Pebble updated both the firmware for its smartwatches and its smartphone apps. The biggest additions are that watch faces can now display Health data (steps counter and sleep tracker) and you can quickly send a text back to someone.

Also, Pebble Health is more accurate with the updated firmware. And it can show distance in kilometers (vive la metric system). The watch now supports Cyrillic for notifications and alerts too, making it even more useful for its non-American users.

Another new feature is the option to reply with a canned text message whenever someone calls. You can also start a conversation by sending a voice note or emoji to recent and favorite contacts.

An additional feature of the firmware is improved Watch-only mode. It disconnects Bluetooth and stops activity tracking to keep showing the time (with backlight and alarms with soft vibration) as long as possible.

Performance has been improved too, with smoother animations for the Pebble Time, Time Steel and Time Round.

Source |…

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Early last week, there were reports that Samsung is working on a Pro variant of its Galaxy A9 smartphone. The variant was said to carry a model number of SM-A9100. Now, the device has been spotted on India’s import-export tracking website Zauba.

As is the case usually, the Zauba listing of the handset doesn’t reveal much, except that it sports a large 6-inch display and carries a price tag of INR 24,179 (around $360). Keep in mind, however, that pricing information on Zauba is not always precise, and that seems to be true in this case given that the standard Galaxy A9 costs $490.

As for availability, previous reports have suggested that the Galaxy A9 Pro is aimed at the Chinese market. The standard model – which was launched around Christmas last year – is also currently only available in…

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GoPro has announced that it will be discontinuing its budget series of HERO cameras. The series consisted of the $300 HERO+ LCD, the $200 HERO+, and the cheapest $130 HERO.

The lineup will now only consist of the more expensive HERO4 series of cameras, which includes the tiny $200 HERO4 Session, the $400 HERO4 Silver, and the flagship $500 HERO4 Black. The company is also planning on launching a new HERO5 camera later this year, along with the 4K Karma drone.

The drastic change in lineup follows a lackluster quarter, with a 31 percent drop in revenue compared to last year. The company will now focus only on its flagship…

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Xiaomi’s own Wanqiang Li and Hugo Barra have both already confirmed that the MI 5 flagship is on its way, most likely scheduled for February 24 and it is definitely shaping up as an exciting offer.

We have already seen the phone depicted in renders and even a couple of live shots, but we are yet to catch a glimpse of its glass back, until today, that is. A new photo claims to depict the panel and a few things instantly stand out. For one, the material has a pattern, which rumors failed to reveal. Also, the part is Gold in color, which makes us wonder if other variants will be available as well to go better with the Black, Pink and White, cited for the Mi 5. We can’t also fail to mention that the leaked panel is obviously flat, which doesn’t fit well with the current info that the back will be curved. Still, the two things aren’t necessarily incompatible. The back panel of the Samsung Galaxy Note5 is relatively flat as well when detached from the frame.

As for the specs on the Mi 5, we already had a pretty good idea what to expect, but a new GFXBench listing now promises the full story. According to the report, the Xiaomi Mi 5 will have a 5.7-inch, 1080p display and will be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 SoC. This clearly contradicts the 5.5″ and 5.2″ size reports, as well as QHD resolution, tossed around in the past. Memory will be set at 3GB for RAM and 64GB for storage. We have also heard rumors of another 4GB version, as well as 16GB, 32GB and 128GB storage versions, but all are still largely unconfirmed.

GFXBench doesn’t mention anything about the camera setup, but from what we have heard, the Xiaomi Mi5 will have a 16MP main shooter with f/2.2 aperture and an 8MP one on the front. Other expected features include Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with GLONASS, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BDS, OTG and NFC. The phone is shaping up as a single SIM offer and 4G LTE is a given.

Xiaomi’s launch event is a few weeks away, but by some accounts, the Mi 5 will also make an appearance at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, so, hopefully, we can catch a first glimpse of the flagship then. It is too early to talk about availability and pricing, but industry sources suggest a price tag of around 2500 CNY.

Source 1 (in Chinese) | Source 2 | Via 1 | Via…

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Amazon has introduced the Amazon Now service in India. The service promises two-hour free delivery for household items, such as groceries, food and beverages, cosmetics, and other essentials.

The service has to be accessed through the dedicated app, currently only available on Android. The app lists all the items across categories. Amazon will then fetch these items from partner stores, such as Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, Godrej Nature’s Basket, etc. and deliver them to you in minimum of 2-hours if you choose the express delivery option, although you can schedule for a later time as well.

The delivery options are free right now as an introductory offer. You also get 20 percent cashback on orders above INR 250, with maximum cashback of INR 100.

The service is currently only available in Bangalore in certain regions but should be coming to other regions and cities in future.

Download •…

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The LG G5 has just been confirmed for an MWC announcement on February 21, and with just two weeks until then it’s no surprise that the leaks keep coming in. This time we’re getting a more detailed look at the rear of the device, and specifically the camera.

The all-new dual-camera setup was already featured in a couple of leaks, as well as some case renders, but we now get a peek at what’s between those lenses, until now masked by bad lighting or designers lacking detailed drawings.

LG G5 case

So these new renders reveal a dual-LED flash, but oddly both diodes are the same color, which would suggest that LG went for power instead of color accuracy when designing the flash. Either that, or more plausibly the case maker was only given dimensions and layout, but no color info. Underneath the LEDs there’s what appears to be a laser autofocus window, which would make sense given LG’s history in the field – the G3, G4 and V10 all employ such tech.

The rest is very much inline with what we knew so far – the volume buttons have moved to the side, and the circular power button on the back will double as a fingerprint sensor.

Additionally, most of the cases listed on Amazon have March 28 set as their availability date, so by deduction there will be more than a month between the G5’s announcement and actual availability. Then again, the case from the above image will be available in just two days, and it’s obviously already been manufactured, so at least we know the design is final.

Thanks for the tip, Blagovest Alikov!

Source 1 Source…

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Back in June last year, Sony announced a list of devices that it said will be updated to Android 5.1 Lollipop. Notably missing from the list was the Xperia M4 Aqua, which was just three months old then.

However, in October, the phone made it to the list of handsets that the company said will get the Marshmallow update, indicating that it’ll be a direct jump from Android 5.0 to Android 6.0 for the device. Now, the company has confirmed exactly that.

@KarCerKK Regarding your question the Xperia M4 Aqua will skip Android 5.1 and will receive Android 6.0 (Marshmallow).— Sony Xperia (@sonyxperia) February 2, 2016

Responding to a user query on Twitter, the Japanese company confirmed that the M4 Aqua will skip the Android 5.1.1 update, and will directly be updated to Marshmallow. There was, however, no word on when the update would be rolled out.

Meanwhile, the Android 5.0 firmware for the phone as well as its Dual variant has been updated by the company in the Nordic region. Head to the Via link below to access the FTF firmware files.

Source |…

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Earlier this week, we told you about a new update to Samsung’s Android web browser – Internet – that added API support for developers to build ad blocking extensions for the browser. We also told you about the Adblock Fast app, which was Samsung’s launch partner for the ad-blocking feature. That app has been suddenly pulled by Google from its Play Store.

No prior warning was issued by the Mountain View, California-based company – app developers just received what seemed to be a human-written email, informing them that the app violates section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement.

The said section of the agreement says:

You agree that you will not engage in any activity with the Store, including the development or distribution of Products, that interferes with, disrupts, damages, or accesses in an unauthorized manner the devices, servers, networks, or other properties or services of any third party including, but not limited to, Android users, Google or any mobile network operator.

While the app doesn’t seem to do any of this in the first look, technically speaking, it certainly “disrupts” Web pages by removing ads. But so do other similar Samsung Internet extensions that haven’t been pulled yet. It’s worth mentioning that Adblock Fast became popular very quickly, hitting the top spot for free, new productivity apps on Google Play within a day of its launch.

When reached out for comment, a Google spokesperson just said, “While we don’t comment on specific apps, we can confirm that our policies are designed to provide a great experience for users and…

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Samsung has announced the 2016 models of the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 for India.

The A5 and A7 are company’s mid-range smartphones with premium design and build quality. Both phones have a 1080p Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 615, 16GB storage, 13 megapixel camera at the back, 5 megapixel camera on the front, and Android Lollipop, all in a metal and glass body. Only differences are the bigger 5.5-inch display on the A7 compared to 5.2-inch on the A5, 3GB RAM vs. 2GB, and larger 3300mAh battery vs. 2900mAh.

The Galaxy A5 is priced at INR 29,400 ($433) and the Galaxy A7 at INR 33,400 ($492). They will be available starting February 15,…

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Nearly a year after foraying into the smartphone market, erstwhile Sony brand VAIO has unveiled its second smartphone. Dubbed Phone Biz, the device is powered by Windows 10 Mobile, and is apparently aimed at business users.

Specs-wise, the handset is powered by a Snapdragon 617 SoC with octa-core processor, and sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display. It comes with 3GB RAM and 16GB internal memory, which can be expanded via microSD slot.

In terms of camera, the Phone Biz features a 13MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. A 2,800mAh battery is there to keep the lights on.

The mid-range smartphone is launching next month in Japan carrying a price tag of around $430. There’s currently no information on if and when it’ll be landing outside the Asian country.

Source (Japanese) | Via 1…

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