Top 10 trending phones of the week

We saw a few launches this week, but the topic of conversation was usually the latest pre-MWC leak of this flagship or that. No new product managed to shake up the Top 10 chart of trending phones and there was generally little movement as phones defended their positions. The Top 10 trending phones chart is a recap list of the devices that gathered the most hits throughout the week. In other words, the chart represents the interests of the majority of you, our visitors, and is an indication of what currently interests you. Last week the Samsung Galaxy A5 leapt from 9th place to third and now it has overtaken its big bro, the Galaxy S5, to take its 2nd position. The Galaxy Grand Prime keeps its first place after it reclaimed it from the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro. Most other phones stayed in place, though we have one newcomer - the Sony Xperia Z3 is now 10th. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 26%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 74%; } .news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; } .news-item .n-right h2, .reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 10px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 252px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: text-bottom; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } .flat-button{ text-align:center; text-decoration: none !important; font: 400 22px Oswald,Arial !important; //font-family: sans-serif; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; //background: #0CADA7; padding: 20px 60px !important; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px 0; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -ms-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; color: #fff !important; } .flat-button-1 { background: #0CADA7; } .flat-button-1:hover { background: #0A948F; color: #666666 !important; } .flat-button-2 { background: #FF7E47; } .flat-button-2:hover { background: #EE7440; color: #666666 !important; } .n-right .rank-info { display: inline-block; font-family: "Oswald",​Arial,​sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 100; } .n-right .rank-info .current-rank { font-size: 23px; } .circle { background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #8fb28f; border-radius: 50%; height: 23px; width: 23px; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px; } .arrow { width: 0; height: 0; border-style: solid; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 10px -1px 10px; } .arrow-up { border-width: 0 15px 25px 15px; border-color: transparent transparent #0cada7 transparent; } .arrow-down { border-width: 25px 15px 0 15px; border-color: #ff7e47 transparent transparent transparent; } Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime RANK: 1WAS: 1 specs review Samsung Galaxy A5 RANK: 2WAS: 3 specs gallery Samsung Galaxy S5 RANK: 3WAS: 2 ...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/top_10_trending_phones_of_the_week-news-11000.php

Samsung Galaxy S6 import docs point to 5" screen

Day by day, the pieces of the Samsung Galaxy S6 are coming together. The latest evidence of the phone's alleged specs comes from Indian import tracking website Zauba, which lists that two units of the phone have entered the countries for testing and evaluation purposes. The units carry the model number SM-G920A and packs a 5-inch display. That's 0.1mm smaller display than the outgoing Samsung Galaxy S5, which will be the first time in the flagship's history its display has shrunk. In any way, previous evidence from the Samsung UAProf webpage confirms the phone will pack a QHD resolution. The Zauba page also reveals the phone's import price, which is $405 (INR 25,169). However, that won't bee the phone's price given that recent history. Additional specifications of the phone entail an Exynos 7420 chipset with octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, and 20MP camera. A couple of days ago, we caught a glimpse of the phone in an allegedly official case images from Spigen. The case maker outed four cases for the phone showing its back with the camera and heart rate sensor location. Furthermore, back texture looks to stay the same as the Galaxy S5. The Galaxy S6 is rumored to pack a metal frame, akin to the Galaxy Alpha. Yesterday, schematics of the phone's design popped up revealing the exact dimensions of the device - 143.5 x 70.7 x 7.2mm. If true, then the phone is a tad taller, but narrower and quite thinner than the Galaxy S5 (142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm). We'll have all of the Galaxy S6 information once the phone goes official. Samsung is expected to make it so at MWC in Barcelona at the beginning of March. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s6_import_docs_point_to_5_screen-news-11013.php

Microsoft Lumia 435 goes on pre-order in the UK, ships March 1

Two weeks after its announcement, the Microsoft Lumia 435 is now available for pre-order in the UK. The phone is offered by Amazon and costs £88.49 SIM-free and is offered in Black, Orange and Green. Actual shipping date has also been confirmed - a month from now, March 1. Microsoft plans to make the phone available throughout February in more countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. The Lumia 435 is a budget-minded handset with a Snapdragon 200 chipset with a dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and a 4" LCD display (480 x 800 pixels). It's also destined to receive Windows 10 once the OS reaches its final status alongside the Lumia 730, Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520. Additional specifications of the Lumia 435 include a weight of 131.9g and a 1,560mAh battery, good for almost 12 hours of talk time or 21 hours if you're on 2G. The phone boasts 42.2Mbps downlink speeds over 3G, which is about as good as it gets pre-LTE. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/microsoft_lumia_435_goes_on_preorder_in_the_uk_ships_march_1-news-11012.php

Check out this week's smartphone announcements

The week opened with the announcement of the low-end Asus ZenFone C. It's a minor update to last year's ZenFone 4, retaining the Intel chipset with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Screen size has seen a slight bump to 4.5 inches, requiring an increase in battery capacity to 2,100mAh. Wednesday was rather eventful, with Meizu's highly-anticipated press conference. The Meizu m1 was unveiled, packing a 5-inch 720p screen and respectable hardware in a colorful body, all for $110. Camera department is where the m1 offers the most bang for its buck, offering a 13MP main sensor and a 5MP selfie snapper. The ZTE Blade S6 is a more capable LTE-enabled 5-incher rocking a Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. A 13MP/5MP camera combo adds up to a respectable $250 midrange package. The HTC Desire 526+G slides in between the last two, pricewise. For $170 the Taiwanese company will sell you a 4.7-inch qHD screen, a 1.7GHz octa-core processor, coupled with a single gig of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. A 16GB version is available for a nominal price increase. Samsung unveiled a new smartphone as well, pushing its range to even lower grounds. The entry-level Galaxy J1 packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a modest 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory, thankfully expandable. The new base model runs KitKat on a 4.3-inch screen. Motorola quietly launched an LTE-enabled version of the current Moto G, dubbed Moto G 4G (2015). Offering vanilla Android experience and timely updates, the new handset offers dual-sim functionality and retains the hardware of the non-4G version. As always, we've set up a convenient list of links below for you examine all of the above in more detail. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 26%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 74%; } .news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; } .news-item .n-right h2, .reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 10px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 252px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: text-bottom; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } .flat-button{ text-align:center; text-decoration: none !important; font: 400 22px Oswald,Arial !important; //font-family: sans-serif; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; //background: #0CADA7; padding: 20px 60px !important; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; border-radius: 5px; margin: 10px 0; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -ms-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -moz-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; -o-transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; color: #fff !important; } .flat-button-1 { background: #0CADA7; } .flat-button-1:hover { background: #0A948F; color: #666666 !important; } .flat-button-2 { background: #FF7E47; } .flat-button-2:hover { background: #EE7440; color: #666666 !important; } .n-right .rank-info { display: inline-block; font-family: "Oswald",​Arial,​sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 100; } .n-right .rank-info .current-rank { font-size: 23px; } .circle { background: none repeat scroll 0 0 #8fb28f; border-radius: 50%; height: 23px; width: 23px; display: inline-block; ...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/this_weeks_smartphone_announcements_rounded_up-news-11004.php

Counterclockwise: iPad, Moto Atrix, S40, Nokia 6700 classic

The weekend is a good time to relax or if you're like us, contemplate on the history of mobile devices. A year ago we started putting our musings to paper, to web pages anyway. While you may think the last week of January is just announcements of pink devices for Valentines Day, it has proven much more exciting than that - the launch of the iPad, the sale of the 1.5 billionth S40 phone and the death of Symbian. iPad announced Through the years Apple has had several i-announcements that changed the face of the market. The iPod was announced in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and in the last week of January 2010, the iPad. Our headline from the announcement reads "Apple iPad announced, is iPod touch on steroids". And in a way it was, just like the iPhone 6 Plus is a smaller iPad mini. But that's the magic of Apple - it knows just the right amount of tweaks that will make a product a top-seller. Apple iPad official photos The iPad was far from the first tablet, it's not even the first tablet from Apple. And yet it's largely responsible for the boom of the tablet market. Microsoft and Intel have been pushing the UMPC - ultra-mobile PC - for a year before the iPad launched, they even had some good ideas. The form-factor never took off, while today many people use "iPad" as a synonym for "tablet," famously the NBA commentators sponsored (and supposed to promote) Microsoft's Surface tablet. Surface sold over $1 billion worth of tablets last quarter and Microsoft's Windows 10 is aimed at tablet/laptop hybrids but things could have been very different if the iPad hadn't come out. The iPad provided the fledgling tablet market with the same jolt of energy that the iPhone delivered to smartphones. It has since spawned a more compact iPad mini version and rumor has it that a larger iPad Pro tablet is in the works. It's an old rumor, but the larger iPhones last year rekindled it. Smartphone brain in a laptop host The iPad is the only thing that propelled tablets higher - the words "post-PC world" were used again and again until people started believing it was true. The desktop was dying (with declining sales for proof) and smartphones and tablets were the way forward. Phones with gigahertz multi-core processors were as powerful as computers from a few years ago, so why not use a smartphone to power a laptop shell, that merely provides a big screen and keyboard (for ergonomic reasons)? As an added bonus, all your data will in one place (no need for a phone-to-computer sync) and you only had to pay for one data plan. That's what Motorola was thinking with the Atrix, which was announced in January 2011. It had a "roaring Tegra 2" chipset and was getting 1080p video recording. It can be attached to the Lapdock - an 11.6" laptop shell that provided an extra battery and a desktop Firefox app, in addition to the roomy screen and keyboard. The project ultimately failed, though Asus is still keeping the "smartphone brain" dream alive. The Asus Padfone takes the concept even further - a smartphone docks into a tablet, which can then be docked to a keyboard. The Asus Transformers use two thirds of that, they are tablets with dedicated keyboard docks. While the Moto Atrix is dead and the Asus devices are fairly niche, Microsoft and Intel see a future into so-called hybrid devices. As we mentioned above, Windows 10 has special support for it with the Continuum feature. Missing the mark Sony Ericsson (now Sony) had Bluetooth watches that display call and message information from your phone. In retrospect those were pretty cool, a regular analog watch with a small digital display. In late 2010 the company launched the LiveView - a smartwatch for the touchscreen era. Soon after (in January 2011) it updated it to support a total of 30 plugins, improve compatibility and stability. Like Apple and the iPad, Sony Ericsson didn't invent the smartwatch (those have been around since at least the 1980's), but unlike Apple the company failed to become the king of the domain. Sony still makes wearables - smartwatches and smartbands, even smart glasses - but it's not a dominant force. By the way, Apple announced a smartwatch but we're still waiting for it to launch (in March apparently). The lost billion In January 2012 Nokia celebrated the sale of its 1.5 billionth Series 40 phone. S40 was...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/counterclockwise_ipad_moto_atrix_s40_nokia_6700_classic-news-10998.php

Cyanogen branding disappears from OnePlus One

OnePlus one no longer ships with Cyanogen branding on its back cover. The Chinese manufacturer quietly dropped the logo of the ROM developer from its flagship killer. When announced a year ago, the OnePlus One proudly sported a Cyanogen stamp on its back. However, due to the tiff between the ambitious startups in India, their relationship appears to have changed. OnePlus will unveil its custom Android ROM dubbed Oxygen on February 12. The Android 5.0 build will be "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." Cyanogen Inc. on the other hand, has bold plans about taking Android away from Google. A recent report in The Wall Street Journal points suggests that Microsoft will become a minority investor in the company. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/cyanogen_branding_disappears_from_oneplus_one-news-11011.php