The Vivo Xshot was just over at our office for the usual review routine, but apparently it's successor is well in the works. Evidence coming from an internal company meeting suggests further steps are being taken towards a more serious photography-oriented package.

Auto-focus was one area, where Vivo saw room for improvement, and insider info claims that a new phase detection system is to be utilized. So far phase detection has been employed in the likes of Samsung Galaxy S5, the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and LG G3, outside of the system's main DSLR use.

Judging by the image above, Vivo has put it to good use. The table presents a comparison of focusing times with the new Chinese model consistently ahead of the iPhone 6, by as much as 0.09s. While it may not sound like much, it's actually up to 30% faster, which could be critical in certain situations.

The unnamed source has additionally revealed that a new 20MP sensor will be used, replacing the 13MP one in the current Xshot. It's also been reported that the next-gen smartphone is coming this May, so if any of this ends up true, we're in for a treat sooner, rather than…

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The Samsung Galaxy J1 is soon not going to be the sole member of the J-series as larger, better-equipped models are coming. Industry insiders revealed a few days ago the hardware inside the upcoming Galaxy J5 and J7, and a fresh listing on GFXBench website confirms the specs of the former.

The device, which is positioned in the middle of the lineup, is built around a 5-inch display of 720 x 1,280 pixels resolution. Computing power is delivered by a 1.2GHz Cortex-A53 quad-core processor inside a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 chip, paired with 1.5GB of RAM. The smartphone was running Android 5.0.2 when it ran the benchmark.

Almost half of the built-in 8GB of storage is apparently taken up by system files and 4.7GB are left to the user. The site lists the main camera as 12MP, but at 12.78MP, we'd be generous and call it 13. The selfie cam is a 5MP unit and both shoot FullHD video.

We're yet to see official confirmation on the above, but everything checks out so far, so it couldn't be very far off.

Source |…

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It's not all flagships out there, but in between the review craze after the release of one and the buildup to the launch of the next, lower-key announcements may easily go unnoticed. One such case it the brand new Lenovo A1900 – an entry-level device, that's set to retail at the equivalent of $60.

A level head knows not to expect miracles at this price point, because only so much can be done on a budget. The A1900 is powered by a Spreadtrum SC7730 chipset with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and Mali-400 GPU. A modest 512MB of RAM are on board, as well as 4GB of storage, which is expandable via microSD.

The smartphone sports a 4-inch 800×480 pixel display for a rather decent 233ppi density, and it's an IPS panel, too. It packs dual-SIM compatibility, and comes with triple-band 2G and 2100MHz 3G connectivity as well as GPS, Wi-Fi and FM radio. A 1,500mAh battery is fitted inside the 121 x 62 x 9.5 body, which weighs just 117g.

Overall, a basic smartphone, for price-conscious shoppers, wanting to delve into the Android world. It's unlikely that it'll make it outside of its home market,…

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It's no secret that parallel to its top-end P8 model, set to debut on April 15, Huawei is working on a smaller, more affordable device. Part of the P8 family, the P8 Lite went as far as receiving TENAA certification, without any official word from the company.

Now, a sample unit has apparently fallen into the hands of a user, keen to share. The four live images of the P8 Lite reveal both the black and white version, front and back.

Huawei P8 Lite live photos

The dual-SIM handset is reported to sport a 5-inch 720p screen, and be powered by a 1.2GHz octa-core processor, joined by 2GB of RAM. A 13MP/5MP imaging combo will be on board, and the phone will boot EmotionUI-skinned Android 5.0.

The images are about as revealing as the one's in the Chinese authority's listing, which is to say – not much. What they do tell us, is that the smartphone is real and is on its way. Perhaps we could expect it to be announced alongside its bigger brother merely a few days from now.

Source |…

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Apple has opened up the pre-orders for the Apple Watch. All three versions – Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition – in various color, size, and strap combination, are now available.

The prices range from $349 for the base model, which is the 38mm Apple Watch Sport with the Sport Band and goes all the way to an eye-watering $17,000 for the 38mm 18-Karat Yellow Gold Apple Watch Edition with Bright Red Modern Buckle. Katy Perry already has one of these.

You can also opt for AppleCare+. It;s $49 for the Apple Watch Sport, $69 for Apple Watch, and $1500 for Apple Watch Edition. The first two will get you two years of hardware repair and two years of complementary support. With the Apple Watch Edition, AppleCare+ includes three years of coverage and two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a $1,000 service fee plus applicable tax.

You can pre-order the Apple Watch from the link below. The watch will start shipping 4-6 weeks after ordering.

Apple…

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HTC America’s president, Jason Mackenzie has confirmed that a software update to fix the camera woes of HTC One M9 will be released in the United States between April 10 to April 17. The rollout of the new firmware will be dependent on the device's carrier version.

@Monica_Renata @Crofty_71 @HTCUSA camera to see improvement w/ sw update coming tomorrow or 17th (next Fri) depending on carrier version— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) April 9, 2015

HTC dropped its UltraPixel technology and utilized a new Toshiba-made 20MP BSI sensor in the One M9 flagship. However, it seems that the company will take a while to adjust with the tough competition on the mobile imaging front – early reviews of the One M9 did mention some issues with luminance and HDR.

You can find out all about HTC One M9 in our detailed…

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T-Mobile US announced that sales of Samsung Galaxy S6 are “nearly double those of the Galaxy S5” in the first ten days of offering the device. The Big Magenta began shipping pre-orders of the new smartphone to its customers last week.

The wireless carrier offers both the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. T-Mobile customers who order the smartphones will also receive a year of free Netflix.

Samsung will surely be pleased with the news from T-Mobile. The Korean giant’s Q1 2015 earnings guidance points at slumping profits. Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge will carry the task if bringing back the good times for the manufacturer.

Sales of HTC One (M9) have also been stellar for T-Mobile. In its first ten days of availability, the smartphone has already surpassed the sales of its predecessor, HTC One (M8)….

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Sprint is now in the process of pushing out the update to Android 5.0 Lollipop for both the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Note Edge. This follows last month's software release for the Galaxy Note 4 units sold by this particular carrier.

In both cases, the updates are rolling out over-the-air, so your handset should notify you when it's ready to download and install. As software updates are rolled out in stages, it may take a few days before they reach all the devices out there.

After applying the update, your Galaxy Note 3 for Sprint will run build N900PVPUEOC5. For this smartphone, the upgrade to Lollipop is all you'll see. In the case of the Galaxy Note Edge, however, some unnamed Wi-Fi calling enhancements are bundled too, along with "factory reset protection". If you own a Note Edge, the build you'll be running after applying the update is N915PVPU0AOC8.

Source 1 • Source 2 |…

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A couple of days ago the Huawei SnapTo was spotted at Amazon, and now the Chinese company has officially announced it.

The SnapTo looks like a direct competitor to Motorola's Moto G, both in terms of pricing as well as when considering the specs in play.

The Huawei SnapTo has a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 5 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 2 MP front-facing shooter, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage (which is expandable via microSD cards), and a 2,200 mAh battery.

It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400 chipset, boasting a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU. 4G LTE support is included, and software-wise we're looking at Android 4.4 KitKat with Huawei's Emotion UI 2.3 on top.

The phone is priced at $179.99, and you can pre-order one from Amazon in black or white. The release date is April 17 for the black model, while the white one is only expected in stock on May 15. Starting next week, the SnapTo will also be up for grabs at a few more retailers, including Best Buy, NewEgg, Fry's, as well as Huawei's official online store for the…

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Huawei is set to launch the new P8 and P8 Lite smartphones on April 15. A recent promo video teased the P8 smartphone briefly and left many wondering what the final product would actually look like.

The Huawei P8 is set to arrive with a 5.2″ 1080p display, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB storage. The Chinese company is reportedly using homegrown Kirin 935 chipset. At the rear is 13MP camera while a 5MP front snapper takes care of selfies. Running the Emotion UI based on Android 5.0 Lollipop it will pack a 2,520 mAh battery.

A slightly toned down version, the Huawei P8 Lite will have a 5″ 720p display, 2GB RAM, a 13MP rear camera, and 5MP front camera. This device too will run Emotion UI based on Android 5.0…

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