honor 6 sales kicks off in India on October 6

Huawei Honor 6 was announced back in June featuring company's Kirin 920 chipset with an octa-core processor. It launched this summer in China and is now heading to India.

Huawei will launch the Honor 6 in India on October 6, exclusively via Flipkart. It will become available in black and white flavors and will cost INR 19,999 (€256).

In case you need a refresh, the Huawei Honor 6 packs a 5" 1080p display and runs on the Kirin 920 chipset - an octa-core processor (4x Cortex-A15 @ 1.7GHz, 4x Cortex-A7 @ 1.3GHz), Mali T628 GPU and 3GB of RAM. The rest of the specs include 16GB expandable storage, 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras, and a 3,100 mAh battery.

So, if you live in India, you will be able to purchase the Android KitKat-running Huawei Honor 6 (also known as Glory 6) starting of October 6. Any takers?

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OnePlus to enter Malaysian and Indian markets

A month ago we told you about a job listing on the official web page of OnePlus. The company was looking to hire a General Manager for India. It was the first step to add India in the official list of markets.

Now OnePlus is doing the same for Malaysia. It has opened the same position - General Manager - for Malaysia. The person who takes the job will be running the OnePlus operations in the country.

OnePlus One has gained a massive interest worldwide because of its flagship specifications and super affordable price. So far OnePlus has had a hard time keeping up with the user demand, but the upcoming expansion should be a good sign, right?

Hopefully the people living in India and Malaysia will soon be able to buy the device officially and on fair prices as well.

You can check our in-depth review of the OnePlus One right here.

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Devices with Snapdragon 810 and 808 to come in H1 next year

In April Qualcomm unveiled its flagship 64-bit chipsets - the Snapdragon 810 and 808. The Senior Director of Marketing at Qualcomm has confirmed that sample chipsets have been sent out to device manufacturers, the first launches should be in the first half of next year.

These two chips will be the first to be built on a 20nm process, Samsung's Exynos 5433 and Apple's A8 are already at that level (chips made by Samsung and TSMC respectively). Current Snapdragons use the 28nm process.

The Snapdragon 810 and 808 support both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems and each maker will be free to choose which one they want. 64-bit Android L will be supported from the beginning.

These aren't Qualcomm's only 64-bit chipsets though, there are also the Snapdragon 410, 610 and 615. All five are based on ARM processor cores instead of a new Krait design, the 615, 808 and 810 in particular pack four Cortex-A53 (replacing the A7) and four Cortex-A57 (replacing the A15).

Qualcomm is using its own GPU though. For the Snapdragon 810 it's the Adreno 430, which will bring a 30% performance increase over the Adreno 420 found in Snapdragon 805. The 808 chipset will use a lower-power part, Adreno 418, which is good for a 30% bump over the old Adreno 330.

The two new Snapdragon 8xx top dogs support LPDDR4 RAM connecting to it over two 32bit channels at 1600MHz.

On the wireless side there's LTE Cat. 6 connectivity (300Mbps downlink) familiar from the current Snapdragon 805.

We can expect to see demos the first Snapdragon 810 and 808 devices at CES, Vivo may already have one in the works.

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Dual-SIM Meizu MX4 leaks with YunOS in tow

A photo and a bunch of screenshots of a dual-SIM Meizu MX4 have made their way to Weibo. The phone is purported to be the Meizu MX4 Mini and the screenshots reveal the phone is running a custom ROM made by retail giant Alibaba.

Dubbed YunOS 3.0, the Android ROM aims to replace Google's services with its own in order to provide more relevant localized content. The screenshots, which you can look at below, show dual-network indicators on the top left.

The mini version of the Meizu MX4 is rumored to sport a 5" display and pack a MediaTek MT6732 chip with a quad-core 64-bit CPU. However, this is still a wild rumor and nothing substantial has leaked so far to confirm it.

Meizu launched the MX4 in the beginning of September with a 5.36" IPS display of 1152x1920 resolution. It's powered by the latest generation MediaTek MT6595 chipset. It offers an octa-core CPU with four Cortex-A17 cores @ 2.2GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores @ 1.7GHz cores. Furthermore, the company has been leaked to prepare an MX4 Pro. It's going to come with a similarly sized display, but with a bumped resolution of 2,560x1,536.

The Meizu MX4 Pro will reportedly be powered by a Samsung Exynos 5430 chipset, which will feature an octa-core CPU. This will have four Cortex-A17 cores clocked at up to 2.6 GHz, and four Cortex-A15 cores clocked at up to 2.1 GHz. Aiding the top notch SoC will apparently be no less than 4GB of RAM.

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BlackBerry launches the Passport in India

BlackBerry has launched its newest smartphone, the BlackBerry Passport, in India. The phone is priced at a steep ₹49,990 ($813), about the same as most flagship Android phones and even more than the current iPhone 5s pricing in India.

The BlackBerry Passport has an unusual shape that is actually the exact same size as an actual international passport. It has an oddly shaped 4.5-inch, 1440x1440 resolution, perfectly square display, full QWERTY keyboard with a capacitive touch layer on the keys for performing gestures, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage space, 13 megapixel camera (that takes square photos), BlackBerry OS 10.3 with Android app support and Amazon Appstore pre-installed.

The Passport will be available through Amazon India exclusively till October 10. The phone will be available for pre-order soon.

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Huawei Honor Tablet debuts with 8" display and 3G

Huawei quietly launched the 8” Honor Tablet in Malaysia. The budget-friendly 3G slate with metal-clad body will be available to pre-order on September 29 for RM. 599 (about $184).

Huawei Honor Tablet features Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 MSM8212 chipset with 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and a gig of RAM. There’s 16GB of built-in memory, which can be further expanded via microSD card slot.

The screen of the device is an 8” IPS unit with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. A 5MP main camera, VGA front-facing unit, and 3G connectivity with HSPA+ are also on board. Huawei Honor Tablet boots Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Emotion UI 1.6.

The device is 7.9mm thick and weighs 360 grams. It is powered by a 4,800mAh battery.

It is hardly a surprise that Malaysia is the launch market for the tablet. A recent report by IDC revealed that tablets with 3G connectivity are quite popular in Asia.

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iPhone 6 sales in China tipped to begin on October 10

According to a new report, Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus might go on sale in China on October 10. The devices’ launch in the vital consumer market is yet be officially confirmed.

The October 10 sales launch was allegedly revealed in an Apple retail store preparation timeline, which was presented during an employee-training course. Product readiness training is expected to begin on October 7.

Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus recently got China Compulsory Certification (3C), as well as approval from the State Radio Regulation of China. The handsets still need network access licenses in order to be allowed to go on sale.

Sales in China will be vital for Apple’s fiscal performance during the quarter that includes the holiday shopping season. Last year, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were available in the vast market during their official launch weekend.

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New Oppo N3 renders appear, Snapdragon 805 confirmed

Oppo N3 has been teased a few times already by Oppo. We know it will be announced this October in Singapore and it will come in two flavors - aluminum lithium alloy and stainless steel. You will be able to choose between the lightweight and durability.

Previous leaks also suggested the Oppo N3 will be coming with a similar design and swiveling camera as the Oppo N1 predecessor. Today we can shed some more light on the design thanks to a new renders of the device.

As you can see the pictured N3 looks a lot like the Oppo N1.

The new Oppo N3, according to the guy delivering the renders, will pack a 5.9" 1080p display and will run on the latest Snapdragon 805 chipset with 3GB of RAM. Just like before the camera will be capable of 206-degree rotation and will feature a 13MP sensor with dual-LED flash.

The Oppo N3 is expected to launch on October 29. We bet Oppo will give us a lot more clues while we are waiting.

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