UK’s O2 is planning to start offering the BQ Aquaris X5 this December and it turns out this might very well be the first Cyanogen OS phone that you can buy on contract in the country, perhaps even the EU. And while the phone itself isn’t really spectacular in any way, we do hope it catches some attention as it could potentially set the tone for a future broadening of carrier device portfolios.

It is no secret that most people tent to buy on-contract devices, as it is generally cheaper, not to mention immensely more convenient for not so “tech-savvy” users. This is definitely not a bad trend in itself, but it is also no secret that most carrier are naturally going to stack up on devices that are going to sale, which currently boils down to a large quantity of entry-level, often even custom branded models and just as many trusted name-brand mid-rangers, like Samsung, Sony or Lumia. Last, but not least, a select few of the very best flagships the market has to offer.

This “safe” portfolio does limit variety and leaves out most of the really tantalizing offers, but also limits most users stuck to only a basic three-way choice of OS – iOS, Android or Windows (yes, yes, we know, there is the occasional BlackBerry too).

But what about all the platform we nerds get to enjoy, like Cyanogen? Why can’t my dad get it as well? The OS has come a long way since its expert-oriented roots and now has features like the integrated Privacy Guard and Truecaller dialer with spam protection, that hold a universal appeal. Well, hopefully the BQ Aquaris X5 is the first step to breaking the status quo.

As already mentioned, the Spanish handset is one of the select few to run on Cyanogen OS out of the box, just like the OnePlus One did before it moved on to its own Oxygen OS. As already mentioned, its specs sheet doesn’t exactly spell out power. It offers a 5.0 inch 720p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 412 processor, clocked at 1.4GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a camera setup, featuring a 13MP rear shooter and a 5MP one on the front. Running the show is a 2900mAh battery. There is also dual SIM support and 4G connectivity.

It might not be breaking benchmarks any time soon, but the handset still offers more than enough power to breeze through everyday tasks with the added bonus of full control over said hardware, courtesy of Cyanogen. The BQ Aquaris X5 will be available on O2’s Refresh scheme, with plans starting at £19.50 a month (plus a £9.99 upfront cost) for 500 minutes and 500 megabytes of 4G data along with unlimited…

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Fallout 4, which came out on November 10 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC, had a record breaking launch. According to publisher Bethesda, a whopping 12 million copies of the game – which the company said represented “sales in excess of $750 million” – were shipped on the launch day.

“Major retailers have informed Bethesda of the tremendous consumer interest in Fallout 4, with some noting it was the most pre-ordered game this year,” the publisher said. Interestingly, world’s largest pornography website PornHub revealed that its traffic dropped by as much as 10 percent when the game released.

Keep in mind that the 12 million figure is the number of copies that were shipped to retailers – it isn’t yet known how many were actually bought by customers. For comparison, the company’s last game – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – saw 7 million copies shipped in the first two days.

Via (GameSpot) | Via…

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The Vivo X6 is coming, no doubt about it. Despite hearing about the handset fairly recently, the alleged flagship has already managed to stir up a lot of commotion, going through the hoops with teasers about 4GB of RAM and an e-payment compatible fingerprint reader, rumors, PR shots and even unearthed certifications – a rather full set. The latest piece of information also comes courtesy of a certification authority. This time the phone made a visit to TENAA.

Sadly, the listing is yet to feature its usual specs rundown, but it does offers a few detailed photos of the unit from all angles. The uniform finish on the back, along with the two antenna lines make it abundantly clear that the X6 will have a metal body and a very clean one indeed. The widely-discussed fingerprint reader, a Vivo first, is also clearly visible, with a very Huawei-like positioning. Other control placement looks fairly standard with power and volume on the right and a SIM tray on the left.

The camera on the X6 appears to have a slight bump, as evident by the side-shot and we can’t help but notice that on one of the photos, the camera appears much lower than it should be. If you have any thoughts on whether it is just a mix-up or not, we would love to read them in the comment section.

TENAA might have skipped on specs for the Vivo X6, but we have already gathered quire a lot of information on the subject from previous leaks. The rumor mill hints at a spacious 6″ QHD screen with Force Touch in a 4mm thick frame, a 10-core MediaTek Helio X20 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 21MP camera on the back, 12MP front-facing one and a 4,000mAh battery. There’s even talk of 1GB of dedicated video RAM, as in a discreet video solution! Sadly, none of this has been confirmed yet. The official release of the Vivo X6 is expected later this month.

Source(in Chinese) |…

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Less than a week after an iFixit teardown for the iPad Pro revealed a USB 3.0 controller, Apple has confirmed that the tablet’s Lightning port is compatible with the new USB standard, something which the company didn’t advertise initially.

This means that the iPad Pro will support transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps, which is more than 10 times faster than the USB 2.0’s theoretical maximum of 480Mbps.

However, keep in mind that the cable the tablet ships with is a standard USB 2.0 one, which means you’ll have to purchase a separate USB 3.0 adapter to take advantage of the feature – sadly, such an adapter doesn’t exist…

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Ever since the original OnePlus One, the Chinese OEM has been investing heftily in proper customer service. One prominent fruit of all the effort are the extended service plans that, much like Apple Care, offer some piece of mind that most accidents and damage to your beloved handset will be taken care of diligently in a certified service center.

Naturally, said programs were extended to cover the OnePlus 2 as well and have been available since November in Europe and India. Now the OEM is making good on its promise to extend the service even further and make it available for OnePlus X units in India.

The plans in question come courtesy of local partner B2X and can be carried out within any of the 59 OnePlus service center across India. Called On-Guard Plus on On-Guard and with price tags of INR 999 and INR 699, respectively, both build upon and compliment or extend the manufacturer’s one year default warranty. The details of the coverage are as follows:

B2X On-Guard Plus for OnePlus X

Extends manufacturer’s warranty by 1 additional year

Fully covered during 2nd year of purchase

Single window support by B2X and OnePlus

Direct Support by Authorized Service Centres

Need to be purchased within 120 days of purchase of the OnePlus X and register at B2X within 10 days of purchase of plan

B2X On-Guard for OnePlus X

Fully covered during 1st year of purchase

Accidental damage and liquid damage protection

100% cashless coverage

Free pick-up and drop services

Direct Support by Authorized Service Centres

Single window support by B2X and OnePlus

Need to be purchased within 10 days of purchase of the OnePlus X and register at B2X within 7 days of purchase of plan

You can pick up the one that suits you from Amazon today. Just hit the source links. You can also check out our in-depth review of the OnePlus X if you are currently considering to pick one up.

Source 1 | Source 2 |…

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OnePlus has announced that it has started rolling out the OxygenOS 2.1.2 update to the OP2. The company says this is an incremental roll out, so if you own a OP2 smartphone and haven’t received an OTA update notification yet, you’ll have to be patient and wait for it.

As for the update, it features improved UX for preview in Camera as well as performance improvements on app install and launch. It also brings support for lockscreen wallpaper, individual icon customization, and Russian & Turkish language.

Aside from this, the update also includes security patches, as well as fixes for RAW format on 3rd party camera apps and bugs related to System Update. Some general bug fixes and performance improvements are also…

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Following a similar promotion in the UK and Germany, Microsoft is now offering a free Display Dock with each Lumia 950 XL in the United States and Canada, too. Interestingly, it was initially mentioned that the offer will be valid for the Lumia 950 as well, but shortly thereafter the references to the handset were removed.

As for the offer, it’ll only be valid with purchase and offer registration between November 25 and January 31 while supplies last. The promotional code that users receive will have to be redeemed using the Lumia Offers app on the Microsoft Store, something which can be done until February 29, 2016.

It’s worth mentioning that both Lumia 950 and 950 XL aren’t yet available for purchase. While the former will be an AT&T exclusive in the US (expected to go on sale next week), the latter will be available directly from Microsoft.

Source 1 2 |…

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The Gionee GN8001 – which along with the Gionee GN5001L and GN5002 was certified by China’s 3C earlier this month – has now passed through the country’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center (TENAA).

The listing on TENAA’s website reveals that the device is powered by a 1.3 GHz octa-core processor, and sports a large 6.0-inch (1920 × 1080 pixel resolution) AMOLED display. It has 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable internal memory.

In terms of camera, the listing says the Gionee GN8001 would feature at-least 8MP rear unit (could also go up to 13MP) and a 5MP front shooter. Weighing in at 206 gms and measuring 160.7×81.0×8.2 (mm), the handset runs Android 5.1 out-of-the-box. Connectivity options reportedly include 4G LTE, 3G, Bluetooth, GPS, and USB, while color options include silver.

Source |…

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According to the usually reliable leakster @evleaks, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is already being tested in the US. Specifically, he said that two variants of the handset (SM-G930A and SM-G935A) – which should be the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge – are under testing at AT&T.

AT&T already testing both Galaxy S7 variants (SM-G930A and -G935A), adding weight to rumors of an early- to mid-1Q16 release.— Evan Blass (@evleaks) November 13, 2015

The revelation adds weight to a recent rumor suggesting the flagship device(s) would be announced on February 21 2016 – just a day before next year’s Mobile World Congress.

As for the specs, there’s not much known at the moment, although there have been rumors that the device would sport a magnesium build, feature a USB Type-C port, and will come with 3D Touch-like features. A recent report also suggested that half of the Galaxy S7 units would be powered by the South Korean company’s next generation Exynos 8890 chipset, while the other half would feature Snapdragon…

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At the 56th Battery Symposium in Japan, Huawei showed off their new quick charging lithium-ion batteries that the company claims can be charged to half the capacity in just a few minutes. “Using next generation technology, these new batteries have achieved a charging speed 10 times faster than that of normal batteries,” the Chinese company said in a press release.

Huawei demoed the technology by showing off a 600 mAh battery that charged to 68% capacity in just two minutes, as well as a 3000 mAh battery that charged to 48% capacity in five minutes.

The company also explained the behind-the-scenes working of the technology. “According to Huawei, the company bonded heteroatoms to the molecule of graphite in anode, which could be a catalyst for the capture and transmission of lithium through carbon bonds. Huawei stated that the heteroatoms increase the charging speed of batteries without decreasing energy density or battery…

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