Oppo announced today it will launch a new camera-focused F series of smartphones in 2016. “The F series is rooted in a growing global demand for premium-quality mobile photography experiences, and in research that has indicated a strong consumer recognition that OPPO shoots great photos,” the press release said.

It was also revealed that the first device – dubbed Oppo F1 – in the mid-range series will be launched in January and will be made available in many markets across the globe. While the exact specifications and the price of the handset weren’t revealed, rumors say the F1 would be the international variant of the mid-range Oppo A53, which features a 13MP/5MP camera combo.

According to OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business Sky Li, the devices in the series will have “impressive specs, eye-catching style and amazing…

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Samsung has announced a new soundbar at CES – the HW-K950 Soundbar – capable of supporting Dolby Atmos. Dolby Atmos, for those unaware, is Dolby’s latest audio system that moves away from traditional channel based production and playback and also incorporates ceiling mounted speakers for additional immersion.

With the HW-K950 Soundbar, Samsung has a traditional soundbar with three forward facing drivers and two upward facing drivers that bounce the sound off the ceiling. In addition, there are also two wireless surround speakers that project sound from behind you and also bounce two additional channels of sound from the top. This, coupled with the wireless subwoofer gives you 5.1.4 channels of surround sound (home theater implementation of Dolby Atmos has channel system for simplicity unlike the cinema hall implementation).

Samsung claims this will give an immersive sound experience with a minimal footprint in your room. As is usual for systems that bounce sound off the ceiling, it’s important to consider the height of your ceiling before investing in one. Also, the experience is usually not as good as dedicated ceiling mounted speaker…

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The Galaxy A9 smartphone, which was unveiled by Samsung in China last month, is now available for purchase in the country. The device is listed on the South Korean company’s Chinese website carrying a price tag of RMB 3,199, which translates into $490 at current exchange rates.

If you recall, there were reports last week saying the handset will cost that much in the Asian country, so turns out those reports were true. Coming back to the listing, it shows the device can be purchased in three color options: silver, pink, and gold. However, the gold model is currently out of stock.

If you aren’t already aware, the smartphone has already cleared the FCC hurdle in the US, meaning it’s ready for launch there. It’s international launch is expected to be announced at CES this week.

Source (Chinese) |…

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Unveiled back in August last year at the company’s ZenFestival in India’s capital city of New Delhi, the ZenFone Max smartphone from Asus is now available for pre-order in the country. Online retailers including Amazon and Flipkart currently have the device listed for INR 9,999 ($150) with a release date of January 15 and January 14, respectively.

Specs-wise, the device is powered by a Snapdragon 410 SoC with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, and sports a 5.5-inch IPS display of 720p resolution with Gorilla Glass 4 protection. It comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable internal memory, and packs in a whopping 5,000mAh battery.

In terms of camera, the handset features a 13MP front unit and a 5MP front shooter. It runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with Zen UI 2.0 on top, and offers support for dual-SIM 4G LTE, 3G with HSPA+, GPS, and Bluetooh 4.0.

Source (Flipkart) | Source (Amazon)…

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Ahead of its pre-CES event, Huawei has posted a teaser on its official Weibo account that contains a side image of a thin metal device with words “Rhythm x Entertainment,” over it. As per reports, it could be the Honor X3 tablet.

As for the specs, previous leaks have suggested that the Honor X3 will be powered by a Kirin 950 SoC and sport a 6.2-inch (1600 x 2560 pixel resolution) display. It will have 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. In terms of camera, the tablet is said to feature a 20MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. It will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS out-of-the-box.

Needless to say, none of this has been officially confirmed. However, the wait isn’t too long as the teased device will be made official…

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Samsung has announced that it has developed a new remote that can work as a single control unit for all the devices connected to the South Korean company’s smart TVs. Dubbed Smart Control Remote, the device is powered by Samsung’s home-grown Tizen operating system.

The remote features automatic source recognition functionality which allows it to immediately recognize set-top-boxes, OTT boxes, Blu-ray players, game consoles as well as other connected devices, Samsung claims.

In addition, the company also unveiled a new Smart Hub interface which it claims will allow users to switch seamlessly between linear content, OTT content as well as other connected devices, including gaming consoles and Blu-ray players.

Not only this, the new interface will also let you find whatever you want to watch as well as arrange your favorite content on the home screen…

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While earlier rumors have suggested that Huawei’s P9 flagship smartphone will be launched in March this year, a new one out of China is saying the device will be made official at the company’s pre-CES event, which is scheduled for tomorrow – January 5.

In terms of specs, the new rumor says that the handset will come with a whopping 6GB of RAM and a dual rear camera setup. If you recall, there have already been reports of the smartphone featuring dual camera, but the 6GB RAM information is certainly new.

Other rumored specs of the device include 5.2-inch display, Kirin 950 SoC, and a fingerprint…

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Just over a week after temporarily halting its sales in Germany, Amazon has now stopped directly selling the Lumia 950 XL in the UK and France. While sales of the white variant have been halted in France, it’s the black Lumia 950 XL which the retailer has stopped selling in the UK – the white variant is currently out of stock there.

Here’s what Amazon UK says: “While this item is available from other Marketplace Sellers on this page, it’s not currently offered by Amazon.co.uk because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are dispatching it, or the way it’s described here. (Thanks for the tip!)”

“We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you may still find this product available from other sellers on this page.” A similar message is attached to the device’s listing on Amazon France.

It’s worth mentioning that this comes just days after Carphone Warehouse (CPW) halted Lumia 950 XL shipments in the UK. While there were reports that the retailer did this because of some unknown hardware issues, Microsoft later issued a statement refuting the reports, saying that the device is out of stock at some UK retailers due to “strong demand.”

Source 1 (Amazon UK) | Source 2 (Amazon…

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Motorola has started selling the second generation Moto 360 on Amazon in India. Previously exclusive to Flipkart, the smartwatch can now be purchased from the country’s other major online retailer.

Amazon has four versions of the watch on sale. The black version is available in 46mm with black metal band and in 42mm with black leather band. The silver version is available in 46 and 42mm in the cognac leather band. Flipkart still has a leg up on Amazon as it also sells the silver metal and gold leather versions.

The prices are same as before, ranging from INR 19,999 ($301) for the cheapest model to INR 24,999 ($377) for the most expensive…

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People increasingly care about software updates – in part because they want to get the new features, but security is becoming a more and more important topic. The Nexus devices (well, the ones from 2013 and later anyway) and Android One are a given.

Here’s the scorecard for devices that are not directly backed by Google but have been confirmed to get the latest version of its mobile platform. Keep in mind that this list includes only devices that have been officially confirmed to get Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Some other devices are likely to get it too, some most likely won’t, but those aren’t on the list.

This is the official list as of the start of 2016, though not that some of these updates won’t roll out for several months (and some are already available).

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Samsung

2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
Samsung Galaxy Note5
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2
2014
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy Alpha
Samsung Galaxy A8
Samsung Galaxy A7

Sony

2015
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Sony Xperia Z5
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Sony Xperia Z3+ / Z4
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
Sony Xperia C4
Sony Xperia M5
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2014
Sony Xperia Z3 / Z3v
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
Sony Xperia Z2
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
2013
Sony Xperia Z Ultra GPE

LG

2015
LG V10
LG G4
LG G Flex2
LG G4 Stylo
2014
LG G3

HTC

2015
HTC One M9 Plus
HTC One E9 Plus
HTC One M9
HTC One E9
HTC One ME
HTC Butterfly 3
HTC Desire 826
2014
HTC One (M8)
HTC One (E8)
HTC One (M8 Eye)
HTC Desire 820
HTC Desire 816

Motorola

2015
Motorola Moto X Pure Edition (3rd gen)
Motorola Moto X Style (3rd gen)
Motorola Moto X Play
Motorola Moto G (3rd gen)
2014
Motorola Moto X Pure edition (2nd gen)
Motorola DROID Turbo
Motorola Moto MAXX
Motorola Moto Turbo

Xiaomi

2015
Xiaomi Mi Note 2
Xiaomi Redmi 2
Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime
Xiaomi Mi 4i
2014
Xiaomi Mi 4
Xiaomi Mi Note
Xiaomi Mi Note Pro

Huawei

2015
Huawei Ascend P8
Huawei Ascend P8max
Huawei Honor 6 Plus
Huawei Honor 7i
Huawei Honor 7
Huawei Mate S
Huawei MediaPad X2
Huawei Ascend G8
2014
Huawei Mate 7
Huawei Honor 6
Huawei Mate 7
Huawei Honor 4X
Huawei Honor 4C
Huawei Ascend G7

Lenovo

2015
Lenovo K3 Note
Lenovo A7000
Lenovo A7000 Plus
Lenovo Vibe S1
Lenovo Vibe P1

Asus

2015
Asus Zenfone 2 series
Asus Zenfone 2 Laser
Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe
Asus Zenfone Selfie
Asus Zenfone Go
2013
Padfone S

OnePlus

2014
OnePlus 2
2014
OnePlus One

Android One

2015
Micromax Canvas A1
Karbonn Sparkle V
Spice Dream Uno
Symphony Roar A50
Cherry Mobile One
MyPhone Uno
Mito Impact A10
Nexian JOurney One

BlackBerry

2015
BlackBerry Priv

ZUK

2015
ZUK Z1

Nvidia

2015
Nvidia Shield Tablet…

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