Xiaomi’s new Mi Bluetooth speaker has an all-aluminum body and a 1,500mAh battery that should be good for up to 8h of music playback.

The Mi Bluetooth speaker offers built-in DSP (Digital Signal Processing) courtsy of a Anerva AV3102 chipset. It also has a microSD slot so you can play music off a card and there is also a built-in mic for taking calls hands-free.

Xiaomi rates the speaker to reach loudness of up to 90db measured at 0.5m, but has reportedly been optimized for low distortion at high volume levels.

Best of all, the new Mi Bluetooth speaker will cost only CNY 199 or around USD $31.

The speaker will be available in Gold, Blue and Pink paintjobs….

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Apple’s new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will become available this Friday, on September 25, but that apparently hasn’t stopped the company and its carrier partners from sending out pre-ordered units early.

One AT&T customer in the US was happy to receive her rose gold iPhone 6s today. She shared a few pictures of the phone and its box to prove that what she’s saying is true, but thankfully she also decided to benchmark the new handset.

Rose gold iPhone 6s delivered

As you can see from the images below (click the thumbnails for the full size versions), the Apple A9 chipset in the iPhone 6s is unsurprisingly faster than its predecessors.

iPhone 6s benchmarks

The benchmark used was Geekbench, and the iPhone 6s managed to obtain a 2,292 single-core score, and 4,293 for the multi-core run. A subsequent run seems to have turned up 2,413 in the single-core benchmark, which is a lot more than past Apple devices. The closest is the iPad mini with Retina Display, which managed to score 1,384 with its A7 chip.

If you’re wondering how the iPhone 6s compares to the top dogs in the Android world, have a look at the image above. The short version is this: Apple’s product loses out in the multi-core test, but wins in the single-core benchmark. This is somewhat logical, considering that Apple’s mobile SoC designs have so far concentrated on using few but highly optimized cores. On the other hand, Android devices generally have more cores to work with.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge scores 5,188 in the multi-core run, but only 1,495 in the single-core test, as you can see. Even so, it’s the closest to the iPhone 6s when it comes to single-core performance.

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Nearly a couple of weeks ago, Google released a new, completely redesigned Wallet app for Android, while the existing Wallet app was updated to Android Pay. Now, the company has released an update to the Wallet’s iOS app, bringing features similar to its Android counterpart.

The update, which bumps the app to version 10.16.10, makes it even easier for you to send money to anyone in the US having an email address, even if they don’t have Wallet. The updated app now also now allows you to cash out directly to your debit card.

However, the support for loyalty cards, gift cards, and offers has been removed – you can export them here. The updated app can be downloaded from the App Store.

Source | Via | Image…

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It seems Xiaomi’s business plans are not limited to device manufacturing only. Alongside the launch of the Xiaomi Mi 4c, which will be made for the Chinese market only, the company had another important announcement to make.

Xiaomi is launching a mobile service, called Mi Mobile as a first step in the telco business. Of course, in this case, the company only serves as a reseller under what is widely used in the industry MVNO model – or a Mobile Virtual Network Operator.

Xiaomi Mi Mobile launches with two plans, which are supposed to simplify the reportedly complex pricing plans on the Chinese mobile market.

The first plan uses the network of China Unicom and will be available for purchase on Mi.com starting tomorrow, Sept 23. It will offer calls, messages and mobile data in a familiar prepaid format and 1min of calltime, 1SMS and 1MB of data cost 0.10RMB each.

The second plan will make use of the China Telecom network and will have a low monthly fee, which will get you 3GB data. You would still get calls and message functionality at an extra cost of CNY0.10 per 1min of calltime or 1SMS.

Interestingly, this second plan will only be available in a public beta at first, starting…

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A total of 3,000 OnePlus 2 invites are up for grabs in India, where the Chinese company is running a competition that will go on for 2 days (today & tomorrow). Dubbed #InviteCarnival, the competition involves answering love quizzes, puzzles, and trivia.

“Be among the first few to answer them and bag an invite,” the company said on its official forum. “Total of 3,000 invites are up for grabs! With the passage of time, we will roll out more number of invites.”

As with any competition, there are some rules and regulations: only one entry per contest will be considered; only one invite will be shared with one fan; you are allowed to participate in as many contests as you want; winners will be selected on the first come first serve basis.

Hit the last two links below to participate.

Source 1 2…

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As scheduled, Xiaomi has announced the launch of its Mi 4c smartphone today. The China-only device is priced starting at RMB 1,299 ($204), and will be available from September 23 (tomorrow) on Mi.com and Tmall.

Specs-wise, the handset is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 808 chipset offering a hexa-core CPU with two Cortex-A57 cores and four Cortex-A53 cores, along with Adreno 418 GPU. It sports a 5-inch 1080p display, and comes in 2GB/3GB (RAM) and 16GB/32GB (storage) options.

In terms of camera, the Mi 4c features a 13 MP rear unit which supports phase detection autofocus (PDAF), and a 5MP selfie shooter.

Measuring 7.8mm and weighing in at 132g (which is 11g less than the iPhone 6s), the device packs in a 3080mAh battery, supports Quick Charge 2.0, and features a USB Type-C port having a reversible design.

There’s also a built-in IR blaster that the company claims lets you control more than 2000 different appliances, including dSLR cameras, from the device.

On the software side, the smartphone comes with a new Edge Tap feature that allows it to respond to light taps. As the company explains, “A double tap on one side allows you to go back easily without having to stretch for the Back button, and a single tap on the side while in the camera app snaps a photo.”

The handset runs the company’s MIUI 6 OS, although Xiaomi says that an upgrade to MIUI 7 will happen soon. As for the price, the 2GB/16GB variant will cost RMB 1,299 ($204), while the 3GB/32GB variant will set you back RMB 1,499 ($235). Color options include white, grey, pink, yellow and…

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Oyster – a company that offers Netflix-like subscription service for e-books- is shutting down. The start-up, which was founded a couple of years ago, said that the process will complete “over the next several months.”

“We believe more than ever that the phone will be the primary reading device globally over the next decade—enabling access to knowledge and stories for billions of people worldwide,” the company said in a blog post. “Looking forward, we feel this is best seized by taking on new opportunities to fully realize our vision for ebooks.”

Users will receive an email regarding their account in the next few weeks, Oyster said, adding that those looking for a refund can contact the company at refunds@oysterbooks.com.

Meanwhile, Google has confirmed that a number of Oyster employees, including CEO Eric Stromberg and co-founders Andrew Brown and Willem Van Lancker, have joined the company, and will now be a part of its Google Play Books team.

Source |…

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Chinese smartphone vendor Coolpad has announced a new, ultra budget-friendly smartphone. Dubbed Rogue, the device is priced at $50, and will be available for purchase in the US starting September 30, both online and at T-Mobile stores.

Specs-wise, the handset is powered by a dual-core 1.1GHz Snapdragon processor, and sports a 4.0-inch WVGA display. It comes with 1GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32GB.

In terms of camera, the Rogue features a 2MP rear unit and a VGA front shooter. It offers LTE support (2, 4, 12, AWS3 bands) and runs a customized version of Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.

“We are extremely excited that Coolpad can bring our ‘Live Smart’ motto of providing cool technology, easy-to-use interface, affordable prices, and attractive designs to T-Mobile customers,” said Charlie Parke, VP of Coolpad Technologies.

The partnership with T-Mobile is the company’s first with a tier-one mobile carrier in the US.

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Zero-day broker firm Zerodium has announced what it is calling “the world’s biggest zero-day bug bounty program.” Dubbed Million Dollar iOS 9 Bug Bounty, the program will see the company paying a whopping $1 million to anyone who develops and submits an iOS 9 zero-day exploit.

“Apple iOS, like all operating system, is often affected by critical security vulnerabilities, however due to the increasing number of security improvements and the effectiveness of exploit mitigations in place, Apple’s iOS is currently the most secure mobile OS,” the company said in a blog post.

“But don’t be fooled, secure does not mean unbreakable, it just means that iOS has currently the highest cost and complexity of vulnerability exploitation and here’s where the Million Dollar iOS 9 Bug Bounty comes into play.”

Zerodium explains that the exploit must lead to and allow a remote, privileged, and persistent installation of an arbitrary app on a fully updated iOS 9 device. The company, which sells these zero-days to governments and corporate clients, is willing to pay out a total of $3 million in rewards, which means it’s open to accepting multiple exploits/jailbreaks.

For eligibility criteria and other conditions, head to the Source link below.

Source |…

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Just days after there were reports that the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL will carry a price tag comparable to that of the Apple iPhone 6s, a Spanish retailer has leaked the price of the upcoming Windows 10 device, as well as that of its smaller sibling, the Lumia 950.

As per the listing, the dual-SIM variants of the Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 950 will set you back €749 ($838) and €659 ($738), respectively. This compares with the iPhone 6s (16GB variant), which carries a price tag in the range of €740-€750 in some European countries – its Spanish prices are yet to be announced.

Specs-wise, from what is known till now, both the Microsoft handsets sport QHD display, 3GB RAM, and 32GB expandable storage. They feature a 20 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front shooter, and a USB Type-C port for charging.

While the 950 XL is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 810 SoC and pack in a 3,300 mAh battery, the Lumia 950 is said to feature the Snapdragon 808 chipset and a 3,000 mAh cell.

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