Xiaomi may be the world's third-biggest smartphone maker, but most of its products never leave China. The company is reportedly looking to open up shop in India, but now the company is taking a trip to the US.

There, in San Francisco specifically, the company will hold an event on February 12. It's not clear what the topic will be though – opening a store, recruiting employees or just visiting? The company has already unveiled two new devices this year – Redmi 2 and Mi Note (with a Mi Note Pro version), so it's probably soon for a new announcement

Whatever the reason, the event is a big deal – San Francisco is the home of many startups and tech giants are a stone's throw away, with both Apple and Google campuses not far from there (Xiaomi's VP of International Hugo Barra is a former Googler). The location can't be a coincidence and sends clear message, especially to the former giants that Xiaomi leapfrogged to get into the Top 3.

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There are two rumors about the LG G4 – one claims a 3K display, another claims a QHD one (what some might call 2.5K). A third piece of evidence swings the vote in favor of QHD, this comes from a leaked XML file extracted from a Lollipop ROM.

The file lists the LG F500 as "G4 (QHD)." It has three versions (S, K and L), which correspond to the three major carriers in South Korea. The LG G3 is F400 with the same three versions. To clear up initialism "QHD" stands for 1,440 x 2,560px while "3K" is 1,62 x 2,880px.

This entry is surrounded by the LG F490 (LG G3 Screen) and LG F510 (LG G Flex 2), both with FullHD resolution, which corresponds to the official specs.

A fourth, unknown device "LG F540" will have an HD screen (that's 720p). It's not clear what this is, it doesn’t correspond to LG G mini numbers, but the LG Aka has a model number of F520, which has a 5" 720p screen.

Anyway, this leaves the question of the 3K screen on the LG VS999, a Verizon phone according to the model name. This may be a bespoke version for the carrier, AT&T's version will have a QHD display (1,440 x 2,560px). Either way, we won't see them at the MWC, the G4 announcement is expected later this year.

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HTC Hima has been in the rumorland for quite a while, leaking with pictures, specs, camera samples and everything. It should be announced at the MWC in March in Barcelona as the HTC One (M9) and will be coming with a 5" 1080p display, Snapdragon 810 chipset 20MP dual camera setup at the back and an 4MP UltraPixel sensor for selfies at front.

The upcoming Hima has already been tipped to come running on Windows as well. Today @upleaks confirmed the HimaW is the codename for the Windows 10 model of One (M9) and it won't be announced at the upcoming MWC but on a later date.

The popular tipster also mentions the HimaW will be sold exclusively in the USA. That's certainly heart-breaking news for WP and HTC fans elsewhere.

Microsoft and Qualcomm have already announced we can expect Snapdragon 810-powered Windows devices in 2015, plus HTC has already released a Windows version of its One (M8) flagship.

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The first photos of the Samsung Galaxy S6 metal frame have surfaced. Moreover, the new photos portray the frame from all angles and show the layout of its ports and buttons.

Leaked schematics of the phone suggest it'll measure just 7.2mm thick and the sides look have a carved design. At the top, there are plastic cutouts for the antennas, a secondary microphone and what looks to be a cutout for an IR blaster. The left side holds the volume rocker, while on the right there's the Power/Lock button and a SIM tray.

Samsung Galaxy S6 metal frame

The bottom is quite busy with a microUSB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, main mic and a single speaker grille. The camera is rumored to be 20MP and take a large place at the back and next to it is the LED flash and heart rate sensor.

In terms of specs, we expect the phone to pack a 5" Super AMOLED display of QHD resolution, Exynos 7420 chipset with an octa-core CPU and 3GB of RAM. The 20MP camera is coupled with a 5MP front-facing one and the phone will feature a non-swipe fingerprint sensor on the home button.

Finally, the source of the photos confirms the pricing scheme of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S Edge, which leaked yesterday. The base Galaxy S6 will sport 32GB memory and will cost 749€ SIM-free, while the 64GB and 128GB will sale for 849€ and 949€, respectively. The Galaxy S Edge will start from 849€ for the 32GB version. The 64GB will go for 949€ and 128GB one for 1049€.

The Galaxy S6 will be offered in dark blue, blue-green, gold, and white. We'll know everything about the phone from the company's March 1 Galaxy Unpacked event in…

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Last September, Samsung unveiled two phablet flagships: the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Note Edge. Since the only major difference between the two was the screen – the latter, as you’d probably know, features a distinctive curved display on one of its edges – it was a bit difficult to predict how well the Note Edge would sell.

But now, it is being reported that Samsung has sold around 630,000 Galaxy Note Edge smartphones since the device’s launch. Agreed, that’s even no where near the 4.5 million Galaxy Note 4 units sold in the very first month of its availability, but the number isn’t as bad as some would have suggested, especially considering the fact that the device comes with an even higher price tag.

In fact, that’s good news for Samsung, which is expected to unveil its next flagship, the Galaxy S6, as well as its curved screen cousin, the Galaxy S Edge, at Mobile World Congress next month. In case you aren’t aware, the company has already sent out invites for its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event, and has also confirmed that there will be no US-based Unpacked event this…

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Sony revealed that it expects the annual loss for its financial year 2014 (which ends on March 31) to be smaller than expected by analysts and the revenue to be bigger. The buoys are the PlayStation and the image sensor divisions, while the Xperia smartphone business is still struggling.

Smartphone sales in China are slowing down and Sony cut its forecast for the full-year sales from 41 million smartphones to 39.2 million. This means the company expects to sell just 8 million phones in the three months ending in March, that would make it the lowest quarter of the financial year (it went 9.4M – 9.9M – 11.9M).

Despite smaller unit sales, the division will return a small profit of JPY 9.3 billion ($79 million), better than expected. Still, for the full 2014 Sony expects the mobile division to lose JPY 215 billion ($1.83 billion), up from JPY 204 billion ($1.74 billion) predicted in October. That's on an estimated revenue of JPY 1,320 billion ($11.3 billion).

Sony had already cut 1,000 jobs but plans further cuts – 2,100 by March 2016. Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony, will announce a new business strategy on February 18, but has given no official details (some are already expecting the worst).

The game division is expected to finish the quarter with JPY 1,380 billion ($11.8 billion) in revenue making JPY 40 billion in operating income ($340 million). The Devices division (maker of image sensors) will be the other big earner with JPY 100 billion ($852 million) in expected operating profit on JPY 950 billion ($8 billion) in revenue.

The consolidated revenue for 2014 is JPY 8,000 billion ($68 billion) with a net loss of JPY 5 billion ($42 million).

These are predicted numbers, Sony will delay the release of the actual numbers (including the results for the final quarter of the financial year) because of the hack of Sony Pictures.

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Motorola has had a pretty nice track record when it comes to updating their devices. Moto smartphones generally run an almost stock version of Android are usually next in line after Nexus devices for OS updates. Sadly this was not the case with Android 5 Lollipop.

Progress has been slow and most of the Moto line is still waiting on a mass update. India seems to be the venue of choice when it comes to soak tests, as we have already seen a few, namely for the Moto G and later the Moto G 2014 and Moto X. Now the budget-friendly Moto E is joining the ranks as Motorola Feedback Network members are already receiving email invitations for the soak test.

So if you are among the subscribers of the feedback program and happen to be using a Moto E handset in India you are in luck. The soak test is expected to run for about two weeks and if all goes well the Moto E should see a openly distributed OTA, at least in India and join the ranks of the Moto G on the same market, which is already enjoying the Lollipop treatment.

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A recent status update on the Motorola India Fans Facebook page hints at why the manufacturer is studding so carefully with Android Lollipop and taking its time. Presumably the initial Android 5.0 build was causing App lag and severe battery, WiFi, Bluetooth and Call issues on non-Nexus devices, which forced Motorola to wait it out so as not to disappoint its fans. The message also explains that the 5.0.1 patch was a hasty job and also not satisfactory for release on Moto handsets.

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Now with Android 5.0.2 already a reality and presumably much more stable we hope that Motorola will finally push things along and carry out a full-scale international update to its device lineup as soon as…

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This month's numbers for iOS distribution are in and the current iOS8 claims 72%, Apple reports. The information is based on App Store access statistics and is current as of February 2.

iOS8 is up a notch from last month's 68% while iOS7 surrenders 4% of its share and is at 25% this month. iOS6 and earlier versions retain their marginal 3% of market share. Even so, the iOS8 rate of adoption falls behind the iOS7 from a year ago, which commanded an 80% percent adoption in the same period.

The latest 8.1.3 update featured stability improvements and the perceived maturity iOS8 has reached after initial issues has provided enough incentive for users to upgrade.

Either way, the number of devices, booting the latest version of iOS is massive, compared to its Android counterpart. As we reported, Lollipop only just made it to the distribution chart, with the huge variety of devices by numerous manufacturers being the…

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Just a few days after market research firm Counterpoint noted that Samsung actually lost its title of the world’s leading smartphone vendor in Q4, 2014, it is being reported that the South Korean company has been dethroned in the Indian smartphone market, too.

According to a report from market research firm Canalys, with 22% of the market share in Q4 last year, local budget brand Micromax has now become the top smartphone vendor in the country, ahead of Samsung at 20%. The Indian company already overtook the South Korean firm as the leading brand in all types of mobile phones last year.

"This incredible performance is partly due to Micromax’s continuing appeal to mobile phone users upgrading to smart phones," the report said. "Its flagship line of products has also very effectively targeted the US$150 to US$200 (INR9,000 to INR12,000) segment, with products such as the Canvas Nitro and Canvas Hue."

The third and the fourth spots were also claimed by Indian companies, namely Karbonn Mobiles and Lava, respectively. Overall, the Indian smartphone market, which is the third largest in the world, experienced a strong annual growth of 90%, with a total of 21.6 million units shipping in the quarter, the report notes.

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Just a couple of weeks after leakster @upleaks provided information on HTC’s yet-to-be-announced Desire 626 smartphone, the device has been approved by China's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, effectively confirming its existence.

The agency also published some images of the mid-range handset (one shown above), along with a complete set of specifications: the device is powered by a Mediatek chipset with an octa-core CPU, clocked at 1.7GHz, and features a 5-inch display of 1280×720 pixel resolution. It comes with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage space (expandable via microSD).

The Desire 626 sports a 13 MP rear camera with flash, a 5 MP front-facing camera, and a 2,000 mAh battery. Weighing in at 135 grams and measuring 146.9 x 70.9 x 8.19 mm, the LTE-enabled smartphone runs Android 4.4 KitKat.

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