Apple patented a material that can do away with antenna lines

There is no doubt that people enjoy the premium feel of unibody metal gadgets. Recently, it has become even trendier, which seems to be to most everybody's liking if our poll on the matter is to be believed. But a metal exterior brings about a set of challenges, especially on a mobile phone, as wireless radios of all sorts, like your network modem, Wi-Fi and NFC don't really take the metal enclosure too well and aren't about to be swayed to play nice with it based on looks alone.

This has created a necessity for a lot of clever engineering solutions, like the infamous plastic antenna lines on the back of the iPhone 6, or the similar inserts on the HTC One M9. In a unibody, this can be quite an eyesore and according to recent info, the Cupertino giant has found a way to address the issue. Instead of going for workarounds and gimmicks, Apple has allegedly created and filed a patent for a new composite material that looks exactly like anodized metal and still lets radio waves pass through.

This new technology could potentially make future Apple designs even cleaner and slicker. The most obvious use for the compound is to get rid of antenna lines on handsets, but it could just as easily camouflage other visual features on metal devices. For example, the trackpad on a MacBook can be seamlessly molded together with the rest of the frame and so can things like resistive buttons. But, it really all depends on the new material's physical properties and how far Apple intends to take its development.

Hopefully we will see the new technology employed in the next line of iPhones, which will likely set a trend for the rest of the industry as well.

Source |…

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Lenovo A6000 Plus receives a price cut, now costs INR 6,999

Lenovo has slashed the price of its A6000 Plus smartphone – which was launched in India in April this year for INR 7,499 ($118) – to INR 6,999 ($110).

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Not only this, the device is available for purchase on Flipkart without registration from June 22 to June 24 – the three days during which the online retailer is running its Big App Shopping Days promotion. It is, however, not yet clear whether the price cut is permanent or valid only for the purchases during the promotion.

This comes just days after Lenovo announced that it has sold a total of 1 million 4G phones in India this year.

Source |…

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OnePlus One now available for purchase on Flipkart

Just days after Flipkart posted a teaser suggesting that it will soon start selling the OnePlus One smartphone, the device is now available for purchase on the online retailer's website.

As for the price, the 64GB Sandstone Black model of the handset carries a tag of INR 19,998 ($315) – the special price is only valid during Flipkart's Big App Shopping Days promotion, which kicks off today and runs till June 24. Starting June 25th, the model will set you back INR 21,999 ($347), OnePlus said.

The Chinese company also confirmed that the 16GB Silk White variant will carry a price tag of INR 18,999 ($300), and will be available on Flipkart in the coming weeks.

Source 1 | Source…

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The Top 10 trending phones of week 25

Another week has gone by and it was a rather uneventful one, if you judge only by a quick glance at our traditional Top 10 trending chart. The lack of movement at the top doesn't mean there isn't some action going on under the surface though.

The Top 10 trending phones chart is a recap list of the devices that gathered the most hits throughout the week. In other words, the chart represents the interests of the majority of you, our visitors.

Most importantly, the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime is pulling away from long-time leader Galaxy S6, dethroned last week. Some might have thought (well, a few of us here, at least) that the flagship will quickly regain its rightful top spot, but the Grand Prime obviously manages to excite on other levels (read price).

The Asus Zenfone 2 ZA551ML completes the top three yet again, and it seems to be catching up with the Galaxy S6, too. The Apple iPhone 6 is in fourth, where we're used to seeing it for quite some time.

Then comes the regular bunch of Samsung phones, which typically occupy the middle grounds, with the S5, E7 and A5 placed 5th to 7th. The Tizen-running J1 reenters the chart in eighth after a long absence, followed by two-generations-old Galaxy S4 flagship.

A breath of fresh air comes our way thanks to the Huawei Honor 4X. The affordable 5.5-inch phablet stirs things up a bit, but barely makes it in, inching ahead of the Galaxy Note 4 this week.

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Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
RANK: 1WAS: 1

specs review

Samsung Galaxy S6
RANK: 2WAS: 2

specs review

Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
RANK: 3WAS: 3

specs review

Apple iPhone 6
RANK: 4WAS: 4

specs review

Samsung Galaxy S5
RANK: 5WAS: 5

specs review

Samsung Galaxy E7
RANK: 6WAS: 7

specs review

Samsung…

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Check out the new phones of Week 25

We had quite a busy week in the mobile realm. The news section and rumor mill both seem to be buzzing with rumors and speculations about various upcoming devices, like the iPhone 6s, Samsung Galaxy Note 5, the OnePlus 2 and many, many others.

Amidst all the commotion, there were also six new hardware announcements. And it's not just quantity either – we also saw some quality high-end devices. First up is the star of the week, the handset that everybody seems to be talking about – the Xperia Z4v.

What sounds like a standard Verizon version of Sony's current flagship the Z3+ (Z4 in Japan), surprised almost everybody by bringing a couple of big upgrades to the table. The Sony Xperia Z4v has a 5.2-inch WQHD display, up from the 1080p unit of the Z3+ and it comes with built-in Qi and PMA wireless charging support.

Samsung also brought a few new offers to its lineup. The budget-friendly Galaxy J series now has not one, but two new members. The J5 and J7 both have front-facing LED flash unit as their standout feature.

The Korean tech giant released a new tablet device as well – the Galaxy Tab E 9.6. It is the first model in Samsung's new line of budget-friendly tablets, so, we can almost certainly expect different-sized sibling to joint it in the not so distant future.

Up next, is the Micromax Canvas Sliver 5, which according to its maker is the current holder of the title – "world's thinnest smartphone", measuring only 5.1mm with no camera "bump". It comes with a 4.8-inch AMOLED display of 720p, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset with a quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM.

Last, but not least, is the Huawei MediaPad T1 10. It's not exactly new, as it is more or less a rebranded MediaPad T1 10. It packs a 9.6" IPS HD screen and runs on the Snapdragon 410 chip with a quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A53 CPU, Adreno 306 GPU and 1GB of RAM.

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Sony Xperia Z4v

specs gallery

Samsung Galaxy J5

specs

Samsung Galaxy J7

specs…

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Asus ZenFone 2 gets an unofficial bootloader unlock

There is an unofficial bootloader unlock method available for the Asus ZenFone 2. A crafty XDA Developers member achieved the feat which allows users to develop custom ROMs for the popular smartphone.

The procedure requires users to update the Asus ZenFone 2 to the latest firmware 2.19.40. The latter is not available for all ZenFone 2 units out there, so a little bit of patience is still required.

Rooting the Intel-based device is also necessary. The method is not reversible for the time being.

Instructions for unlocking the bootloader are available at the source link below. As always, we advise you to be aware of the risks that such exercise involves, including bricking your device, compromising its security, and voiding its warranty.

Source |…

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Zuk Z1 is a Lenovo-backed smartphone with Cyanogen OS

It looks like OnePlus is about to get some serious competition. The ambitious Chinese startup Zuk plans to launch a high-end smartphone with Cyanogen OS in the second half of this year.

Zuk will not just be one of the countless smartphone makers in China. The company is backed by the tech giant Lenovo and the Chinese software company 360. The latter has reportedly committed $409 million in the venture alone, thus meaning that Zuk means serious business.

There is no word on the specs of the Zuk Z1 for the time being. All we know is that the device will feature a large battery and a fingerprint scanner in addition to the Cyanogen OS.

Source (in Chinese) |…

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