Week 49 in review: Nokia C1 renders and a Samsung Galaxy A-series overhaul

Nokia was No. 1 in the mobile world for a couple of decades, and it's being sadly missed today by loyal fans of the brand. It's then not a surprise that when alleged renders of a Nokia C1 surfaced this week, the Internet exploded. The company's reentry into the smartphone business can't come before 2016, as dictated by the Microsoft acquisition agreement. But we're nearly there, and the Nokia C1 might very well be the real thing. Moving from future to present, Samsung announced the successors to three of its Galaxy A-series smartphones this week. The Galaxy A3 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2016), and Galaxy A7 (2016) come with updated glass and metal styling, upgraded specs and fingerprint readers in all but the smallest model. We're now only left to see what the Galaxy A9 will have to offer. Another piece of news with a tangible outcome, the Asus Zenfone Zoom with a 3x optical zoom lens is finally out. Well, not yet, but in a few weeks' time. And not globally, but just in Taiwan. Oh, well. In other news, the one-generation-away Snapdragon 830 may come with support for up to 8GB of RAM, Samsung's Marshmallow build for the Galaxy S6 leaked in screenshots and Vivo announced the X6 and X6 Plus. Read these and more in the links below. .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; } Nokia C1 leaks again with alleged specs and a new render Sources hint at the possibility of a revamped better specs sheet for the handset. Samsung Galaxy A7, A5 and A3 (2016) announced with metal and glass bodies The new Galaxy A phones keep their Super AMOLED screens, but lose their bezels. Screenshots of Samsung Galaxy S6 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow leak The screenshots reveal a more minimalist TouchWiz with dashes of "flat" design. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 830 SoC could support up to 8GB of RAM Industry sources claim that this will be necessary to facilitate the next wave of smartphones. Windows 10 Mobile for Xiaomi Mi 4 officially launching this week According to a new teaser posted by Xiaomi's Lin Bin on Weibo, the OS will be released on December 3. Yu Yutopia announcement date set for December 7 The company has sent out invitations for the launch event, which is scheduled for December 7. Asus Zenfone Zoom finally launching in mid-December There's no word on an international version, but the pink color option is a steal. Meet the vivo X6 and X6Plus - a melding of metal and AMOLED Both have slender aluminum-magnesium bodies and 4GB of RAM. Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, and S6 now available at 50% discount in US If you're in the US, and are planning to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, or S6, here is some good news: AT&T's no-contract subsidiary Cricket Wireless is running a Cyber Monday promotion wherein t... Microsoft announces the Lumia 950 and 950 XL in India Windows 10, Continuum, Cortana, and Microsoft Display Dock part of standard package. Sony sets date for CES 2016 press conference In Las Vegas, the company will show new and existing tech in the world of consumer electronics. Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and S6 edge+ getting another software update The devices received their first software update back in October this...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/week_49_in_review_nokia_c1_renders_and_a_samsung_galaxy_aseries_overhaul-news-15338.php

Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL battery life

By popular demand we are now giving you the full battery life breakdowns of the anticipated Microsoft flagship duo - the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL. We already published the Lumia 950 review and we found it to be a great way to restart the Windows mobile series. And while the Lumia 950 XL review is still in the pipeline you are getting a sneak peek of what's coming next week. Both flagships utilize high-resolution Quad HD AMOLED panels - the Lumia 950 has it in 5.2" size, while its XL sibling stretches it to 5.7". The chipsets are quite different though - the regular 950 model has the Snapdragon 808 with a hexa-core processor, while the 950 XL runs on the Snapdragon 810 with an octa-core processor and liquid cooling. Windows 10 Mobile turned out a real surprise, offering great new features and long awaited optimizations, plus universal apps across other devices. The PureView camera turned out one of the best in business. But what about the battery? The Lumia 950 is powered by a 3,000 mAh unit, while the XL has 10% more power supply at 3,340 mAh. We expected the more powerful Snapdragon 810 chip married to a bigger screen to perform worse than the 808 platform but turns out we were quite wrong. The Lumia 950 XL posted great and very respectable 17 hours endurance on the 3G talk time test, doubling the Lumia 950 score. JRGRAPH_EXPANDABLE_VERSION = true;.jrGraphContainer { background: none !important; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee !important;}.jrGraph { padding-left: 0 !important; left:96px !important;} Talk time Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 33:20h Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G 33:19h Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 30:29h OnePlus 2 30:29h Motorola DROID Turbo 30:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM 29:46h Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 29:46h Samsung Galaxy Note5 28:34h HTC One (M8) for Windows 28:34h Nokia Lumia 1520 28:34h Samsung Galaxy Note 4 28:31h Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE 28:25h Samsung Galaxy S5 27:37h Sony Xperia Z1 26:53h Samsung Galaxy S6 active 26:29h Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 25:45h LG G3 25:38h LG G Pro 2 25:37h LG G Flex 25:19h Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 25:16h LG G2 25:15h Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos 25:12h BlackBerry Passport 25:12h Huawei Ascend Mate 25:12h Motorola Nexus 6 25:03h Alcatel Hero 25:02h Oppo N1 25:01h Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 24:52h Sony Xperia Z Ultra 24:23h Apple iPhone 6 Plus 23:49h LG AKA 23:20h Sony Xperia Z3 23:13h Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE 23:09h Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM 23:09h Oppo R7 22:58h Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 22:42h Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) 22:36h Sony Xperia Z2 22:13h Sony Xperia C3 Dual 22:11h Meizu MX4 Pro 22:09h Yota YotaPhone 2 22:09h Samsung ATIV SE 22:05h Xiaomi Redmi Note 21:41h Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 21:39h ZTE Axon Pro 21:23h Xiaomi Mi 4i 21:02h Meizu m2 note 20:55h LG Optimus G Pro E985 20:45h HTC One M9 20:44h Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 20:42h Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 20:27h Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24h Motorola RAZR i XT890 20:07h Huawei Ascend Mate7 20:06h Samsung Galaxy A3 20:04h Samsung Galaxy E7 20:04h Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos 20:04h Oppo Find 7 20:03h Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 20:01h BlackBerry Q10 20:00h OnePlus One 19:56h ...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/microsoft_lumia_950_and_lumia_950_xl_battery_life-news-15349.php

Week 48 in review: Nokia C1 renders and a Samsung Galaxy A-series overhaul

Nokia was No. 1 in the mobile world for a couple of decades, and it's being sadly missed today by loyal fans of the brand. It's then not a surprise that when alleged...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/week_48_in_review_nokia_c1_renders_and_a_samsung_galaxy_aseries_overhaul-news-15338.php

Weekly poll results: Sony Xperia Z5 Premium voted hot as hell

There's little dispute among you - the Xperia Z5 Premium is yet another Sony entry on the hot side of our imaginary Hot or Not wall. Stopping by for our customary poll, Sony's latest top-shelf device left naysayers outnumbered 3 to 1, continuing a positive trend with Sony devices of late. A lot has been said on the 4K display conundrum, and we've also contributed with a dedicated display test, on top of the usual review. And regardless of where you stand on the matter, having the sole UltraHD screen in a smartphone on the market does score the Premium points for exclusivity - always a factor when it comes to a handset's appeal. It's not just flair, there's plenty to like under the Z5 Premium's mirror surface, and the majority of you seem to have picked up on that. Top-end specs are a given at its market position and the all-new 23MP camera and Snapdragon 810 chip are sure to entice, troubled as the fastest Qualcomm SoC might be. Sure, you weren't particularly excited about the battery life, and pricing could have been easier on the wallet, but who's without their...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_results_sony_xperia_z5_premium_voted_hot_as_hell-news-15345.php

Here are the new phones and tablets of the week

It a good week in terms of new announcements with the Samsung's group launch of the 2016 lineup of the Galaxy A series and the Huawei Enjoy 5s. The theme of the week proved to be "fingerprints." The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) is the flagship of next-gen lineup. It features a 5.5" Super AMOLED screen with a 1080p resolution inside a fairly thin metal and glass chassis. The headlining new features are the fingerprint reader and full Samsung Pay support, plus the OIS-enabled camera with a wide f/1.9 aperture, just like the Galaxy S6 (but paired with a lower-resolution sensor). The semi-premium lineup continues with the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016), which grows the screen size and pixel count to 5.2" and 1080p. It features Samsung Pay and OIS camera like the A7, but targets consumers looking for a compact device. All three Galaxy As have LTE and optional DualSIM. The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), the runt of the litter, has been left out of most major upgrades - no Pay and no OIS, not much of a chipset bump either. The screen got a much need upgrade to 4.7" 720p and the camera also went up to 13MP. The Samsung Galaxy A 2016 lineup will debut in China later this month and expand its availability. Then there's the Huawei Enjoy 5s. It upgrades the Enjoy 5 from October with an octa-core processor and a fingerprint reader. It's going on sale in China in a week's time at CNY 1,200 ($187), you need a CNY 100 deposit to save a spot in line. .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; } Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) specs gallery Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) specs gallery Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) specs gallery Huawei Enjoy 5s specs...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/here_are_the_new_phones_and_tablets_of_the_week-news-15341.php

Rayman Adventures for iOS and Android game review

Rayman Adventures is the third Rayman game on the mobile platform in recent times after Rayman Jungle Run and Rayman Fiesta Run. With this game, Ubisoft has made slight changes to the core gameplay, which was unchanged between the first two games, to give the player more control. There are also some new gameplay elements, such as the Incrediballs, which are collectible companions that also assist you in gameplay. The first two Rayman games were more of an on-rails experience, where you had no control over the movement of the character who moved automatically and all you could do is jump or attack. With Adventures, Ubisoft has given some control back to the player and now you can change direction and go back if you missed something. This is still not the fully manual movement that we see in the console version of Rayman games but it's better than nothing. The control scheme has also changed. In the previous games, one side of the screen could be tapped to jump and the other for attack. In this game, you change direction by swiping in the opposite direction you are going in. You can tap once to jump and you can swipe in the direction you are going to attack. The game also introduces the Incrediballs. These are tiny creatures that you collect as you play and unlock more levels. There are multiple types of Incrediballs, and within each there are three types of varying power. In the first game you were pretty much entirely on your own. In Fiesta Run, you could use special abilities that helped you in the game. The Incrediballs are kinda like that. Each has a different ability. The green ones can find hidden treasure (up to three in a level) in the level and point you towards it so you don't miss them. The green ones attract lums around you like a magnet. The red ones will protect you against one attack and then temporarily make you invincible. Before the game starts, you can use one or more of these to help you. You can use multiple ones of different type for different needs or multiple ones of the same type. For example, having more than one of the blue Incrediballs will attract lums more strongly. The Incrediballs serve as a nice addition to the gameplay. They are not compulsory and you can finish any level without them, however, some levels are made a lot easier if you have a certain type of Incrediball with you and some levels absolutely need one if you want to perfect the level by completing all objectives. The game highlights at the beginning which ones you will be needing for that particular level. Of course you can't just use as many as you want. Only a few are available to you and if you want more you will have to feed them, and as you can guess, the food itself is also limited. This would be a good time to talk about the in-app purchases. Unlike the first two games, Rayman Adventures is free with IAP. You can spend real money in game to purchase items such as food, gems (used for purchasing in-game items), potions, etc. Admittedly, not once did I feel like the game was pressurizing me to spend money and you can play the entire game without spending a cent on it, without being punished in any way. There is no advertising normally, but if you want you could optionally watch a video to earn free gems. I'd have still preferred a fully paid game with no IAP, but as far as having IAP goes, Ubisoft has done a good job here. But is the actual game fun? Well, yes and no. Yes because this is a classic Rayman game, which means the same frantic combat and platforming sections, the same amazing character animations and the same great level designs. Unfortunately, the major issue here are the controls. Having swipe and tap gestures for attack, change direction, and jumping is utterly confusing. Even if you do get over the learning curve, the game itself confuses your inputs several times, jumping when you wanted to attack and vice versa. It cannot be stressed enough just how frustrating this is when it happens. Rayman games often have amazing flow to the action, with everything placed where it should be for a quick and clean gameplay. Constantly confusing between the controls breaks the flow and makes you want to throw out your phone or tablet several times. This was not at all an issue with the previous games, both of which played beautifully. The addition of...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/rayman_adventures_for_ios_and_android_game_review-news-15362.php