There's been a lot of speculation recently regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and its hardware in particular. We've seen more and more contradictory bits of information as we get closer to the handset's rumored unveiling date in mid-August, but today we may be able to clear up some confusions.

Thanks to an anonymous tipster, we have received a screenshot of the system info tab in CPU-Z running on a Note 5. You can see this to the left.

The phone in question is a prototype of the international version, which will have the model number SM-N920F. This iteration of the next Galaxy Note will indeed come sporting Samsung's own Exynos 7422 chipset, as has been rumored before.

This has been said to be an improved version of the Exynos 7420 found in the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. Furthermore, it should be the first Samsung-made silicon to feature the modem on the same chip as the CPU and GPU.

Once again, it's confirmed that the Note 5 will have 4GB of RAM. It's also going to have 32GB of built-in storage in this version, though it's still unclear if a microSD card slot will be in there too.

Finally, it looks like the screen size and resolution will be kept identical to those of the phablet's predecessor, the Galaxy Note 4. That said, the Note 5's 5.7-inch QHD panel will surely receive some upgraded tech, as Samsung has done each year in the Note line.

At the moment, the prototype in question is running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, which is the latest version Google has released so far. There's no reason to think the Note 5 will launch running anything else. Obviously though, expect to see Samsung's TouchWiz UI plastered on top, probably in a similarly toned down fashion to what happened for the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge earlier this year.

Just a few hours ago we saw live images of a purported Galaxy Note 5 prototype, which confirmed that it won't get an auto-eject mechanism for the S Pen…

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Lava just announced the first second-gen Android One device called the Pixel V1. Unlike the Android One devices launched previously, the Pixel V1 is not based on a common reference design; the V1 has a brand new design and spec sheet exclusive to Lava.

The Pixel V1 is quite a bit larger, thanks to its 5.5-inch display. This does make the phone more difficult to operate with one hand and won't appeal to everyone. The design looks premium at first glance but has a slight plasticky feel throughout. Some of the other budget phones in comparison, such as the Moto G and the Xiaomi Redmi Note have much better build quality and finish.

Lava Pixel V1

The large 5.5-inch IPS LCD looks decent, but the colors are slightly bland and the resolution looks a bit stretched on the 5.5-inch display. The touchscreen works fine, however, and did not seem to have any issues, particularly while typing.

Lava Pixel V1

The performance of the MediaTek chipset was mediocre. The device does not feel particularly quick, despite running a completely stock version of Android 5.1. The 2GB RAM should help, however, while running multiple apps at the same time. The stock version of Android also means the phone will get updates directly from Google as soon as they are announced.

Lava Pixel V1 camera samples

Overall, the Pixel V1 does have a very budget feel to it. This is unfortunate as it is quite a bit more expensive than phones from rival brands and except for the 32GB internal memory does not offer much to justify the…

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The Android One initiative for bringing affordable smartphones to emerging markets has reached its second generation, now offering better hardware on a similarly tight budget. The Lava Pixel V1 was made official today and a few more details have been revealed, on top of what we already knew.

As we reported yesterday, the smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch 720p IPS display with Asahi Dragontrail Glass for protection. Although it's not explicitly stated, the chipset inside is most likely the Mediatek MT6582, judging by the 1.3GHz quad-core processor and Mali-400MP2 GPU, clocked at 500MHz. RAM is 2GB, while built-in storage is quite roomy at 32GB, expandable too.

Lava Pixel V1

The primary camera on the back of the Pixel V1 creates 13MP images, though the sensor is only 8MP. It's housed behind an f/2.0 lens and is aided by a single-LED flash, if need be. Video recording is capped at 1080p. On the front there's a 5MP sensor (again, software enhancement leads to 8MP photos) with a slower f/2.4 lens and no flash.

The Lava Pixel V1 measures 152.1 x 76.3 x 8.5mm and weighs 135g. Inside the fairly compact and lightweight body there's a 2,650mAh Li-Po battery, which the company claims is good for 20 hours of 2G talk time, or 12 hours on a 3G network.

The headline feature here is the latest Android 5.1.1 OS, which comes in stock form. Additionally, OS updates are promised for the next 2 years, and as an Android One device, the Pixel V1 is guaranteed to be among the first to get them. All of the above will set you back INR 11,349 or $177, a good deal by the looks of it.

We got the chance to spend some time with a Lava Pixel V1 at the launch event and we're working on a hands-on report, so stay…

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Whether you like it or not, the Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 edge ditched the replaceable battery, but introduced built-in wireless (or should we say inductive) charging capability, and there's not much to complain about that. Capitalizing on the fact that those two are among the few models to support the feature out of the box (the Nexus 5 and mid-to-high-end Lumias the most notable exceptions), the Korean company is launching a pair of desktop monitors that incorporate a charging pad in their stand.

A nice way to free up space on your ever-cluttered desk, the feature saves you the need for a standalone wireless charger, while providing a place to rest your Galaxy S6 (or any other Qi-enabled smartphone, for that matter) both in sight and out of the way. Additionally, it'll let you reclaim an AC socket, of which there never seem to be enough. Of course, carrying your monitor with you while traveling seems a tiny bit cumbersome, so a separate charger will be needed for those occasions.

Other than the wireless charging feature, the monitors are pretty standard-issue. The SE370 series encompasses two models at this point, a 23.6-inch and a 27-inch variant, both with FullHD resolution. They utilize PLS panels and offer 178-degree viewing angles. AMD's FreeSync tech is on board as well to combat flicker while gaming (with supported video cards) and there's a whole host of other proprietary features.

We've already seen wireless charging find its way into everyday objects, with IKEA launching a few products that feature built-in pads, but it's nice to see actual smartphone manufacturers taking strides in this direction.

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The Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) has been in the hands of the folks over at Laptopmedia.com for a couple of days now, and they've had the time to run a few benchmarks on the upcoming sequel before its official launch tomorrow. The results will leave you with mixed feelings, though, as some of the numbers aren't what you'd call a drastic improvement.

The CPU scores of the new model indicate a significant boost in performance, brought about by the more powerful and higher-clocked 1.36GHz Cortex-A53 cores inside the Snapdragon 410, compared to the 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 quad-core CPU of the S400. The 40% increase in Geekbench 3 brings the Moto G (3rd gen) ahead of the current Moto E (2nd gen) where it belongs, but also leaves the S410 competition comfortably behind.

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GeekBench 3
Higher is better

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) LM
1640

Motorola Moto E (2015)
1486

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
1469

Samsung Galaxy E7
1468

Samsung Galaxy A5
1460

Xiaomi Redmi 2
1460

Lenovo S90 Sisley
1377

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) LM
1174

Qualcomm's own benchmarks paint largely the same picture, with substantial performance improvements of 31% in Vellamo 2 Metal and even more impressive 44% in Vellamo 3 Metal.

Antutu brings the other main components in the mix (memory, storage and GPU) and the excitement quiets down a little, though the improvements are still there.

AnTuTu 5
Higher is better

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) LM
23258

Motorola Moto E (2015)
22761

Samsung Galaxy A5
21581

Samsung Galaxy E7
21562

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
21002

Xiaomi Redmi 2
20616

Lenovo S90 Sisley
19690

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) LM
19335

Moving on to graphics benchmarks, you can see why the overall performance boost doesn't correspond to the increase in CPU power. The Adreno 306 inside the S410 in the third-gen Moto G is clocked a bit lower than the predecessor, resulting in marginally lower figures in the GPU tests. That said, the 2015 Moto G is on par with similarly equipped competitors, so no unpleasant surprises here, really.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) LM
5.7

Lenovo S90 Sisley
5.4

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) LM
5.3

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
5.3

Samsung Galaxy A5
5.3

Samsung Galaxy E7
5.3

Xiaomi Redmi 2
5.2

Motorola Moto E (2015)
5.2

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) LM
1.8

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
1.8

Samsung Galaxy A5
1.8

Xiaomi Redmi 2
1.8

Samsung Galaxy E7
1.8

Lenovo S90 Sisley
1.8

Motorola Moto E (2015)
1.8

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) LM
1.7

Mind you, the comparisons above are between the two generations of Moto Gs tested by Laptomedia.com (hence the LM), while the other scores are taken from our database, but that should have negligible effect on the results. Also, given the supposedly unchanged $180 launch price of the new generation, the boost in CPU power while retaining the graphics performance, is a reasonable compromise.

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