Weekly poll: Sony Xperia Z5 Premium - did it live up to your expectations?

Well, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is finally here and with units already hitting international markets you can finally see for yourself what 4K looks on a mobile phone. What Sony did with the handset is definitely groundbreaking, there's no denying that, even if there are certain limitations to UHD on the device and its real-life visual benefits are hard to spot. That is what the Z5 Premium will go down in history with, but the handset is far from a one-trick pony. Hopefully, you already read our in-depth review on Sony's latest gem that can hopefully help you decide whether the Z5 Premium lives up to expectations. Then afterwards, be sure to tell us what you think in the poll below. We are dying to know! As for our two cents on the matter - the steep pricing aside, the Z5 Premium is an exquisitely built device that encompasses perfectly all that Sony currently brings to the mobile market. That might not be enough for some, but is still the epiphany of smartphones for a lot of loyal fans. It looks great, performs like a champ and shows significant promise in the camera department, not to mention some long-overdue improvement after the recent app...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_sony_xperia_z5_premium__did_it_live_up_to_your_expectations-news-15250.php

Top 10 trending phones of week 48

In this edition of our weekly Top 10 trending phones chart, we finally witness the Samsung Galaxy J7 get dethroned. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 enters the chart this week, and storms straight to number one mere days after its announcement. Long-time champ Galaxy J7 needs to settle for silver this week, still closely followed by the J5 in third. Ushered in by the Redmi Note 3, the previous-gen Xiaomi phablet joins the trending list in fourth, comfortably ahead of the Galaxy J2 - another regular. Next comes the Galaxy Grand Prime in sixth, showing no particular sings of loosing user interest week after week. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note5 have swapped places since last week, and the former is now in seventh, while the S-Pen-packing phablet is now in eighth. The Sony Xperia Z5 had the weakest week-on-week performance, losing a total of 6 places, now in ninth. In a bit of surprising development, the Samsung Galaxy A5 enters in tenth, keeping the iPhone 6s out by a few hundred hits. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 25%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 75%; } .news-item a { padding-bottom: 0; padding-left: 0; } #review-body .news-item .n-right h2, .reviews-item .n-right h2 { clear: both; padding: 0 0 3px 0px; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { margin-top: 25px; line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 .phone-name { display: inline-block; width: 325px; 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 Google-Oswald,Arial !important; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 150%; 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: "Google-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; } Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 RANK: 1NEW IN specs gallery Samsung Galaxy J7 RANK: 2WAS: 1 specs review Samsung Galaxy J5 RANK: 3WAS: 2 specs review Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 RANK: 4NEW IN specs review Samsung Galaxy J2 RANK: 5WAS: 4 specs gallery Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime RANK: 6WAS: 6 specs review Samsung Galaxy S6 RANK: 7WAS: 8 specs review Samsung Galaxy Note5 RANK: 8WAS: 7 specs review Sony Xperia Z5 RANK: 9WAS: 3 specs review Samsung Galaxy A5 RANK: 10NEW IN specs...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/top_10_trending_phones_of_week_48-news-15230.php

Weekly poll results: Apple iPad Pro gets lukewarm reception

The Apple iPad Pro didn't have it easy all week, taking hits from the majority of our readers. It's been a while since a "Hot or not" poll of ours turned out not in favor. The iPad Pro gathered a total of 37% of upvotes - less than 2 out of 5 people hit the thumbs up. Apparently, the productivity benefits of the large screen failed to entice most of you. There's also the matter of the Pencil that needs to be recharged every now and then, and the Smart Keyboard that can only stay in this one position. And that's before getting to the less than affordable price tag, which certainly helped steer you to the downvote side. The additional $270 that the accessories will set you back aren't particularly hot either, even if their currently limited availability might lead you to believe otherwise. In all fairness the 12.9-inch Apple tablet is not exactly a mainstream device, so a widespread appeal was never part of its game plan. And certainly 37% of people aren't designers and on-the-go video editors, so the iPad Pro still manages to speak outside of its target...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_results_apple_ipad_pro_gets_lukewarm_reception-news-15233.php

Week 48 in review: Huawei Mate 8 and Nokia devices

Last week was quite busy in the mobile realm with at least a few exciting new offers on the horizon. While major-league player Samsung is working on the revamped Galaxy A line with a new A5 (2016), A7 (2016) and A9, perhaps also an A8 (2016), Chinese OEMs are wasting no time putting out offers of their own. This week Xiaomi brought us the Redmi Note 3. It more than lives up to the legacy of its predecessors and offers a 5.5-inch 1080p display, MediaTek Helio X10 SoC and 3GB of RAM for the almost unbelievable price of RMB 1099 ($172). And if you are willing to settle for 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage, the deal is even better at RMB 899 ($140). These are local prices, but still quite impressive. The OEM also refreshed its tablet family with a new addition - the Mi Pad 2, which is just as interesting with its full-metal body and Intel Atom CPU, capable of running Android and Windows. But it wasn't only budget-friendly Chinese offers that made headlines. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we finally met the Huawei Mate 8. It promises a huge leap forward in performance, thanks to the company's next-get Kirin 950 chip. Nokia also made headlines this the week. The C1 has everybody excited for the alleged possibility of dual-booting Windows 10 and Android from the original Finnish company. And then, there is the Nokia 230 featurephone by the mobile division acquired by Microsoft. There has been no shortage of rumors either. The Samsung Galaxy S7 flagship already has everybody excited and industry sources claim that it might bring back the microSD card slot, which has definitely been missed. Speaking of Samsung, its Exynos 7420 SoC was spotted powering a BlackBerry device, so that is something else to look forward to. Feel free to hit the following links for more details on the hot topics of the week. .news-item .n-left { float: left; width: 28%; text-align: center; } .news-item .n-right { float: left; width: 70%; } .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 !important; font: 400 19px Google-Oswald, Arial; margin-top: -4px; } .n-right p { line-height: 155%; } .news-item { padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; border-top: 1px solid #ccc; } .news-item p { margin-left: 0; } .n-right h2 a { text-decoration: none; color: #000; } New render claims to depict upcoming Nokia C1 running Android and Windows 10 Mobile The much-rumored device is supposed to be Nokia's first after having sold its smartphone business to Microsoft. 2.8-inch aluminum Nokia 230 is official Front and rear 2MP cameras, both with an LED flash, in this latest Series 30+ feature phone. Samsung Galaxy S7 to bring back microSD card slot The rumor also says that the Galaxy S7 will sport a 5.2-inch flat screen, while the S7 edge will feature a larger 5.7-inch curved display. Huawei Mate 8 goes official with 6-inch display, Kirin 950 SoC The device comes with 16MP/8MP camera combo and a large 4000mAh battery. Gionee Marathon M5 with 6020mAh battery and 3GB RAM launched in India Carrying a price tag of INR 17,999 ($270), the device will be exclusively available via Flipkart starting today. Xiaomi announces Mi Pad 2 all-metal tablet with Intel chipset Thinner and lighter than before with a new aluminum body. Nvidia Shield Tablet X1 has Tegra X1 SoC, gets benchmarked running Android 6.0 This tablet is going to be the much-delayed successor to the original Shield Tablet with a Tegra K1 chipset. Samsung Galaxy A9 spotted on GeekBench with Snapdragon 620 Unlike the old entry from 2 and a half months ago, this time the chip is tuned for single-core performance. 2018 iPhone might have a Samsung-made OLED panel A Samsung Display executive has hinted at the possible Cupertino partnership with first results expected in 2018. The alleged Nubia Z11 is looking fine with a curved glass and possibly a Snapdragon 820 SoC The handset was spotted in...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/week_48_in_review_huawei_mate_8_and_nokia_devices-news-15231.php

Lenovo partners with Razer to sell special-edition Y series gaming machines

Lenovo and Razer are partnering to bring you special co-branded gaming machines. For now, it is limited to Lenovo's existing Y series of desktop gaming computers, which have been given the Razer touch with a green backlit front logo instead of red, and Chrome RGB lighting underneath the chassis. If that sounds underwhelming, that's because it mostly is. It seems for all intents and purposes this is entirely a Lenovo machine with Razer's green lights tacked on, and not even in the Razer logo. Of course, this is not entirely new, as Razer has previously partnered with companies like NZXT, which resulted in products that were nothing more than the standard version with some green lights. Razer has a big name in the gaming industry and as such it's not uncommon for other companies to tag along and try to get some additional mileage from their same old products by slapping on some lights and stickers. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with the product itself, but do you really need to pay the premium for the additional Razer branding that this product will undeniably come with over its non-Razer branded...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_partners_with_razer_to_sell_specialedition_y_series_gaming_machines-news-15251.php

Statistics show a record high in mobile shopping, iOS users are leading the frenzy

The holiday season is almost upon us and with it comes the annual shopping craze and retailers are wasting no time, especially online with deals already flying all over the place. Be it Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday or simply good old-fashioned Christmas shopping it is no secret that an increasing number of us are doing an ever-growing portion of our shopping online and as it turns out, this year people are reaching for their smartphones for online bargains more than ever before. The first set of numbers comes courtesy of Adobe, which has been monitoring around 4,500 sites, including 80% of the top 100 e-tailers over the past few frantic shopping days. It turns out, from a total of $2.72 billion spent on Black Friday and $1.73 billion on Thanksgiving, a whopping $1.6 billion were wired via a smartphone. Mobile devices are still not as popular as PC's for online purchases, but these numbers show a huge increase over last year. According to IBM, 60% of all online traffic on Thanksgiving was via mobile devices and 54.4% on Black Friday. That is a yearly increase of 14.8% and 16.6%, respectively. As for actuals sales, the same statistic says 40% were completed via a tablet or phone on Thanksgiving and around 35.5% on Black Friday. Overall, smartphones continue to be the device of choice, outweighing tablets with about 23.9% of all registered sales, compared to 16.1%, so we seem to favor portability over a bigger screen. And another study, conducted by Custora's E-Commerce Pulse on more than 200 online retailers claims that iOS devices amount for a lot more sales than their Android cousin. According to the numbers, iPad and iPhone orders this Thanksgiving made up 78.3% of all mobile purchases. This is about 1.6 percent down from last year, but still overwhelmingly more than the 21.5% Android users tallied up. It is also interesting to note that while overall sales, mobile or otherwise, have risen year-over-year as well, the average value per order has dropped. So, we are definitely ordering more, but paying a bit less for each purchase. Also, it comes as no surprise that iOS users generate more than 3.6 times the commercial online revenue of Android users. Source 1 | Source...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/statistics_show_a_record_high_in_mobile_shopping__ios_users_are_leading_the_frenzy-news-15247.php