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Samsung compares the Galaxy S6 edge to the iPhone 6 in two new ads

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It’s been a while since we’ve seen Samsung go the iPhone-bashing route in its ads, but now the Korean company is back at it. A couple of new commercials have been posted to its official YouTube channel, and they both basically compare the Galaxy S6 edge to the iPhone 6.

You can probably imagine which device is better in Samsung’s perspective. Not all 6s are created equal, it appears, as in this case 6 > 6. Read more »

Oppo is giving away an R7 in honor of its partnership with FC Barcelona

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Just a few days ago we told you about Oppo’s deal with FC Barcelona, which means the Chinese smartphone maker will be the Catalan football club’s sponsor for three years. And now Oppo is in the mood to celebrate the tie-up with FC Barcelona, since it’s decided to give away an R7.

To win the smartphone, all you need to do is go to the special website for the competition and click on the big green “Support” button. That will then open a widget which will guide you through the rest of the process. It looks like you might need to do some sharing over social media and whatnot. Read more »

An unlucky LG G4 survives a two-hour long dip in water

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The LG G4 is a truly impressive device and in a lot of ways, more traditional than other current flagships. An interesting YouTube video reveals that LG’s latest creation is not just good looking, but also quite tough.

The video itself follows the LG G4 as it spends over two hours submerged in water and manages to stay on in the process. This is quite an impressive feat, especially from a device that has no official IP rating. Still, the internals seem to be sealed off quite efficiently and the only real concern is shorting the battery. Read more »

it168 takes the Meizu m2 apart, makes it look easy

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It’s not iFixit, but it168 took apart the new Meizu m2 note and gives a guided tour of its internals. The phone seems easy enough to repair, most things coming apart easily with some encouragement from a screwdriver.

The m2 note is an low-cost, highly capable phablet. CNY 999 ($160) gets you a 5.5″ 1080p IGZO screen, octa-core processor (A53) running customized Android 5.0 Lollipop, global LTE and a 2160p-capable 13MP camera. Read more »

Samsung Pay to launch in US and South Korea in September this year

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Over a month after announcing that its mobile payments service will be launched in the second half of 2015, Samsung has confirmed that Samsung Pay will debut this September in the United States and South Korea.

The confirmation came from the company’s Executive Vice President Rhee In Jong, who also revealed that the service will be launched in conjunction with Samsung’s next high-end mobile device, which – given the time frame – could well be the Galaxy Note 5. Read more »

Hands-on with Huawei P8 lite for the US market

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We managed to spend quality time with the freshly announced Huawei P8 lite for the US market. The smartphone is already available to order in the United States directly from Huawei’s online store.

Huawei P8 lite features the same design language as the company’s P8 flagship. Read more »

Moto X (2nd Gen) is now 26% cheaper in India

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The second generation Moto X, the one launched in 2014, is now the subject of an interesting deal over in India. You can purchase the device from Flipkart, the country’s biggest online retailer, for just INR 21,999.

This currently amounts to approximately $343 or €305. But what’s most important is that it’s 26% less than the normal price of the device for India, which is INR 29,999 ($468 or €415). Read more »

Apple loses trademark case against Philippine company behind My|Phone

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Apple has lost a trademark case against Solid Group, a Philippine-based tech company behind My|Phone. The Cupertino-based giant had contended that the name is “confusingly similar” to the iPhone, and is “likely to deceive or cause confusion.”

“This is a case of a giant trying to claim more territory than what it is entitled to, to the great prejudice of a local ‘Pinoy Phone’ merchant who has managed to obtain a significant foothold in the mobile phone market through the marketing and sale of innovative products under a very distinctive trademark,” said Nathaniel Arevalo, director of Philippines’ Intellectual Property Office (IPO), adding that there is “absolutely no confusing similarity between My|Phone trademark (of Solid) and the iPhone trademark (of Apple).” Read more »

Apple’s new ‘Shot on iPhone 6′ campaign focuses on video

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After publishing a series of photographs on its website from users using the iPhone 6, and then eventually using it for offline advertising, Apple is now turning to video.

Just like the previous campaign, the new Shot on iPhone 6 campaign has content from users around the world shot on the iPhone 6, except instead of photos they are videos. Apple’s website has seven different videos, showcasing different aspects iPhone 6 videography, such as slowmotion, timelapse, an even macro using a lens adaptor. Read more »

Nexus 6 is now $150 cheaper, Nexus 9 nets you $50 Google Play credit

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At the moment, Google is holding some limited time promos in its hardware store. Clearly the best deal is to be had for the Motorola Nexus 6. This smartphone is now $150 cheaper than its normal price.

That means the 32GB model can be yours for just $499, while the 64GB version now costs $549. There’s no telling how long these offers will last, by the way, so if you’ve always craved a Nexus 6 but couldn’t quite get yourself to pay the whole price, now may be the time to act – fast. Read more »

Android 5.1 to bring RAW support and lower ISO values for the camera of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge

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It’s already been rumored once before that the Android 5.1 update will bring RAW support to the camera of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. This update might make its way to devices this month or in July.

Today a new rumor comes to confirm the addition of RAW support in the camera arriving with Android 5.1 on Samsung’s latest flagships. Furthermore, lower ISO values will also be added. Read more »

Oppo is now an official partner of FC Barcelona for three years

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Tie-ups between smartphone makers and football teams are nothing new, as you may know. But this is the first we’ve seen Oppo go this route. The Chinese company has inked a partnership agreement with FC Barcelona, one of the biggest football clubs on the planet.

The deal has been signed for three years. During this time, the Oppo brand will be visible at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, and you should probably expect to see some cooperation in the field of TV ads too. Read more »

The YotaPhone revealed to come with a handy backdoor for the FSB [Updated with official statement]

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Most of you surely remember the YotaPhone – that quirky Russian handset, equipped with a second e-ink display. Well, as it turns out, the dual-screen setup might not be the most interesting thing in the smartphone after all.

Some new official information reveals that the Russian smartphone, produced by the government-sponsored Rostech corporation, comes with a backdoor, which allows tapping into the device for surveillance purposes. This was revealed by Sergey Chemezov, head of Rostech and former KGB agent. Read more »

YotaPhone 2 price in Russia gets a significant cut

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YotaPhone 2 is among the most interesting and innovative smartphones on the market today. It offers a dual-display configuration with a front 5″ 1080p AMOLED screen and a rear 4.7″ e-paper always-on panel. There is also a Snapdragon 801 chip to power everything, 32GB storage and very good 8MP rear snapper as we’ve concluded in our review.

The YotaPhone 2 costs as much as any other competitive flagship, though its launch price ins Russia went even higher due to the unstable currency. Well, this is changing today as Yota Devices cut the price of the YotaPhone 2 with 17%. Read more »

Microsoft Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 battery life test

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Microsoft Lumia 435 and Lumia 532 are among the most affordable smartphones out there. Both devices are quite similar – they pack 4″ WVGA screens, run on Snapdragon 200 chips with 1GB RAM, offer 8 gigs of internal expandable storage and basic camera departments.

The Lumia 435 comes with a dual-core Cortex-A7 processor and 2MP cam, while the Lumia 532 model packs a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and 5MP snapper. Both run on Windows Phone 8.1 with Update 1 and are powered by 1,560 mAh batteries. Read more »