Lenovo launches the A7000 in India for $144

Lenovo has launched the new A7000 smartphone in India. The phone is priced at Rs. 8,999 ($144) and will be available exclusively through Flipkart and the frustrating flash sale system.

The Lenovo A7000 has a 5.5-inch 720p display, MediaTek MT6752 chipset with octa-core 1.7GHz CPU and Mali-T760MP2 GPU, 2GB RAM, 8GB expandable internal memory, 8 megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera, dual-SIM support, LTE, 2900mAh battery, and Android 5.0 Lollipop. The A7000 is the first phone in the world to have Dolby Atmos…

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Sony Xperia Z4 photo sample surfaces

Sony has been keeping fans on their toes for months, waiting for the Sony Xperia Z4 announcement. During this time, rumors and speculations have been plentiful. We already have some idea of the device's specs, as well as renders and even, most recently, a few alleged live photos.

Today, another piece of the puzzle saw the light of day – a photo sample that is most likely from the Xperia Z4. The original shot has EXIF data that squarely points in the direction of the 20.7MP shooter of the device. Even the model number "Sony E6553" is there, so everything looks quite believable. The full-size sample is available at the source link.

Sony Xperia Z4 camera sample

The shot itself (taken at ISO 50) looks good enough with a decent level of detail. Conditions also appear quite favorable, as the picturesque shot was taken in broad daylight in a UK national park that is if the enclosed GPS coordinates are accurate. Upon further inspection, however, it seems the Z4 shares much of the camera hardware of the Xperia Z3 and shows the same image processing. Also, there's noticable corner softness.

While a single daylight sample is definitely not enough to go by in terms of camera quality, it appears the Xperia Z4 won't be a huge upgrade over the Z3. Equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset with octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM and what appear to be the same 5.2-inch display and camera hardware as its predecessor, it looks like Z4 hopefuls will be faced with the same situation HTC are having now.

There is still hope, however, that the legendary Japanese manufacturer has a trick or two in store, to make the Z4 desirable, because, otherwise, the future isn’t looking too bright for the struggling mobile division.

Source |…

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HTC One (M8) for AT&T will get Android 5.0 tomorrow

HTC One (M8) owners on AT&T in the United States will begin receiving Android Lollipop tomorrow. Mo Versi, HTC's VP of product management announced on Twitter that the update has received technical approval.

AT&T HTC One (M8) Owners! We just received technical approval for Lollipop OS! Thank you for all your patience, OTA to start tomorrow.— Mo Versi (@moversi) April 7, 2015

The update will be available over-the-air. It brings a host of improvements to the HTC One (M8) headed by brand new ART runtime and Material Design update for the device’s native applications.

AT&T is the latest major carrier to update HTC One (M8) to Android Lollipop. The device's variants on Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon are already running the new firmware.

We benchmarked HTC One (M8) with Android 5.0 Lollipop back in January. You can find out about the change in its performance in our blog post.

Source…

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LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition gets Android 5.1 Lollipop

Android 5.1 Lollipop is now seeding to LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition. The new firmware is seeding to the device over-the-air.

The update is a tad larger than 200MB. It brings a host of bug fixes and improvements to the slate headed by beefed up security. Other Android 5.1 goodies include the ability control paired Bluetooth devices from Quick Settings. Users can also join Wi-Fi networks in similar fashion.

The new firmware will begin seeding to the tablet in batches. If you are an owner of a Google Play Edition LG G Pad 8.3, head over to your tablet’s settings to check if the update is available….

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Samsung’s Q1 2015 earnings guidance points at dip in profits

Samsung revealed its earnings guidance for the first quarter of this year. The Korean giant expects to post consolidated operating profit of around 5.9 trillion Korean won ( about $5.4 billion) from 47 trillion won of revenue (about $43.2 billion).

The company’s quarterly profit will be almost a third less from the $8.2 billion in the same period last year. Revenue is estimated to dip by a tad above 10% – it was $51.8 billion in Q1 2014.

With Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge due to hit the shelves this month, it is reasonable to expect that the manufacturer will begin to turn things around. The company will release its full earnings report later this month.

Source…

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Sony Xperia Z3 is no longer available at T-Mobile

Sony's upcoming Xperia Z4 has been leaking a lot over the past few weeks, but the Japanese company's current flagship smartphone is the Xperia Z3. Unfortunately for those in the US, this model is no longer up for grabs at T-Mobile, which has been the only carrier to offer it so far (though Verizon has its customized Z3v).

It's unclear why T-Mobile decided to pull the plug on the Xperia Z3, especially seeing as how it's only been available for less than six months at the magenta carrier.

That said, we assume sales haven't been spectacular, otherwise the company would not have made this move. This continues Sony's woes in the US, a market it simply hasn't been able to crack in recent years (when it comes to mobile devices).

Also a mystery is whether T-Mobile will sell the Xperia Z4 after that becomes official later this year. So far, this carrier has been the most friendly towards Sony among the "big four" in the US, but the canning of the Xperia Z3 so early may indicate a rift in the relations between the two companies.

Past leaks had the Xperia Z4 coming with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 20MP camera on the back and a 5MP unit on the front.

Source |…

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Huawei P8 pricing is rumored to start at $486

The oft-leaked Huawei P8 is almost official, with the unveiling event scheduled for next week, on April 15. In the meantime however, more and more things about it are being rumored or leaked.

This time around, let's talk pricing. The P8 will allegedly come in two different versions. The cheaper one will be sold in China for CNY 2,988, which at the current exchange rates means $486 or €442.

On the other hand, the premium iteration of the P8 will go for CNY 3,288 ($535, €487). The smartphone should get a separate launch in China, on April 22, and is said to go on sale over there the next day – on April 23.

All of this information apparently comes from a leaked internal document originating at Suning, one of China's biggest retailers.

The Huawei P8 could be powered by the company's latest chipset, the Kirin 935, and it's expected to sport 3GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, a 5.2-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front-facing snapper, and a 2,520 mAh battery. The phone will run Android 5.0 Lollipop from day one, though with Huawei's own Emotion UI on…

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Upcoming Sony Xperia C4 possibly leaked in new render

Last month we saw a couple of leaked images reportedly depicting an upcoming Sony smartphone codenamed Cosmos. Then just a few days ago we found out that the Cosmos is going to be officially called Xperia C4 when it launches in the near future.

And today we have what is purported to be a leaked render showing the Xperia C4's front fascia in all its glory. The image isn't verified in any way, so do take this with a grain of salt for now.

On the other hand, what we see does seem to make sense for a device that should be the successor to the selfie-centric Xperia C3 from last year. The alleged C4 does have a front-facing LED flash just like its predecessor, but the design is slightly different, with more rounded corners.

The source of this picture also lets us know that the Xperia C4 should land in May or June running Android 5 Lollipop. The phone is apparently going to be offered in three color variations: white, black, and turquoise.

Specs are not known yet, unfortunately. But since the C3 had midrange innards, we expect its successor to be in the same price bracket – but with updated hardware, of…

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AT&T will start selling the Asus Memo Pad 7 LTE on April 10

AT&T has announced plans to sell a new LTE-capable version of the Asus Memo Pad 7. This will become available in AT&T stores as well as through the carrier's website this Friday, on April 10.

The tablet will retail for $74.99 if you sign a new two-year contract. If you use the carrier's Next installment plan, you shell out nothing upfront, then followed by 20 monthly payments of $8.75. If you buy any smartphone through AT&T Next, then you can own the Memo Pad 7 for just $0.99.

If you're not into long-term agreements, AT&T will make the Memo Pad 7 available on prepaid as well. In this case, the price will be $174.99, and you'll be able to buy a tablet this way starting on April 24.

The Memo Pad 7 offered by AT&T comes with an HD IPS+ touchscreen, dual front stereo speakers, a 5 MP rear camera, a 2 MP selfie shooter, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD).

Running the show is a 1.3 GHz quad-core Intel CPU, and the software version is Android 4.4.4…

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