Samsung Galaxy Alpha will get Lollipop alongside the Note II

Samsung's websites for Finland and Denmark are giving us some interesting information about which devices the company plans to bring Android Lollipop to next. As you may know, the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S5 Active, and Galaxy S4 have already received the tasty treat, at least in certain regions. But what's next for Samsung? Well, it turns out the Korean company also plans to bring Lollipop to the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Alpha, and Galaxy S5 Mini. We've already heard about Lollipop making it to the Galaxy S5 Mini, as well as the Galaxy Note II - but another official confirmation is good to have. This also marks the first time Samsung has said anything conclusive about the Galaxy Alpha with regard to the Lollipop update, so it's good news for owners of that model too. Rollouts for the S5 Mini, Alpha, and Note II are apparently scheduled to happen "later in 2015", and unfortunately no more specific details are available right now. Previously, Samsung's French arm said Q2 was the time frame for the Galaxy S5 Mini's Lollipop update, so maybe that's true for all three handsets. If so, you're looking at a maximum of three months of waiting, from this point on, for the new software. As for the Galaxy Note II, it's nice to see Samsung still care about a device that's two and a half years old. Thanks for sending this in, Aamer Siddiqui and Peter! Source 1 (in Finnish) • Source 2 (in Danish) |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_alpha_will_get_lollipop_alongside_the_note_ii-news-11742.php

Meizu MX Supreme leaks again, Nokia connection still uncertain

Nokia is rumored to be in cahoots with Meizu to get back into mobile phones. According to the deal with Microsoft there can't be any new Nokia-branded phones until 2016, but the new device is known as the Meizu MX Supreme. Will that kind of loophole even work? We don't know and there's not much info about the phone itself other than the division of labor - Meizu will be making the device while Nokia designs the hardware and software. A photo leaked previously that focuses on the Home button - which may or may not house a fingerprint sensor. A new photo gives us a better look at the device, which looks fairly similar to the MX4 Pro. That phone has a 20.7MP camera with a large sensor and 2160p video capture, which will be well-suited for Nokia's camera know-how. If any of this is true, of course. At this point it's not even clear if this is set to be an Android or a Windows Phone device. Thank you for the link, Claudiu! Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/meizu_mx_supreme_leaks_again_nokia_connection_still_uncertain-news-11741.php

Xiaomi announces Mi Note Pink edition at $403

China-based Xiaomi announced a new Mi Note Pink edition in an exclusive packing for the ladies with penchant for pink gadgets. As part of the exclusive packaging, Xiaomi includes a 5,000 mAh power bank. That's the second special edition for the smartphone this month - earlier Xiaomi introduced the Mi Note Bamboo edition with rear panel made from natural bamboo. The limited edition Mi Note Pink has the same hardware as the regular version. It features 5.7-inch 1080p curved Gorilla Glass 3 display, powered by quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 mobile chipset, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage, 13MP OIS camera at the back, 4MP camera in the front, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and packs a non-removable 3,000 mAh battery. The 13MP rear camera can record 4K quality video while the front facing camera can support 1080p video calls. Xiaomi has also included the fast charging feature which boosts the battery to 60 percent in 30 minutes. However, the Mi Note does miss out on expandable storage, NFC, FM Radio and ships with Android 4.4 KitKat based MIUI. As of now, Xiaomi hasn't clarified the availability of the Mi Note Pink edition. Do check our Mi Note review to learn more about this large screen phone. Source...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_announces_mi_note_pink_edition_at_403_-news-11739.php

Galaxy S6 and S6 edge may double the S5 pre-orders in the US

The popularity of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge took even Samsung by surprise as the company is reportedly scrambling to build enough units. Pre-orders in Switzerland are said to be quadruple what the Galaxy S5 drew in. Now Korean media is reporting that the US market is seeing higher demand too - allegedly US carriers have seen double the pre-orders they did when launching the S5. The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge hit US carriers last Friday and are expected to ship on April 11. These numbers haven't been officially confirmed by Samsung or by the carriers, however analysts are predicting a total of 55 million sales globally this year. SK Telecom and KT will be pulling the launch two days forward as SK is in hot water with the KCC due to illegal subsidies to draw in consumers. Rival carrier KT was looking forward to some special Galaxy S6 promotion to draw in some of KT's customer base. Source (in Korean) |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s6_and_s6_edge_may_double_the_s5_preorders-news-11740.php

Gionee V381 Specs surface in benchmark scores

A new mid-range Gionee device is definitely in the works and has already made the rounds at both the Chinese certification authority TENAA and as a freshly leaked GFXBench result. The handset is duded Gionee V381 and from the looks of it is a mid-range offer, with a slightly odd specs sheet. The phone should be powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6752 chipset, clocked at 1.3 GHz and a Mali-T760 GPU. This is not a particularly popular combination, but it should offer adequate mid-range performance. It is, however, not entirely new for the Chinese manufacturer and can be spotted in the upcoming Gionee Elife S7 as well. Diving further into the V381 specs sheet, we find that the phone will have only 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage, extendable via SD card. Cameras include a 12MP main shooter with BSI Sensor, LED Flash, Full HD 1080p video recording, or even 4k, depending on which information you trust and a 2MP model on the front, capable of 720p. Luckily, the phone will be 4G-enabled with LTE TDD 2300 MHz and LTE FDD 1800 MHz. All in all, the Gionee V381 is firmly settled in mid-range territory, by today's standards. There is still some controversy, surrounding its display. TENAA lists it as a 5.0-inch panel, while GFXBench says it's 4.6 inches with a quite disappointing resolution of 960x540 pixels, which would definitely be a bummer. So for now, the display remains a mystery. The single-SIM phone should measure 144.2 x 71.0 x 9.5 mm and weigh in at 180.4 grams and RUM Android 4.4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. The battery in the unit will have a generous 4200mAh capacity and should provide a lot of juice, which mostly makes up for the fact that it will be non-removable. Information on connectivity and sensors is also present, so apart from the display, we have a pretty complete picture of the upcoming Gionee V381. Availability and pricing are still unclear. Source 1 | Source 2(in Chinese) |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/gionee_v381_specs_surface_in_benchmark_scores-news-11737.php

Xiaomi Redmi 2A with Leadcore chipset announced for $97

Xiaomi has announced new Redmi 2A smartphone in China with an attractive $97 price tag. The Redmi 2A packs a mobile chipset from the company that Xiaomi acquired last year. The new Redmi 2A is the affordable version of the existing Redmi 2 which costs $112. . Redmi 2A features a 4.7-inch 720p display and is powered by a Leadcore L1860C chipset, which offers quad-core 1.5GHz CPU and Mali-T628MP2 GPU. It offers 8MP snapper at the back and a 2MP front camera. The smartphone comes with 4G LTE dual SIM dual standby support and it runs Android 5.0 Lollipop with MIUI on top. The Redmi 2A draws its power from a 2,200 mAh...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_2a_with_leadcore_chipset_announced_for_97-news-11738.php