Xolo launches quad-core Q500s IPS and hexa-core Play 6X-1000

Xolo announced two new smartphones - the budget Q500s IPS with a quad-core processor and the powerful Play 6X-1000 running on a hexa-core chip.

Xolo Q500s IPS features a 4" IPS display of WVGA resolution and comes with two SIM slots. It is powered by MediaTek's MT6582M chipset with a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, Mali-400 GPU and 512MB of RAM. The rest of the specs include 4GB of microSD-expandable storage, a 5MP FF camera with 1080p video recording, and a 1,500 mAh battery.

The Xolo Q500s IPS, in addition to the dual-SIM option, supports 3G, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS. It will launch soon for INR 5,999 (€74) and will be available in black, white, red, blue and green flavors.

Xolo Play 6X-1000 comes with a bigger 5" IPS display of 720p resolution and is powered by the MediaTek's MT6591 chipset. The MT6591 offers a hexa-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 processor, Mali-450GPU and 2GB of RAM. The phone also comes with 8 gigs of expandable storage, an 8MP auto-focus camera with 1080p recording, and a 2,100 mAh battery.

The Play 6X-1000 features dual-SIM capabilities, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS.
Xolo Play 6X-1000 will hit the shelves soon for INR 14,499 (€178) in black and white paintjobs.

Nokia by Microsoft branding spotted on Lumia 830

The Lumia 830has  been spotted in a brand new leaked render, this one courtesy of Chinese search engine Baidu.

The most intriguing thing about it is obviously the new branding: Nokia by Microsoft, as you can see.
As recently as last week it's been rumored that something like this would happen, and in the leaked image above we get our first confirmation of sorts.
So the consequences of Microsoft purchasing Nokia are going to slowly start showing up. One wonders if there isn't a plan to gradually phase out the Nokia brand entirely - maybe in a year or two we'll see Microsoft's name on smartphones by itself.
Until that happens, though, let's focus on the Lumia 830. The new picture tells us that it will have a 13 MP rear camera with Zeiss optics. Previously we heard that it would also sport a 4.5-inch touchscreen, but everything else about it is still a mystery.

Gionee Elife S5.5 gets Android 4.4 KitKat update

Gionee has started rolling out the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Elife S5.5. The update weighs in at 865MB and will make the phone jump from Android 4.2 straight to 4.4.

The list of changes in the update include:

• Android upgrade to KitKat
• New Desktop layout
• Removed the world cricket championship
• Added Du speed booster for faster operations
• Updated Amigo Paper with a brand new UI interface design
• Updated Game Zone with a new UI interface design
• Updated GioneeXender for optimized performance and further improved the linking success rate
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

iPhone users are switching to the Galaxy S5

There's a significant number of iFans in the UK who are fed up with waiting for an iPhone with a larger screen and have jumped ship to the Samsung Galaxy S5 as a result.
It turns out that 26% of new Samsung Galaxy S5 users have switched from the iPhone in Britain; a huge increase from the 12% new adoption rate of the previous year. The rates were lower in Europe: a 17% turnover, but the region with the highest level of Apple loyalty is the USA. In the States, only 8% of new S5 buyers were former iPhone users.

It's interesting to see that such a high number of iPhone users are now opting for the S5, especially with rumors that the iPhone 6 will have a larger screen. The projected release date of Apple's next flagship phone is slated for September, so there may be more Apple turncoats before then.
However, it should be noted that the Galaxy S5 still lags behind the iPhone 5c and 5s in the UK, which are the number one and two highest selling handsets in the region.
11.1% of all phones were iPhone 5cs, 11% of the market belongs to the 5s, and the Galaxy S5 comes in third with 9% of the mobile phone market. Samsung has another phone on the top five list: the Korean manufacturer's former golden child: the Galaxy S4, with the Moto G rounding out the list with 6%.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 4, Core II, and Young 2 get priced

Samsung's Dutch portal announced today that the pricing for three of its latest entry-level droid iterations, the Samsung Galaxy Ace 4, Galaxy Core II, and Galaxy Young 2. All three devices will become available in Q3 of this year.
The Galaxy Ace 4, announced on Monday, will continue the legacy of cheap, quality droids put forth by the company's Ace lineup, with a 4.0-inch WVGA display, 1GHz dual-core processor, and a 1,500mAh battery. It will be available for €219.

The Galaxy Core II sports a 4.5-inch WVGA display with quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 2,000mAh battery and will sport Samsung's leather-esque rear panel the company introduced with its Galaxy S4 flagship. Strangely enough the Galaxy Core II will retail for €179, even though its specs sheet is better than the Galaxy Ace 4's. There is also a dual-SIM variant of the Core II, which will likely be sold at a slightly higher price.
The Galaxy Young 2 is set to be the cheapest member of the trio at just €99, but it only sports a 1GHz single-core processor, 3.5-inch HVGA screen, and a 1,300mAh battery.
All three devices will be powered by Android 4.4 KitKat with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay.
Samsung also announced another entry-level device alongside the Young 2 - the Galaxy Star 2. Although pricing has not been disclosed, the Star 2 is almost identical to the Young 2, except without 3G connectivity and a downgraded 2MP camera.
Expect Samsung's budget droid lineup to become available this quarter.

Apple iPhone 6 leaks in 4.7” and 5.5” display flavors!!

Alleged photos of the long-rumored two upcoming iPhone 6 versions made the rounds on Twitter. The images purportedly showcase a 4.7” and 5.5” mockups of the hotly anticipated device.

The photos fall right in line with past leaks. They show a duo of devices with ultra-slim waistline and design language which closely follows that of the iPad Air and the iPad mini 2.
Compared to the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, the upcoming iPhone 6 duo has seen its power/lock key move from top of the device to its right side in order to accommodate the larger display. The LED flash of the main snapper also has different design that the current setup.
Apple is expected to unveil iPhone 6 with iOS 8 on board at some point in mid to late September.

Micromax Canvas Gold A300 with octa-core CPU specs, pictures leak

The Indian company has scheduled a press conference for June 16, and during that it may officially introduce the Canvas Gold A300.
This smartphone will reportedly come with some pretty interesting specs. And the 'Gold' in the name isn't there by accident, as the color options for it will be called White Gold and Black Gold. They can be seen below.

The Micromax Canvas Gold A300 is rumored to sport a 6.9 mm thin metal body, as well as a 5.5-inch 1080p touchscreen.
Keeping things running will be a 2 GHz octa-core CPU, along with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage space. The exact chipset isn't mentioned, but given the processor details, it's probably going to be the MediaTek MT6592.
A 16 MP camera will be on the back of the phone, and the 8 MP front-facing unit will surely make selfie lovers happy. The A300 is said to run Android 4.4 KitKat from day one.
This handset may be joined at the Micromax event on Monday by the company's first device to run Windows Phone 8.1. It got detailed last month, and it's rumored to come with a 5-inch 1080p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2GB of RAM, and a 13 MP rear camera.

Update: Even more images showing the Micromax Canvas Gold A300 have surfaced. Thanks to them the front of the handset has been revealed for the first time.

Flipkart and Karbonn selling the new A50s for just ₹2,790

Indian mobile phone company Karbonn Mobiles has tied up with Flipkart to exclusively launch the new A50s in India. The key feature of this phone is the price, which at ₹2,790 ($47), makes it the cheapest Android smartphone you can purchase today.

The Karbonn A50s has some very basic specifications, including 3.5-inch, 480x320 display, MediaTek SoC with dual-core 1.2GHz CPU, 256MB of RAM, 512MB storage space with microSD card support, dual-SIM support, 2 megapixel camera on the back with flash, and VGA camera on the front.
The phone comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean instead of KitKat, which is rather disappointing as the latter is optimized for phones with lower specifications.
The phone is now on sale in black and white.

Micromax's upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 device detailed.

At this year's BUILD conference in San Francisco Microsoft announced Micromax as its new hardware partner for the Windows Phone ecosystem. Today, we get to hear some new rumors about the first upcoming WP smartphone from the Indian manufacturer.

Micromax's first Windows Phone is rumored to sport a 5-inch FullHD display along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2GB of RAM.

The leak suggests that the device will feature a 13 megapixel rear snapper and a 5 megapixel front facing shooter. Lastly, there is 16GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD.

If the rumors are to be trusted, the smartphone will run on WP 8.1 and will go on sale in July with a price tag of INR 23,000 to INR 25,000 (about $390 to $425).

Wickedleak Wammy Neo cheapest octa-core launched at INR 11,990!

Wickedleak has launched the 'Wammy Neo', a dual-SIM smartphone with a GSM-WCDMA configuration. With a price tag of Rs. 11,990, Wickedleak says Wammy Neo is 'probably the most affordable octa-core smartphone' in the Indian market. The deliveries of the Wammy Neo smartphone would start from June 15, according to Wickedleak's website.

The Wickedleak Wammy Neo smartphone has a 5-inch IPS display with 720 x 1280 pixels resolution and a Dragon Tail screen. It runs Android 4.2v Jelly Bean (upgradable to Android 4.4 KitKat) and is powered by a 1.7 GHz octa-core MediaTek MTK6592 SoC processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The smartphone comes with 8 GB of built-in storage expandable up to 64 GB via a microSD card slot.

The Wammy Neo features a 13 MP rear snapper with LED flash and a 5.0 MP front-facing camera. Connectivity options included are 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi with hotspot, GPS/ A-GPS with EPO, Bluetooth v2.1 and micro-USB support. The smartphone packs a 2,200mAh battery with a standby time of 5-6 days, according to the company.

The Wickedleak Wammy Neo is not the company's first octa-core smartphone, it had launched the Wammy Titan 3 Octasmartphone in March for Rs. 14,500. The phablet supports dual-SIM support and has a 5.7-inch IPS display with 800 × 1280 pixels resolution. It has a 13MP rear camera with flashlight and HD video recording as well as a 5.0 MP front camera. The phablet has 16 GB built-in storage, expandable up to 64 GB via micro SD card slot. It has a 3,200 mAh battery. The smartphone runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean upgradeable to Android 4.4 KitKat OS.