The Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge pair have been thoroughly leaked over the past weeks and one of the latest bits was the set of renders depicting a few color options. Conservative choices on Samsung’s part, mostly, and that may disappoint those looking for some rose gold flair.

However, the ones hoping for an all-black flagship will be pleased to see that Samsung has abandoned last year’s Black Sapphire color option (which was really dark blue). It’s a proper deep black paint job now, as revealed in these two live images of a Galaxy S7 edge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge live images

Blurry as they may be, the photos show no peculiar color shifts at an angle, but also reveal an inherent issue with the all-glass design – fingerprints. So if you’re after a dark Galaxy, you better be prepared for regular wiping sessions.

Alternatively, if you find the regular designs too bland and utilitarian, you will be able to pick a superhero-themed Galaxy S7, it seems. Always great to have…

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Sony’s new e-Ink based universal remote is called Huis (allegedly pronounced “house”). The always-on display means the remote is always ready to use (smartphone IR remote apps always need to wake up the screen).

The Huis is designed to stand upright to blend in with the rest of your electronics (it measures 123 x 68 x 24mm, 130g). The 1,500mAh battery is rated at about a month (based on 100 uses per day).

The remote also has Bluetooth LE built-in, which will be enabled in the future. You can download remotes for various gadgets – TVs, air conditioners, anything IR-based really.

You can also use a PC app to design your own remote interface, complete with cute images to appeal to children.

The Sony Huis is a product of the First Flight crowd funding platform (which previously brought an e-paper smart watch). The Huis will be available only in Japan for now, starting in March. Pre-orders run for JPY 27,950 (around $250), putting it against the Logitech Harmony remotes on price.

Source (in Japanese) |…

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The Microsoft Lumia 650 just became official today and it’s already on pre-order across Europe. Sales start February 18 (the 19th in Italy).

Here are the official prices from the Microsoft Store:

United Kingdom £160
Germany €230
France €230
Italy €240

Judging by the way the Lumia 950 price has been falling by £10/€10 every week or two, we’d wait a bit with the pre-order. Also, keep in mind the Lumia 640 is around…

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Xiaomi’s promo campaign for the Mi 5 continues – check the out official clear protective case for the phone, which will be officially unveiled on February 24.

The case is only 0.45mm thick and adds protection to the glass back of the Xiaomi Mi 5.

A clear protective cover for the Xiaomi Mi 5

Previous teasers included camera samples from Hugo Barra, tweets about the slogan (“All you ever imagined and more”) and confirmations of the February 24 date from the company’s co-founder.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected to come in several versions (as many as four), but the base version will have a 5.2″ QHD screen (a big 5.7″ option is also rumored), a Snapdragon 820 chipset and a 16MP camera.

Source (in Chinese) |…

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Motorola started rolling out Android 6.0 to the Moto G (3rd gen) back in December. The update first arrived in the United States and Canada, with units in India getting it last month. Now, the device has started receiving the update in Europe, too.

What’s worth mentioning here is that it’s not exactly the same update that rolled out in other regions. The software version it carries is 24.41.33.en.EU, which is newer when compared to the 24.11.25.en.US version it carried in the US and India.

Unfortunately, it isn’t yet known how the European update differs or exactly what new changes it brings along. The roll-out is ongoing, meaning you should receive an OTA notification soon. Alternatively, you can also manually check for the update by heading to your handset’s settings.

Via…

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It seems that Samsung hedges its bets when it comes to superheros. Last year the S6 had a Marvel Avengers-themed lineup, now rumor has it the Samsung Galaxy S7 will come in a Batman v Superman costume.

The phone will reportedly debut on March 24, the day before the premiere of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie, DC’s answer to the Avengers.

Samsung will also continue its Olympics line (last year it had a Galaxy Note 3 Sochi edition). This time around it will celebrate the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August. It will feature an Olympics-themed Home button. The launch date is not clear, but it should come out first, before the BvS S7.

Source (in Korean) |…

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The Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates for the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge has been teased quite a few times. A few days ago we even got a confirmation those are rolling out in Poland.

Today Samsung officially announced the worldwide availability of both Marshmallow updates for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. Users on both devices should be getting the notification very soon, if not already.

Of course, the upgrades will become available gradually, and it will depend on the market and carrier.

The Android Marshmallow update for the Galaxy S6 brings the new Android version, enhanced TouchWiz interface and all the latest security fixes. The Galaxy S6 edge will also benefit from it with new edge screen features.

If you own a Galaxy S6 or S6 edge, you should probably keep an eye for the update pop up.

Source |…

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The ink is still drying on the Lumia 650 press release (so to speak), and in due time Microsoft has posted a promo video highlighting the smartphone’s key features. Titled “The smart choice for your business”, the short clip positions the Lumia 650 as a company phone – read not one you get for yourself, because you actually want it.

The video starts with an exploded view of the components, followed by a close-up on a microSD card. The second half focuses on the software side of things with Windows 10 taking center stage and a few productivity features…

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HTC’s last Windows Phone device was the One (M8) for Windows, which was released back in 2014. The Taiwanese company has been launching only Android-phones since then. Does that mean the firm has given up on Windows Phone completely? Well, doesn’t seem so.

HTC One (M8) for Windows

A recently-spotted job posting from Microsoft indicates that HTC is continuing its partnership with the Redmond, Washington-based company as far as mobile devices are concerned. The listing says Microsoft is looking for a director of account management in HTC’s home country, and refers to a “goal to build product portfolio that highlight focused user scenarios around our Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft services combined with HTC’s devices, applications, and services.”

Here is the complete listing:

The team is seeking a Director of Account Management, located in Taipei, Taiwan to report to the Director of Device Sales in Shenzhen, China. In this global role, the Director is responsible for developing this dynamic and fast growing Ecosystem and Partnering with business groups and channel teams while sharing deep insight and strategic vision. The Taiwan ecosystem contains our global tier 2 ODM partners including ECS, Uniwill, Shuttle, Clevo in addition to tier 2 IDHs and SIs for which this person will manage. In addition, this person will lead all aspects of sales and business development interaction with HTC, one of our top 3rd party phone device partner accounts. Being the HTC AM will have a heavy emphasis on coordinated strategy development with OSG, Marketing, and OEM. Impact must be driven through senior executive levels up to and including CEO level with the goal to build product portfolio that highlight focused user scenarios around our Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft services combined with HTC’s devices, applications, and services.

It’s amply clear now that Windows 10 Mobile devices aren’t selling well. Although new OEMs like VAIO and HP have recently hopped on the Windows 10 Mobile bandwagon, it would be interesting to see if HTC takes this risk given that the company itself is struggling at the…

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Panasonic has announced the LUMIX GF8, a variation of the GF7 but with more emphasis on self portraits.

Panasonic LUMIX GF8

The GF8 has the same 16 megapixel CMOS sensor with Micro Four Thirds lens mount. The sensor is capable of ISO 25600 sensitivity with contrast AF system that has face as well as eye detect. It can also record 1080p60 video and has Wi-Fi for wireless image transfers.

The GF8 also includes a flipping touchscreen 1.04M dot display. Flipping the display switches the camera to self portrait mode. The camera also applies several effects such as changing skin texture, slimming the face, teeth whitening, etc. Effects that are commonly seen on smartphone camera apps but now included on a digital camera because why the hell not. You can further change your face by choosing the color of foundation, lips, cheeks, eye-shadow and so forth. Plastic surgeons hate this camera.

The pricing and availability hasn’t been announced…

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