Xiaomi launches Redmi 2, an improved entry-level smartphone

Usually, it is Xiaomi’s flagship devices that get all the attention – as well they should. But if we’re going to be straight about it, it was the Redmi – the Chinese manufacturer’s budget phone – that accounted for most of their per unit sales last year. Now Xiaomi is back with a better, much improved Redmi 2.

The new Redmi 2 does not depart much from the design and specs that made its predecessor so successful – and in fact improves heavily on it. There’s the 4.7-inch HD display (720p) that is still the same, but this is now powered by a spanking new 64-bit enabled Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, supported by 1GB RAM. It retains 8GB internal storage and has an 8MP/2MP camera combo.

The Redmi 2 also gives users a few more color choices this year, aside from the white and the red – it now has models in powder yellow and lime green. The phone has dual 4G capability, which means it takes in 2 SIM cards and both are capable for 4G data connections (Cat4 LTE). The phone also carries 2,200mAh battery.

The Redmi 2 runs MIUI 6, Xiaomi's version of Android. The pricing will be around USD$115, when it is released for sale on January 9 in China. Eventually, the Redmi 2 should make it to Xiaomi’s overseas markets as well. So how about this? Do you like it?

SOURCE: Xiaomi

Story Timeline

• Xiaomi sales ban in India partially lifted


• Xiaomi 64-bit smartphone spotted at TENAA, AnTuTu


• Xiaomi to unveil a sweet surprise, could be a 4G Redmi 1s successor

Activite Pop is an affordable health watch to track activities

If you don't feel the need to own one of the new (or older) smartwatches currently available in the market but would like to track your health-related activities, your best bet would be a health watch. One of the more trustworthy brands out there is Withings' Activite. But if the $450 price tag is a bit steep for you, they've recently announced a more affordable line of health watches called Activite Pop.

At first look, it looks like any other stylish but simple analog watch but do not be fooled. Just like the original Activite, it will measure what you've been able to achieve for your activity goals, and it will show in the smaller dial on your watchface. It will also monitor your sleep patterns and if you need to not sleep anymore, you can set up the alarm and it will vibrate to wake you up. You don't even need to charge your wearable as it runs on a standard watch battery that can last up to 8 months.

Activite Pop comes in three colors: Azure, Shark Grey, and Sand. It doesn't look cheap at all and even looks a bit stylish, especially compared to the chunkier and heavier health watches out there. Withings was able to make production cost cheaper (and therefore retail price lower) by using silicone for the strap and applying PVD coating to the watchface. And since this is something which may occasionally come in touch with water and sweat, it has 30 meters of water resistance.

The health watch is expected to hit online and retail stores, specifically Best Buy, by March. The Activite Pop is priced at $150, which Withings expects to bring in more customers who do not feel like shelling out $450 for the regular Activite. If you want to be the one of the earliest to have these, bestbuy.com will reportedly be offering limited quantities for sale by January 5.

VIA: SlashGear

ZTE launches WiFi-only version of portable wireless projector

At CES last year, ZTE displayed a curious gadget that was a combination of a WiFi hotspot and a portable video projector. That device got launched in July 2014 as the ZTE LivePRO. Early this year, we’re seeing a new device along these lines – mostly the same functions but without the hotspot capability – and ZTE is calling it the ZTE SPRO, a portable WiFi-connected Android-based wireless projector.

The ZTE SPRO is an interesting take on Android, mainly because it leverages on the capabilities of the platform and applies to a traditionally wired device like a projector. The SPRO provides 100 lumens of portable projector functionality, and because it is WiFi connected and Android-powered, you can project content straight from your favorite apps.

The device runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, powered by a 1.2Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processor, supported by 1GB of RAM. There’s a 4-inch display where you can interact with Android and the device’s projector functions. You can also project directly from a USB drive via the USB port, and the standard way from your laptop’s HDMI port.

The device has 5,000mAh of battery power, and you can use it as a power bank as well if you’re running low on juice and there isn’t a power outlet in sight. The device also has Bluetooth connectivity, and there’s a microSD slot for more storage input options. The ZTE SPRO is available right now for pre-order via the manufacturer’s website for USD$399. And if you check ZTE’s booth at CES 2015, you might just get a chance to see this up close.

SOURCE: ZTE

Story Timeline

• ZTE Projector Hotspot hands-on: a confused Android device


• ZTE Zinger now available on T-Mobile Prepaid


• ZTE USA intros new 4G-enabled phone, calls it ZTE Speed

Acer outs new HD projector with screen-casting capabilities pre-CES

Another one of Acer’s new goodies to be displayed at CES 2015 is the Acer H7550ST Full HD projector, a projector that is capable of throwing 1080p images and video to the screen. What’s more interesting about the device is that it seems to have incorporated Chromecast-like functionality via a hidden wireless adapter. Interesting.

At the forefront of it, the Acer H7550ST is still a projector – one with a high 3000 lumens brightness that should be able to relatively handle indoor daylight situations, Short-Throw technology that enables it to project up to 300 inches diagonally from short distances, and a native contrast ratio of 16,000:1.

But what sets it apart is its ability to take wireless data being streamed to it via a laptop or a desktop and stream it directly on screen. It can also use dongles such as Chromecast and other such technology, but that would just be redundant, as the capability to stream is already native.

Aside from that, the high-end projector also includes 20w speakers if you are not able to find audio outputs for your video. As such, the projector is also able to stream audio to Bluetooth speakers. Pretty nifty. Pricing is at USD$999. Check it out at CES 2015 in Las Vegas if you can.

SOURCE: Acer

Story Timeline

• Acer announces biggest Chromebook with 15-inch display, Core i3


• Acer announces Liquid Jade S, Liquid Z410 smartphones ahead of CES

Acer announces Liquid Jade S, Liquid Z410 smartphones ahead of CES

All the pre-CES 2015 announcements gain more momentum today as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, consumer tech show in the world is just literally hours away. Acer joins the mob as it announces two smartphones – a robust mid-tier smartphone and a very interesting entry level one – ahead of the big trade show in Las Vegas.

Liquid Jade S

The Acer Liquid Jade S boasts of 64-bit octa-core processor performance coming from the MediaTek MT6752M SoC. The phone has a 5-inch HD IPS display (720p), 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage. One of the highlights of this new phone is the powerful 13MP rear camera with f1.8 aperture, and a more-than-capable 5MP selfie cam.

Because of the sleek design (7.78mm thick), the phone will feature a non-removable 2,300mAh battery. The Liquid Jade S also features LTE connectivity. Another new feature will be the hybrid nanoSIM/microSD slot – a feature that will be found on some models of this phone. The users can choose to either use a second nanoSIM card for dual SIM functionality, or use the slot as an expansion for microSD storage, depending on the need of the user.

All of this will be running under Android 4.4.4, although an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop is promised within the year. The pricings starts at USD$359.

Liquid Z410

The Liquid Z410 is an entry level 4G smartphone – that’s something unheard of with entry level phones last year – an entry level phone with 4G connectivity. But that’s really what it is.

The Liquid Z410 features Cat4LTE connectivity, powered by a 64-bit quad-core MediaTek MT6732 processor and a Mali-T760 GPU chip. The display is a 4.5-inch qHD screen, just enough for an entry level device (had to skimp somewhere).

The device highlights a 2MP front-facing camera with an 80-degree wide angle feature. It should launch with Android 4.4 Kitkat out of the box. Pricing will be at around USD$155.

SOURCE: Acer (1), (2)

Story Timeline

• Acer Liquid Z500 smartphone aims to entertain with CD-quality sound


• Acer Extend streams Android content to Windows 8 PCs


• Acer outs Liquid Jade S, with 64-bit ‘true’ octa-core proc

Acer announces biggest Chromebook with 15-inch display, Core i3

Acer, which says it has 40% of the market in the Chromebook segment, has announced that they are releasing the world's biggest Chromebook (so far). The Chromebook 15 not only boasts of a 15.6-inch display, a huge leap from the previous largest 13-inch device, but is also the first of its kind to run on Intel's newest processor, the 5th generation Core i3.

The Chromebook, a laptop that runs on the desktop-based Chrome OS, may not have exactly set the market on fire, but has held its own against other devices in its category. This newest flagship from Acer is the biggest yet, and boasts of a 1920 x 1080 full HD screen resolution, but if for some reason, you don't want that huge of a display, you can choose the 1366 x 788 option. Other customization options include internal storage of either 16GB or 32GB and memory of either 2GB or 4GB.

Chromebook 15 will be running on the Core i3 or Celeron processor (5th generation) which claims that it will give your laptop up to 8 hours battery life on a single charge. We never really take those claims seriously since in real life, we know from experience they rarely meet it, so we'll just have to wait for the hands-on to see if it fulfills its promise. It comes in white with a fabric-like surface, and will also have two full-sized upward facing speakers for your multi-media and communication needs.

If you're looking for a lightweight laptop to carry around, then this might not be for you as it weights in at 4.85 pounds. But if you feel like the 15.6-inch display is a good choice for your mobile computing needs, then prepare to shell out around $250, which is still a pretty affordable price for a laptop.

SOURCE: Acer

VIA: SlashGear

NVIDIA Tegra X1 kicks off CES 2015 with 64-bit mobile superchip

Although underestimated and unappreciated, NVIDIA's Tegra K1 wow'ed many because of its gaming and graphics chops. If you're one of those who have drooled over the chip, found particularly inside of NVIDIA's own SHIELD Portable and Tablet gaming devices, then the company's newest chip unveiled here at CES 2015 might pretty much flood your floor. Utilizing the latest Maxwell GPU architecture, the new Tegra X1 boasts of the what's what of mobile chips, including an 8-core setup and a 64-bit architecture that might give Apple's A8X or Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 a run for their money.

In terms of raw specs, the Tegra X1, as mentioned, sports an 8-core 64-bit CPU that is paired with the 256-core Maxwell GPU. In terms of raw processing power, the chip is advertised to be able to handle 4K video in smooth 60 fps rates in H.265 or VP9 formats. And just to prove the point, NVIDIA showed Unreal Engine 4's "Elemental" demo running, in real time, on the chip with the same fidelity and quality that you would experience if it were run on a more powerful desktop gaming rig.

But raw power is one thing. On mobile devices, power draw is just as important. What the Tegra X1 promises to bring to the table is an even better power efficiency without compromising on quality. Compared to the Xbox One running the same Elemental demo, the Tegra X1 uses up only a tenth of the power to deliver its high-quality output. Of course, the more power that is fed it, the more performance can be squeezed out of it.

A bit amusingly, NVIDIA says that you wouldn't really need that much power on your smartphone, hinting again at the company's exodus from the consumer device market. Instead, it is positioning the Tegra X1 as the perfect mobile chip to power the next generation of smart cars, probably including those that will run Android Auto this year. Hopefully, though, NVIDIA will not be abandoning its probably small but likely very faithful mobile gaming fans and we keep our fingers crossed at another SHIELD device coming soon.