We’re already anticipating LG’s pre-MWC press event on February 21, when the company is almost certainly going to unveil the LG G5 flagship. And with this one, LG is adamant it won’t lag behind Samsung in any way.

An LG executive cited by Korean Times said that while previous company flagships have been pushed back “months after the release” of Samsung’s premium offerings, this year will be different and “LG Electronics is ready to take on Samsung.”

The latest set of LG G5 rumors suggest the phone will rock a 5.6″ QHD display with Gorilla Glass 4, Snapdragon 820 SoC with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, further expandable via the microSD card slot.

An interesting feature of the G5 is the reportedly modular design. It would allow users to remove the bottom of the phone and replace the battery. Finally, we expect a 20MP main camera with a 1.2″ sensor, laser autofocus and OIS.

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The Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact are coming to the US, but their fingerprint reader must have been confiscated by the TSA. You read that right, the US versions of Sony’s flagships will lack the security-focused sensor.

True, they will still bring a new chipset (Snapdragon 810, up from S801) and the new generation camera… but an Xperia Z3 can be snatched right now for $360 or so, well below the $600 the Z5 will cost. The Xperia Z3 Compact is $360 on Amazon too, while the Z5 Compact will go for $500.

Sony’s strategy in the US has been, shall we call it a little confusing? This move is even stranger – few flagships are left with no fingerprint reader and Sony can’t exactly coast on the popularity of the Xperia brand to make up for the…

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A year ago the Coolpad ivvi K1 Mini was the “world’s thinnest smartphone” at 4.7mm, now the company has another slender model – the Coolpad ivvi i Plus. At 5.5mm it’s not as thin, but it upgrades several of the key specs.

The phone has an all-metal body that comes in Silver, Gold and Pink. It has a 5″ 720p screen, Snapdragon 410 chipset, a big upgrade in memory compared to the K1 Mini (3GB of RAM and 32GB storage).

It’s compatible with 3G and LTE networks in China, but there’s no word on whether it will branch out abroad. In China it will cost CNY 2,000 ($300/€280), so it’s not exactly cheap. The battery capacity is unknown at the…

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Promo codes have been a long requested features by Android developers and it appears Google has finally decide to oblige and bake the functionality straight into the Play Store. In its current state, it is executed in a pretty straightforward manner.

Promotion codes can be issued through the developer console and then distributed in any way the developer deems fitting for his marketing needs. Each code can only be used once and redeemed either towards a paid app as a whole or a particular in-app purchase.

Currently the code can only be used to make an item free, no discount options are present in the initial version. Also, you cannot create codes for subscription content yet.

There are also a few other limitations to the functionality. App owners can only issue up to 500 promo codes per quarter. This quota can be used towards any number of combinations between free app coupons or in-app purchases (if the app happens to have both). Unused quotas do not roll over form quarter to quarter and there are also time restrictions on the validity of codes, which are adjustable to up to one year.

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Oppo F1 went official a few days ago and is already available in Vietnam. Oppo is also prepping a European tour in five countries to advertise the phone and meets with fans, bloggers and vloggers.

Today Oppo announced the launch of the pre-order campaign for the Oppo F1 in Europe. The smartphone will set you back €229 and you will get a free Oppo Selfie Stick with each purchase.

Note that Oppo will charge you €5 for the pre-order and will give you a €5 discount coupon code for the final payment. You should also be aware of the limited stock of the Oppo Selfie Sticks, so if you want to get the freebie, you should hurry up with your pre-order.

The Oppo F1 is a 5″ smartphone with an IPS 720p display, Snapdragon 616 chip with an octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM, LTE connectivity, 16GB expandable storage, and a 2,500 mAh battery. It has an attractive aluminum unibody painted in golden, and a 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 screen protection.

Finally, the Oppo F1 features a 13MP rear camera with a LED flash and a front 8MP selfie snapper with various software tweaks available for selfie fans. You can even use the screen as a flash in low-light scenes (it lights up at maximum in white for a second).

You can place your Oppo F1 pre-order right here. If you are interested in the Oppo F1 tour you can learn more details…

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Xiaomi’s exorbitant growth was bound to hit a wall at some point and this point was 2015, apparently. Falling short of even the most conservative forecasts, the company has only sold a total of 70 million smartphones, where initial expectation put the number in the 80 to 100 million range.

That’s still around 15% up from the 61.1 million units Xiaomi sold in 2014, but the growth is nowhere near the 227% the company registered in 2014, or the 160% the year before.

However, it was unreasonable to expect the Chinese start-up, established in 2010, to be able to sustain such growth trends for more than a couple of years. The company’s expansion to India in 2014 was undoubtedly a key factor in those 227%, but from now on moves to smaller markets with gradual growth in the double digits are perhaps the best the accountants can hope for.

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Fujifilm announced four new cameras today, the X-Pro2, X70, X-E2S, XP90.

The X-Pro2 is the successor to the X-Pro1 and the newest flagship in the X-Series of cameras. It has a new 24.3 megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor with X-Processor Pro image processor, which is said to have 4x faster processing than its predecessor. The cool feature here is the Hybrid Multi Viewfinder, which combines an optical and electronic viewfinder into one. One one hand, you have the ability to see directly as with a standard optical viewfinder but you also get settings preview and electronic view displayed on top of the direct view for additional flexibility.

The camera uses a new autofocus system with 273 AF points, out of which 77 are phase detection covering 40% of the imaging area. The body is made out of magnesium alloy and weather sealed at 61 points. The camera also has dual SD slots, the first for a Fujifilm, and one of them is high-speed UHS-II. On the back is a 3-inch 1.62 million dot LCD. The camera supports compressed RAW and also 1080p60 video.

The Fujifilm X-Pro2 is priced at $1,699.95 (body-only) and will be available in February.

Fujifilm X-Pro2

The X70 has a 16.2 megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS II sensor with a fixed Fujinon 18.5mm f2.8 lens. The camera has a new 49 point AF system, ISO 100-51200 sensitivity, 1080p60 video, 8fps burst mode, 3-inch 1.04 million dot tilting touchscreen LCD, and built-in Wi-Fi. The X70 is priced at $699.95 and will be available in February.

Fujifilm X70

The X-E2S is a rangefinder style camera with a 16.3 megapixel APS-C Trans CMOS II sensor, 49 point AF system, up to ISO 51200 sensitivity, silent electronic shutter for up to 1/32,000 second shutter speed, 1080p60 video, Wi-Fi, and Fujifilm X mount. The X-E2S is priced at $699.95 (body-only) and with Fujifilm XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS lens for $999.95, and will be available in February.

Fujifilm X-E2S

Finally, there is the XP90 rugged waterproof camera. The camera has a 16.4 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, 5x optical zoom, 1080p60 video, Wi-Fi, and 3-inch LCD with anti-reflective coating. The camera is waterproof up to 15m and shockproof from 1.75m, and freezeproof up to 14°F/-10°C. The XP90 is priced at $229.95 and will be available in February in blue, yellow, graphite with green, and graphite with orange.

Fujifilm XP90

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Just days after the 4G-capable Lumia 640 devices started receiving it in Poland, the Windows 10 update has started rolling out in Latin America too, where the Lumia 535 has become the first device to get the update.

The update bumps the OS version to 10586.29 and is currently rolling out to unlocked Lumia 535 units with CV LTA ROM.

Aside from the Lumia 640 and Lumia 535, other devices that are set to receive the update include the Lumia 430, 435, 532, 540, 635 (1GB RAM variant), 640 XL, 735, 830, and 930.

If you aren’t already aware, the Windows 10 Mobile update is also expected to roll out in the Netherlands (T-Mobile) and France (Bouygues Telecom) in the coming week.

Via 1 (translated) | Via…

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Market research firm NPD has released its December 2015 US retail report revealing that it was the best ever month of Microsoft’s Xbox One as well as Sony’s PS4 sales, although specific sales numbers weren’t revealed.

“As an indication of the strength of the new consoles, December 2015 marked the best month to date of PS4 unit sales as well as the Xbox One,” the research firm said. As for the top selling gaming console in December, the PS4 retained the spot.

Overall, there was a decrease of 6% in hardware unit sales compared to December 2014, which the firm said was driven by a 71% drop in seventh generation hardware and 32% decrease in portable hardware. The eighth generation spending was, however, up by 4%.

NPD also commented on sales of both Play Station and Xbox devices ever since they launched. “After 26 months of sales, the combined cumulative sales of Xbox One and PS4 exceeds the 26 month total of the PS3 and Xbox 360 by 47 per cent,” the firm said.

“The lead from the prior generation has expanded due to the strong PS4 and Xbox One 2015 holiday, going from 38 per cent by the end of October, growing to 47 per cent by the end of November, and maintaining 47 per cent higher sales by the end of December.”

In terms of games, Call Of Duty: Black Ops III bagged the top spot in December. It was also the the biggest game of…

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The ZenFone Max smartphone from Asus went up for pre-orders in India early this month, and inline with the release date revealed then, it is now available for purchase in the country. The device was unveiled last year at the company’s ZenFestival in India.

Online retailers Amazon and Flipkart currently have the device in stock, and are selling it for INR 9,999 (around $150). Both white and black color options are available on the latter, while the former is apparently only has the white model listed.

For those who aren’t already aware, the ZenFone Max’s selling point is its whopping 5,000mAh battery. Other specs include Snapdragon 410 SoC, 5.5-inch 720p IPS display, 2GB/16GB memory configuration, and 13MP/5MP camera combo.

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