Turns out the rumors were true. The Le Max Pro from LeEco (formerly LeTV) became the world’s first SD820 smartphone to go on sale after a limited number (1,000) of units were made available for purchase today.

There are, however, a couple of interesting facts about the sale, which started at 12pm China time. Firstly, the units up for grabs were not commercial models, but engineering models instead. And secondly, they were available for just CNY 1,999 (around $305) – earlier rumors had suggested the device will cost somewhere between CNY 3,500 and CNY 3,700 ($530-$570).

Specs-wise, the Le Max Pro sports a 6.33-inch QHD touchscreen, and comes with 4GB RAM, 21 MP rear camera, ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, a USB Type-C port, and 3,400 mAh battery. It runs Android 6.0…

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Of the three X series phones Sony unveiled yesterday at the MWC, we now have some information about the European pricing for two – the Xperia X and XA. While the former carries a price tag of €599, the latter will cost you €299.

Both devices are currently listed on Amazon Germany, which is taking pre-orders for them. The Xperia X Performance doesn’t appear to be listed – its absence further corroborates reports that the device won’t be launched in the country.

Over in the US, Sony is taking pre-registrations for the Xperia X and X Performance. There’s, however, currently no word on their pricing and availability.

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WhatsApp has finally launched its Android beta program on Google’s Play Store, making it easier for early adopters to test latest pre-release builds of the mobile messaging service.

If you’re interested in joining the program, first head to the service’s Play Store beta listing, and then tap on the ‘Become a Tester’ option (make sure you’re logged into your Gmail account at this point). Once done, just update the WhatsApp app (or download if you don’t have it already) by heading to Google Play.

Before you join the program, do keep in mind that testing versions may be unstable or have a few…

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As you might already know, Sony announced a trio of X series phones – the Xperia X, X Performance, and XA – at the ongoing Mobile World Congress yesterday. Out of the three, the X Performance is the most powerful – it packs in a SD820 SoC. Now, we have some information on the device’s availability.

The handset is coming to the US for sure. A quick look at Sony’s US website reveals that the company has already started accepting pre-registrations for the device (as well as for the Xperia X) in the country. There’s, however, currently no information on exactly when it will be launched in the US, and whether or not it will be available through carriers.

As for the X Performance’s European availability, the phone isn’t coming to the United Kingdom. This was seemingly confirmed by the marketing material shared by the UK arm of the Japanese company. As you can see in the image below, there’s no mention of X Performance, while other phones unveiled at the MWC are listed.

In addition, the phone is also missing from the announcements made by carriers in the UK. Aside from the UK, reports say the handset won’t be available in Germany as well, although we’re yet to hear an official confirmation on this.

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T-Mobile decided to make a video that will catch people’s attention as well as raise awareness about the new Galaxy S7’s IP68 immersion rating meaning that it is dust resistant and can be submerged underwater up to 5 feet for up to 30 minutes at a time.

Des, T-Mobile’s product manager, filmed a video completely underwater of him with a snorkel and T-Mobile retail uniform, unboxing a Galaxy S7. And yes, he took the entire box under water and unboxed it, underwater.

He is murmuring the entire video because of all that water, so the video has had to include subtitles to understand what he’s saying. He also turns the phone on, takes tests shots with the camera, and even takes a video call, all underwater.

The Galaxy S7 was announced this past weekend at MWC in Barcelona. It features a 5.1″ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 820 CPU paired with Adreno 530 GPU, 12.1MP camera, IP68 immersion rating, and will be available in Black, White, Gold, and…

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Carriers are looking at options that might finally replace standard SMS messaging with Google’s involvement. Google is going to create a new standard messaging app to take advantage of RCS messaging across carriers between Android devices on worldwide carriers.

RCS stands for Rich Communication Service and it’s like an enhanced version of SMS offering high-resolution photo sharing, instant group chats, read receipts, and more.

The GSMA Intelligence group, responsible for bringing us major events like MWC in Barcelona and Shanghai, reports that Google will be working to provide a standardized RCS client for Android users.

Ultimately, these features are nothing new to iPhone users who have had iMessage for years now. But these features could finally be available to Android users with a more widely adopted standardized protocol of sending messages and content back and forth.

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Verizon put a release today from MWC in Barcelona, Spain. Big Red has been working with a few companies to test the blazing fast speeds that 5G technologies can bring to customers.

Verizon has been working with other companies like Apple, Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm, and Ericsson to develop components and technologies to incorporate 5G into reality. Verizon calls this group of companies its own “5G Technology Forum”.

Verizon plans to “.expand this testing significantly over the next several months.” and work closely with other large wireless companies in Asia to aid in reaching its 5G launch goal of 2017.

The video below shows the various technologies and testing scenarios used to test these new 5G speeds like testing in office and home settings, the latter of which had several TVs streaming 4K content through the 5G connection.

Verizon’s more recent experience with Fios Cable Internet over the last few years will surely aid in its own development of 5G wireless technologies.

This sure reminds us of Samsung’s original plan to launch 5G service in the year 2020 and cuts the estimated launch time by about 3 years thanks to the help of the other members of Verizon’s 5G Technology Forum.

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Samsung will not be shipping the newly unveiled Galaxy S7 and S7 edge with two of the apps we’ve gotten used to having on its handsets. We’re talking about Samsung’s music and video playing apps. These will not be part of the package you’ll see when you first turn on either smartphone.

Instead, you will get Google Play Music and Play Movies bundled with the two flagships. If you do find yourself missing Samsung’s own music and video players, rest assured that they will only ever be a few taps away, as part of the ‘Galaxy Essentials’ pack in the Galaxy Store. From there you can quickly download either one of them (or both) and start using it (or them) in no time.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s app suite will come preinstalled on the S7 duo – think Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Skype. And that makes sense when you consider that Microsoft is probably paying Samsung for the inclusion of these apps on its…

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Today at MWC in Barcelona Swedish car maker Volvo has announced that it’s bringing a native Spotify app to its cars, starting with the new XC90, S90, and V90.

The app will be preinstalled in Volvo’s Sensus user interface, which makes use of “the large real-estate of the tablet-like touch screen” in the aforementioned models.

You’ve been able to listen to Spotify tunes in your Volvo car even up until this point, but only via Bluetooth or Apple CarPlay. The new native Spotify app will enable “a much richer experience and a search functionality that non-native applications cannot deliver”, according to the press release.

The app will be accessible “this spring” to Volvo owners in every country where Spotify is available. It will “get the most out of the Bowers & Wilkins sound system” that you can find in the Volvo XC90, S90, and V90. Use of the app will require a Spotify Premium subscription of course, with a 30-day free trial being an option for those who have never used the service…

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Last week Samsung announced that the 3G-capable version of its Gear S2 classic smartwatch will become available in the US on March 11. At that moment the Korean company mentioned AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon as the carriers which are going to sell the first ever device to sport an eSIM.

And now one of those networks has finally come out and shared the full details of the Gear S2 classic 3G’s launch in its stores. We’re talking about Verizon.

The watch will be up for pre-order from Big Red online tomorrow, on February 23. It will be priced at $399 outright, or $349 with a new two-year contract. If you already have a service agreement with the carrier, you’ll be able to add the Gear S2 classic’s connection for just $5 per month (this is the price of the service, not the device, mind you).

Aside from the network connectivity, the 3G version of the Gear S2 classic comes with the same specs as the non-3G iteration. It has a 1.2-inch 360×360 circular AMOLED touchscreen, a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, wireless charging, and a 300 mAh battery. It runs Tizen, it’s IP68 certified for dust and water resistance, and it comes with an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a heart rate monitor, a barometer, and ambient light…

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