T-Mobile has announced a new Android smartphone today. It’s the ZTE Obsidian, and it will become available from the magenta carrier, online and in stores, on August 13.

This is a lower-end offering, aimed at those who prefer a cheap device with the basics covered.

It’s got a 4.5-inch 854×480 touchscreen, a 5 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 2 MP selfie shooter, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of expandable storage, and a 1,800 mAh battery.

It’s powered by MediaTek’s MT6735M chipset, boasting a 1 GHz quad-core CPU. The Obsidian comes with 4G LTE support and it runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.

It will be offered by T-Mobile for $99.99 all-in. Alternatively, you’ll be able to use the carrier’s famous installment plan to pay nothing upfront then followed by 24 monthly installments of…

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After a week or so of having its invite request page up, OnePlus is now announcing that more than 2 million people apparently want to get their hands on a OnePlus 2. Or at least on an invite for the phone.

Unlike what happened with the OnePlus One last year, this time around the Chinese company will issue invites to people on the waiting list created on that dedicated page. This is arguably the easiest way to grab a OnePlus 2 invite, though it may not turn out to be the fastest.

At the moment, the exact count is 2,384,338. That many people have requested an invite for the OnePlus 2. While this number is incredibly big (and keeps growing), you shouldn’t forget that wanting an invite (or even getting it) does not necessarily mean making a purchase. Then again, if even 10% of those people do actually intend to buy a OnePlus 2, it looks like it will be quite the success,…

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Microsoft has announced that the Xbox One console will be getting the major update announced at E3 in November. Although the company doesn’t specify it every time, the update is based on the new Windows 10 operating system, unlike the Windows 8 that the current Xbox One UI is based upon.

The new update will bring many features, but most importantly there will be a brand new UI that is also faster than before. You will also have a panel on the left that can be brought upon any time you want even within game to see your friends list and access other features of the console. The update also brings new sections such as Community, which helps you keep track of popular games, content, and people on Xbox Live, and Watch, which makes it easy to find new movies and TV shows. The OneGuide feature has also been updated. The new OS also integrates Cortana so you can just use your voice to access features of the console without pressing a single button.

Along with the update, Microsoft also announced a new Chatpad for the Xbox One, a la the Xbox 360. This one also snaps to the bottom of the Xbox One controller and allows you to type comfortably while chatting with your friends, or whenever you need to enter text. The Chatpad will be available mid-2016 for the Xbox One controller and works with the Xbox One and Windows…

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Apple announced that more than 11 million users subscribed for Apple Music. The service launched just over a month ago and offers three months trial before the billing begins.

The number is impressive, but we shouldn’t forget it’s a free trial and nobody has been charged for the service yet. But Apple says 2 million of those 11 million subscribers have opted for the Family plan, which allows for up to six people to share one Apple Music subscription.

Apple is targeting lots of different groups worldwide and is really trying to expand the Apple Music reach before the first trials are over. Its toughest competitor is Spotify and recently both companies had some arguments leading Spotify to file a complaint to the FTC.

Whatever turns out, Apple Music is surely sticking around. If you haven’t yet, you should definitely give it a try. After all three months of free trial is more than enough to decide whether it’s for you or not.

After that Apple Music Individual plan costs $9.99 in the USA, €9.99 in most of the EU countries, €4.99 in Bulgaria and Romania, £9.99 in the UK, and there are even some markets in Asia where you can get it as low as $2.99.

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In the middle of a fairly quiet week Asus introduced new Zenfones to bolster an already strong lineup. The Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe is a prettied up version of the Zenfone 2 from earlier this year, while the Zenfone 2 Laser is a version of the 5″ model but with a better camera performance.

Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe

Even with the same dimensions as the model from March, the Zenfone 2 Deluxe stands out with its curious “premium-crafted polygonal design.” It features 500+ triangles joined together for a “crystal miracle.”

The Zenfone 2 Deluxe is still a dual-SIM phone with a 5.5″ 1080p screen (Gorilla Glass 3 on top) and is powered by the same Intel Atom chipsets – Z3560 and Z3580. This time both feature 4GB RAM (the older model had paired the Z3560 with 3GB RAM).

Another improvement is that the base storage is now 64GB RAM and you can go up to 128GB. You can add another 128GB with a microSD card. It runs Android 5.0 Lollipop as before.

The camera setup is the same – 13MP for photographing others, 5MP for yourself. Video capture resolution is not listed but we suspect it’s still at 1080p. Inside is a 3,000mAh battery with BoostMaster fast charging – 60% in 39 minutes.

Asus Zenfone 2 Laser

Like the ZE500CL, the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser has a 5″ 720p screen and is more compact than its 5.5″ siblings. The change is the camera – it’s now 13MP (up from 8MP), which can be extended up to 52MP with Super Resolution mode.

And as the name suggests there’s Laser autofocus. The main camera features 5 lenses and an f/2.0 aperture, while the 5MP selfie camera (up from 2MP) has a wide-angle 85° lens with f/2.0 aperture. The laser autofocus system promises focus locks in 0.3s and works even for macros. There’s Super HDR mode for shooting against bright light and a low-light mode for “4x light sensitivity and noise reduction”.

Unlike the other two 5″ Zenfone 2 models, the Asus Zenfone 2 Laser is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (the others use Intel Atoms). It has 2GB of RAM and 8GB or 16GB of storage (expandable, of course).

The 5″ screen has 720p resolution and it’s a non-IPS panel, but at least it’s protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Like its big bro it runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and has LTE connectivity. The battery is either 2,070mAh or 2,400mAh, this could be a regional thing.

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Working in London, drawing inspiration from luxury watches, trying out expensive materials and a lot of manual labor is how a Vertu is born. It’s easier to show than describe so the company put together a two minute video of how Vertu Aster Summer Collection 2015 is made.

If “summer collection 2015” sounds like a boutique clothes thin, the reality is that some of the techniques used in crafting the pricy leather backs and pouches for the Vertu smartphones are very similar. It’s not just soft materials though there’s a lot of titanium to hand-polish before the phone can go into the shop.

Enjoy the “elegant film portrait depicting our dedication to creating the unique” in Vertu’s own…

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Asus just launched a new mid-range smartphone entirely focused on battery life. Dubbed Zenfone Max it comes with an ample 5,000 mAh battery that should give it extra long power autonomy.

The massive battery of the smartphone can even charge other devices when connected to the phone. Exact endurance numbers haven’t been quoted, but given the humble internals we expect them to be impressive.

The Asus Zenfone Max is built around a 5.5-inch IPS display of 720p resolution that has Gorilla Glass 4 protection on top. It is powered by a Snapdragon 410 chipset with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and 2GB RAM. Internal storage is 16GB, but that’s further expandable via the microSD slot.

The primary camera on the Zenfone Max features a 13 megapixel sensor, dual-LED dual-tone flash and laser-assisted autofocus, while the 85-degree wide-angle lens selfie snapper produces images of up to 5MP resolution.

The dual-SIM device will launch in October, running on Android 5.0 Lollipop with Zen UI 2.0 on top. It will support 4G LTE networks, 3G with HSPA+, GPS and Bluetooh 4.0….

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ASUS has launched four new smartphones in India: The Zenfone 2 Deluxe, the Zenfone Selfie, the Zenfone 2 Laser, and the Zenfone Max.

The Zenfone 2 Deluxe is basically the Zenfone 2 ZE551ML but with 64/128GB internal memory as standard and a new back cover finish. It still has the Intel Atom Z3580, 4GB RAM, 5.5-inch 1080p display, 13/5 megapixel cameras, LTE, ASUS BoostMast fast-charging technology, and ZenUI running on top of Android 5.0.

Next is Zenfone Selfie, which has a 13 megapixel camera on the front and back, laser autofocus, two tone dual LED flash on the back, 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 615 processor, 3GB RAM, LTE, dual SIM with dual standby, and Android 5.0. The Zenfone Selfie starts at Rs. 15,999 ($251).

The Zenfone 2 Laser comes in three variants at 5-inch, 5.5-inch, and 6-inch displays with resolution “up to” 1080p, “up to” Snapdragon 615, and “up to” 3GB RAM (perhaps ASUS shouldn’t launch so many variants if it’s too lazy to list exact specs for all of them). There is also a 13 megapixel camera on the back and laser autofocus on all models. The three variants are priced at Rs. 9,999 ($157), Rs. 13,999 ($220), and Rs. 17,999 ($282), respectively.

Lastly, there is the Zenfone Max that has a massive 5000mAh battery that can also charge other devices when connected to the phone. There is also a 5.5-inch IPS display, Snapdragon 410 processor, 2GB RAM, 13/5 megapixel cameras with laser autofocus at the back. The Zenfone Max will be available in…

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Despite many special editions and offshoots it took nearly 5 years for the smash hit Angry Birds to get a true sequel. Even after all this time the level of excitement has not cooled off and Angry Birds 2 beat download records and passed the 20 million mark during its first week of availability. It took 9 whole months for the original to reach these levels.

It became the #1 game on iPhones and iPads in over 100 countries, harkening back to the glory days when the original became hit on iOS. The game is a hit on Android too, launching over 1.4 billion birds at the dastardly pigs, beating the game’s levels over 300 million times.

Angry Birds 2 is breaking into China thanks to Rovio’s partnership with Kunlun. “A new generation of Chinese gamers are getting to know the angry feathered flock, and we see a bright future together with Kunlun, one of the Chinese game industry’s largest and most important players,” says Chief Commercial Officer Alex Lambeek.

Don’t miss our review of the game to find out what’s new. You can download Angry Birds 2 from the Apple App Store and from Google Play store (but not the Windows Phone…

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As Samsung already announced, it’s holding a major press event in New York on August 13. From what we gather so far, the keynote will be focused on the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 edge+ phablets, but this new teaser suggests there may be a third device, even larger at that.

The lone image, joined by a countdown timer to the event, depicts the three devices stacked on top of each other, but it’s about as vague as it gets.

Mysteriously lit, the Galaxy S6 edge+ is on top, its curved edge gently accented. The Galaxy Note 5 is underneath, only it’s facing down, so you can see the curve on its back, similar to the one of face of the S6 edge+. The S-Pen has been popped-out, with the groove in its top end highlighted, further fueling our suspicions that a novel means of ejection has been implemented.

And then there’s the third device – a substantially larger one, firmly in tablet territory. Given that the theme of the teaser is “BIG”, it could be the recently announced Galaxy Tab S2 in its 8-inch incarnation, but the strips in the bottom part of the frame weren’t present in the official images, so this one will remain a puzzle, if only for another…

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