The Lollipop update for the Galaxy Note 4 may be getting slowed down by Gear VR support, but the Galaxy Note Edge has yet to receive Android 5.0 too (the Gear VR is not compatible with the Edge). An XDA-Developers member has a beta version of an official Android 5.0.1 build and has shared it with the community.

It's a build number XXU1BOA2 and is very recent – from January 27 – but it has issues to be ironed out. One user reports a deep sleep bug, so it's recommended that you set the minimum CPU frequency to 300MHz to mitigate the issue.

Beta version of Android 5.0.1 Lollipop on Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

You'll also need to backup your device, one user had success with flashing the ROM without a full wipe, but there are no guarantees. The ROM can be flashed with Odin 3.09 and you can also throw in CWM and root (with SuperSU).

The Android Lollipop ROM is reportedly smoother than the KitKat software that currently powers the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. You can find more details about the ROM and how it behaves – not to mention the download links – by following the source link. This ROM isn’t officially released for a reason, so flash it at your own…

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OnePlus and Cyanogen are no longer partners and the phonemaker is actively developing its custom Android ROM dubbed OxygenOS. Today, we get to see how things are going in a bunch of leaked screenshots.

The screenshots are from what looks to be the app drawer and weather app of OxygenOS. It doesn't take much to see that OnePlus is going after a clean design but with a lot of color. The weather app is quite simple as well, but we assume it's not finished as of yet.

OxygenOS will get a broader unveil on February 12, when the company promised to out more information about the custom ROM. Hopefully, the ROM is based on Android 5.0

The company says the OxygenOS ROM will be "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." We can clearly see that OnePlus strives to deliver on its…

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The razor thin, high-end R5 handset is the crown jewel in Oppo's smartphone family. Seeing how the device is a definite eye catcher it is only logical that the manufacturer is aiming for an international release. This is set to happen on February 14, which will give R5 an opportunity to test its strength in the Valentines' day shopping spree and perhaps earn its self-proclaimed title – "the iPhone 6 killer".

New information has surfaced that Oppo is planning to spice things up a little bit for the international premiere by offering a special gilded version of the phone. Changes are limited to a new gold finish on the 3.85mm rim of the device. With this new look Oppo is hoping to gear holiday shoppers towards the elegant R5 and hopefully away from Apple's offers.

Besides the little touch of gold the rest of the phone is the same. It still features the Snapdragon 615 chipset (four 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 cores and another four at 1GHz) with a new generation Adreno 405 graphics accelerator.

The Oppo R5 packs a 5.2" Super AMOLED screen of 1080p resolution and a 13MP rear camera with fast focus, Ultra HD 50MP option, refocus mode, and improved low-light performance with slow-shutter. You get a 5MP selfie cam as well and LTE is enabled too. Battery life could be a little better, but frankly in that form factor even fitting a battery is an accomplishment by itself.

International pricing for the gilded version is yet to be announced, but the standard model currently retails for about €399 and judging from pricing in China, the new paint job should cost around €30…

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A total of 78.3 million tablets shipped in Q4 2014, up 1% from 77.2 million in the year ago quarter, according to the market research firm Strategy Analytics. This in contrast with an IDC report that says worldwide tablet shipments in the quarter were down 3.2% year-on-year.

The SA report notes that Apple captured a 27% share of the tablet market in the quarter, compared to 34% a year ago. It also saw a 6.6% growth for the market for all of 2014.

"Android market share slipped slightly at the expense of strong iPad seasonality and recorded a share of 66% of the Tablet market," said Tablet Service Director Peter King, adding that Android tablets shipped a total of 51.8 million units in Q4, 2014, up 8% from 47.8 million a year earlier.

He also revealed that Windows 8.1 Tablets showed an 89% growth annually, while iPad saw an year-on-year decline of 18%, with shipments totaling 21.4 million. "The iPhone 6 products are putting pressure on the iPad Mini and the continued success of the Mac could be inhibiting some iPad Air 2 growth" said Eric Smith, a Senior Analyst in the Tablet Service.

Source |…

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The MWC is right around the corner, and an unexpected Lenovo flagship appears to be in the pipelines, ready to be launched at the March event. Leaked images accompanied by hardware specs have made their way to Chinese social network Weibo.

Lenovo Vibe Z3 Pro

The Lenovo Vibe Z3 Pro is powered by the top-end Snapdragon, and 4GB of system memory is present, hitting the chipset's ceiling. A generous 64GB of onboard storage should be sufficient, but the previous Vibe Z2 Pro had a microSD slot, so this one might too.

The new device is equipped with a 5.5-inch QHD display which is a step back from the 6-inch screen of the predecessor. Still, many users find 5.5 inches to be the sweet spot for a pocketable device offering enough screen estate. The predecessor featured a huge 4,000mAh battery, which didn't impress in screen-on time, so we'll see how this one fares with 3,400mAh and a smaller display.

Lenovo has put quite a lot of effort into the main camera. It packs a 16MP sensor with optical image stabilization and laser focusing. The flash has no less than three differently tinted LEDs. Another welcome appearance is the hardware shutter button, a rarity these days.

Lenovo Vibe Z3 Pro camera and shutter button

The device is rather good-looking too, with glass and metal all over. The brushed aluminum back has been inherited from the older generation, but the gently curved edges have been replaced by a chiseled aluminum frame. The front is all glass and unfortunately keeps bezel size a mystery at this point.

The Lenovo Vibe Z3 Pro will launch on Android 5.0 and is expected to be officially announced at the MWC in the beginning of March.

Source (in Chinese) |…

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You may not have heard of the Saygus V2 but it's a very powerful Android device. It comes with a Snapdragon 801 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 5" 1080p screen, 21MP and 13MP camera combo, fingerprint scanner, 3,100mAh battery and 64GB of internal storage.

What's more interesting about the Saygus V2 is the inclusion of two 128GB-supporting microSD card slots which end up giving the smartphone an insane maximum storage capacity of 320GB. And now the Saygus V2 can be pre-ordered for $549, down from the usual price of $599.

Saygus is allowing pre-orders for the next 72 hours, ending February 5, and you'll need to create an account from which you can get as many as 10 V2s.

The Saygus V2 is also IP7X-certified and offers a Kevlar-plated back.

Source |…

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Samsung has already announced that it is holding its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event on March 1, and it’s all but confirmed that the South Korean company will use it to announce both the Galaxy S6 flagship as well as its curved screen cousin, the Galaxy S Edge.

While the countdown for their official unveiling has begun, alleged European pricing details for the devices have been published by AndroidPit. According to the website, the Galaxy S6 will come in three variants depending upon internal storage: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB, and will be priced at €749, €849, and €949, respectively.

Similarly, the Galaxy S Edge will also come in 32, 64, and 128GB variants, and will be priced at €849, €949, and €1049, respectively. Needless to say, these prices aren’t officially confirmed, so take them with a pinch of…

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Total worldwide shipments of tablets as well as 2-in-1 devices stood at 76.1 million in Q4, 2014, down 3.2% compared to the 78.6 million figure registered in the year ago quarter, according to a latest report from market research firm IDC.

This is significant given the fact that this is the first time that tablet shipments have declined since the market's inception in 2010.

As for tablet manufacturers, all major vendors saw their shipments decline – at 21.4 million units, Apple iPad’s shipments were down 17.8% year-on-year, while Samsung saw its tablet shipments decline by 18.4% to 11 million units.

While Asus also saw its shipments decline 25%, worst hit was Amazon, whose shipments tumbled a whopping 70% to 1.7 million units. Among the top five vendors, Lenovo was the only company which wasn’t in red – its tablet shipments increased 9.1% year-over-year to 3.7 million units.

IDC says part of the problem is that the tablet market relies mostly on Apple and Samsung. "Although Apple expanded its iPad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of $249, it still wasn't enough to spur iPad sales given the excitement around the launch of the new iPhones,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst, Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. "Meanwhile, Samsung's struggles continued as low-cost vendors are quickly proving that mid- to high-priced Android tablets simply aren't cut out for today's tablet market."

Despite the decline in the fourth quarter, the report notes that shipments for the full year 2014 increased 4.4%, totaling 229.6 million units.

Source |…

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Motorola shipped more than 10 million smartphones during the last quarter that ended on December 31, 2014. Lenovo Group announced the achievement in its third quarter earnings report for the fiscal 2015.

Shipments of Motorola smartphones are up a whopping 118% on an annual basis. The Chicago-based company added a $1.9 billion to the revenue of Lenovo Mobile Business Group.

Overall, sales of Lenovo Mobile Business Group were $3.4 bullion. However, the pre-tax income of the division came in at a negative $89 million. Lenovo announced that Motorola is on track to become profitable within 4-6 quarters after the acquisition.

Adding Motorola to its portfolio made Lenovo “a truly global player.” The Chinese giant is the third largest smartphone vendor with 6.6% market share.

Thanks to solid performance from its PC and server businesses, Lenovo recorded a consensus-beating $14.1 billion of revenue. The company’s Q3 pre-tax income before non-cash M&A-related accounting charges rose 8% to $348 million.

This year promises to be even better for Motorola, as the company is about to reenter the Chinese market. Earlier today, we found out that the Moto X (2014) has raked in 1 million pre-orders in only a few days….

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Apple iOS 8.2 beta 5 is now seeding to registered developers. The 258MB large update is available over-the-air or through the iOS Dev Center.

The latest iOS developer build brings bug fixes and improvements. Version 8.2 is going to be a major release when it goes live because it will bring support for Apple Watch to the platform.

Speaking of Apple Watch, the icon for the wearable’s companion iPhone app made the rounds on Twitter as did the settings screen for the device. Details on the application leaked out last month.

The Apple Watch settings screen is showcased in the device’s human interface guidelines page. See it below.

The Apple Watch settings app (click to enlarge)

Last week, Tim Cook announced that the Apple Watch will become available in April. Apple will probably release iOS 8.2 around that time as well. The Cupertino giant just outed iOS 8.1.3 last week.

Source | Source 2 |…

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