A couple of weeks after it went on sale in select markets around the world, the LG-made Nexus 5X smartphone is now available for pre-order across Europe. All you have to do is to head to Google Play and place your order.

As for the price, like we already told you, the device is expensive in Europe – the 16GB model costs €479 ($527), while the 32GB one will set you back €529 ($582). This compares to the US, where it carries a price tag of around $380. Plus, there’s no $50 Play Store credit or 90-day Play Music subscription that buyers in the US get.

However, reportedly, buyers in some European countries – like Spain, Italy, Germany, and France – are getting a free Chromecast with the purchase of the handset. As for the shipments, the date mentioned is November…

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For whatever reason, Amazon has started celebrating Black Friday today. And this will go on for around seven weeks, believe it or not, with different deals each day. The best offer of today is that for the Moto X (2nd Gen).

You can now buy last year’s flagship smartphone from Motorola for only $199.99. This price is for an unlocked unit that’s compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile. The only caveat is that you need to hurry – the deal is only valid by the end of the day. So, according to Amazon’s own timer, you have just a few hours left to take advantage of the ridiculously low price of this handset, that’s still got decent specs even in this day and age.

As for color options, you can pick between three: white front with bamboo back, black with soft touch back, or black with leather…

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Last week a controversial report from the Wall Street Journal claimed that Google is working on ‘folding’ Chrome OS into Android. The new, combined operating system would apparently launch in 2017, although it’s said to already have been in the works for a couple of years.

Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome OS, and Chromecast, soon after put out a tweet disputing the information, and today he’s written an entire official blog post about the situation.

“Chrome OS is here to stay”, he says, trying to once and for all put an end to all the speculation. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Google wanting (or “needing”) to combine its two operating systems, although oddly not many in the media seem as convinced that Apple should do the same with Mac OS and iOS.

Lockheimer clearly states that “there’s no plan to phase out Chrome OS”. And he also uses the occasion to give us some stats regarding Chrome OS. Every school day, 30,000 new Chromebooks are activated in US classrooms, which is more than all of their competitors combined. 2 million teachers and students in more than 150 countries have the Share to Classroom Chrome extension, which gets students all onto the same webpage instantly. This seems to imply that Chrome the browser or Chrome OS is a staple in classrooms across the world, not just the US.

The Google SVP also name-drops the upcoming Asus Chromebit (pictured above), which is apparently going to be available in the next couple of weeks for $85. The Chromebit is a Chrome OS running HDMI dongle that can turn any TV into a computer.

Finally, we’re being given an idea of what to expect from Chrome OS in the future: a new media player, a visual refresh based on Material Design, improved performance, and a continued focus on security. Oh, and “dozens” of new Chromebooks should be announced next…

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Asus loves confusing people with the names of its products, so today it’s launching the Zenfone 2 Laser in the US. Only, this being Asus, of course there’s a catch when it comes to the name. See, this isn’t the internationally available Zenfone 2 Laser. Actually, it’s none of them – since there are amazingly no less than four different Zenfone 2 Laser models out there already: the ZE500KL, ZE500KG, ZE550KL, and the ZE601KL.

In the US, however, you’re getting the never before seen Zenfone 2 Laser ZE551KL. This device comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera with laser autofocus (hence the name) and dual-tone LED flash, a 5 MP selfie cam, 3GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of expandable storage, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 SoC running the show (with a 1.7 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 4G LTE, dual-SIM functionality, and a 3,000 mAh battery. Android 5.0 Lollipop is the OS version employed, underneath Asus’ own ZenUI.

The ZE551KL is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, and MVNOs operating on those carriers’ frequencies. It won’t work on Verizon, Sprint, or other CDMA carriers. The smartphone should become available today at the Asus online store and Newegg.

For the 16GB version, you’ll have to pay $199, while the model with 32GB of built-in storage will go for $249. The prices are valid without any requirement of signing a long-term carrier contract, as the phone is being sold unlocked.

Source |…

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The BlackBerry Priv isn’t the only device for which AT&T has announced availability details today. The carrier is going to launch two smartwatches this month, and both of them have mobile data connectivity.

We’re talking about the Samsung Gear S2 and the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. Both of these will be up for pre-order in stores and online starting on November 6, which is this Friday. These two watches will be the first ones to have installment plans available for them at AT&T.

Of the two, the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE will become available first, on November 13. It will cost $199.99 with a new two-year contract, or $15 per month for 20 months using the Next installment plan, adding up to a full retail price of $300.

The Samsung Gear S2 will be out on November 20, while its pricing will be identical to that of the LG model – including the installment plan’s details.

The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE runs Android Wear and represents a slight upgrade over the original Watch Urbane, while the Gear S2 is Samsung’s first round smartwatch, and it runs Tizen for…

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AT&T has just announced that it’s going to be the first US carrier to sell the BlackBerry Priv. This, as you may know, is BlackBerry’s first smartphone to run Android, and it has a sliding form factor, complete with the trademark BlackBerry physical keyboard.

BlackBerry has essentially been unveiling the Priv bit by bit, little by little, for the past few months. So it’s good to see it finally reaching stores.

AT&T will have the Priv in stock at retail outlets nationwide, as well as online, starting on November 6, which is this Friday. The handset will cost $249.99 with a new two-year contract. You’ll also be able to get it using AT&T’s Next installment plans, shelling out nothing upfront, then followed by either 30 monthly payments of $24.67, 24 monthly installments of $30.84, or you could pay $37 for 20 months.

The BlackBerry Priv runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, and it has a 5.4-inch QHD touchscreen, an 18 MP main camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, OIS, phase detection autofocus, and a dual-tone LED flash, a 2 MP selfie camera, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 SoC at the helm, and a 3,410 mAh…

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There’s quite a lot to the LG V10 – a flagship, a phablet, a camera phone, a rugged phone, a Hi-Fi phone and the first of the new V-series. It’s a feature-packed device and its signature feature is the secondary always-on display and a dual selfie camera.

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The Huawei Mate 8 has proven quite an elusive device to say the least. Despite frequent visits to the rumor mill in the last few months, we are still not entirely sure what to make of the eagerly-anticipated Ascend Mate 7 successor. All the information we have so far seems to be oddly mixed with rumors of the Huawei Mate S, but with the latter now official, we are more inclined to believe a recently uncovered GFXBench listing, that is said to come from the Mate 8.

According to it, the beastly handset, referred to as “Huawei NXT-AL10”, will spout a large 6.0-inch display, just like previous rumors have suggested. However, another recent source hints at QHD resolution, whereas this result suggest a FullHD panel. It might be a detection issues or perhaps even a forced resolution, as the rest of the data does seem to mostly match up.

The phone is said to be powered by the OEM’s new custom Kirin 950 chipset. It promises to deliver unprecedented power thanks to a 16nm FinFET production process and a big.LITTLE architecture, with four Cortex-A72 cores running at 2.2 GHz or perhaps even 2.4 GHz and another four Cortex-A53 ones, clocked at 2.0 GHz.

The bundled GPU is the impressive ARM Mali-T880, which should also be joined by an i7 coprocessor and a Tensilica Hi-Fi 4 independent audio chip. The GFXBench sheet also lists 4GB of RAM and 64GB of on-board storage (well 3.7GB and 53GB, to be exact) and previous info also hints at a less powerful 3GB version, with 32GB of bundled space.

As for the camera, what was previously said to be a 13MP main shooter is now being reported as 15MP, with a maximum resolution of 4608 x 3456 pixels. Some quick math reviews that this is actually a lot closer to 16MP. The second camera is said to be 7MP with a resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels.

Other specs on the Mate 8 should include dual SIM support, a microSD card slot, NFC and perhaps also a fingerprint reader and Force Touch display, like the Mate S, but the latter two are largely unconfirmed. In any case, we will know for sure come November 26, when Huawei should finally unveil the phone. The high-end device is said to carry a CNY 3,299 ($520) price tag for the 3GB RAM variant and CNY 3,899 ($610) for the 4GB one.

Source…

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Nearly five months after it was announced, the Android 5.1 Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12.1 update has started rolling out to the Yu Yureka and Yurerka Plus smartphones. The news was announced by the company’s CEO Rahul Sharma. “We understand it took longer than usual but we wanted to put up something concrete and ensure its worth your wait,” he said in a forum post. “Apologies for a longer wait time.”

He also sent out a tweet announcing the news:

Sure it took longer but the final stable 12.1 update for all YUREKA & YUREKA Plus users is rolling out NOW. Play on http://ift.tt/1RoUtw2 Rahul Sharma (@rahulsharma) November 2, 2015

The update – carrying a software version of YOG4PAS3JM – brings several new features, including a new launcher that is claimed to be redesigned for one-handed use, increased support of codecs for video and audio playback, “amazing” thermal control, as well as a LiveDisplay feature that the company says intelligently adjusts your screen based on environmental conditions.

Following this roll out, a similar update would hit the Yu Yuphoria smarphone, it was…

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Aiming to improve its customer support and services, Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus has announced a new smartphone warranty program. Launched in collaboration with Simplesurance and B2X in Europe and India, respectively, the service on the Old Continent is called On-Guard, while the latter’s offerings include OnePlus Service2 and Protect2.

The On-Guard plan will cover breakage, accidental or liquid damage, damage caused due to dropping and even vandalism. It costs €39.99 for 12 months and €64.99 for 24 moths. Those interested can purchase the plan on oneplus.net upon checkout for their OnePlus smartphone.

However, keep in mind that you can purchase the On-Guard plan only within 15 days of the purchase, which means if you are a OnePlus One owner, or have purchased the OnePlus 2 prior to this, you are currently out of luck. “These services will also be extending to the OnePlus X, upon its sale in the respective regions,” the company said in a blog post.

Details related to B2X’s OnePlus Service2 and Protect2 plans can be accessed by heading to the Source link below.

“For our friends in the United States and Canada – stay tuned! We are partnering with another esteemed brand with experience in smartphone insurance to bring you services catered to our North American market,” OnePlus…

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