Oukitel is one of the many new China brand companies that have entered the phone market over the last year. I’m not sure the name is a solid Western marketing decision, but actually when saying it out loud, it has an interesting ring to it.
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TCL 3S M3G preview – big battery budget 2GB RAM Qualcomm 1080p mobile
TCL is an international brand, mainly known for their budget flat screen televisions which are sold around the world. Allied with Alcatel France, over the last couple of years they’ve also produced some solid mobiles. (more…)
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Newest MTK Droid Tool replacement for MT6752 MT6732
Over the last few months a large portion of the new phone models have MTK’s newer SoC’s in them. Unfortunately, the creator of MTK Droid Tools has not updated his excellent MTK Droid Tools to fully support these chipsets. (more…)
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Mlais M7 camera pictures images
These are pictures from the Mlais M7. The images are unedited other than resizing and cropping.
[flickr_set id=”72157654316846549″]
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Big China corporations to enter the smartphone war
If the likes of Elephone, iNew, Doogee, Mlais and are feeling the heat now, 2016 is going to be a furnace.
Due to economic slowdown in China, several heavy hitters are shifting their focus will be entering the smartphone market soon. Here are the manufacturers to keep an eye on. (more…)
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Blackview Zeta review super budget mobile
A couple of months back I reviewed the Blackview Omega. That phone looks great and had a good camera, but for an MT6592 SoC phone was too expensive in Q2/Q3 2015. Blackview has now done a complete reversal and released a sub-$100 mobile with the MTK6592M SoC. (more…)
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Mlais M4 review MT6732 2GB 16GB
Mlais is one of the older China brands, well loved in China, and usually putting out good budget phones. Recently I reviewed the sub-$100 MT6592 M9 which I thought was an excellent buy for the price, and the M52, which is a powerful bargain-priced phone. Now up is the M4, nicknamed ominously — Ironbone. (more…)
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Ulefone Be Touch review 3GB MT6752
A couple of months back I reviewed the surprisingly decent Ulefone Be Pro, a phone that has now dropped in price to under $130. The next phone up from Ulefone is the Be Touch. (more…)
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Ulefone Be Touch vs iPhone 6 video and promo
Though the Ulefone Be Touch isn’t reporting a huge battery like some of the recent releases, many of these recent 3000mAh battery phones are being falsely reported. Kudos to Ulefone for keeping it real and 2550mAh isn’t too shabby in such a slick looking mobile. (more…)
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No. 1 Sun S2 hands on
A number of manufacturers have attempted to enter the smartwatch game and mostly they’ve been too clunky and obvious. Perhaps good for wearing at the gym or out for a jog, but likely not something you’d wear to work, school or at a social gathering. (more…)
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NASA developing part helicopter, part airplane drone
NASA has recently unveiled their drone prototype, the GL-10, aka Greased Lightning. The GL-10 is an unmanned vehicle developed at Langley in Hampton, Virginia.
This battery-powered drone has a 10’/3m wingspan, 10 electric motors and weighs 28kg. The 10 powerful engines allow for vertical takeoff and landing, similar to a helicopter.
According to the prototype’s main pilot: “All four engines on the left wing are given the same command. The four engines on the right wing also work in concert. Then the two on the tail receive the same command.”
Flight tests have already been performed, which successfully demonstrate the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.
In a NASA press release, Bill Fredericks stated: “During the flight tests we successfully transitioned from hover to wing-borne flight like a conventional airplane then back to hover again. So far we have done this on five flights,”.
“We were ecstatic. Now we’re working on our second goal — to demonstrate that this concept is four times more aerodynamically efficient in cruise than a helicopter.”
We did lose some of the early prototypes to ‘hard landings’ as we learned how to configure the flight control system.
The GL-10 is actually the 12th in the prototype development phase. To get to the point that GL-10 is at, all 11 prior prototypes were required. NASA engineer David North explains further: “Each prototype helped us answer technical questions while keeping costs down…We did lose some of the early prototypes to ‘hard landings’ as we learned how to configure the flight control system. But we discovered something from each loss and were able to keep moving forward.”
What are some of the applications the GL-10 could be used for? According to Bill Fredericks: “We have a couple of options that this concept could be good for. It could be used for small package delivery or vertical takeoff and landing, long endurance surveillance for agriculture, mapping and other applications…A scaled up version — much larger than what we are testing now — would make also a great one to four person size personal air vehicle.”
Fredericks added: “It’s pretty quiet. The current prototype is quieter than a neighbor mowing the lawn with a gas-powered motor.”
The team will continue working to improve aerodynamic efficiency, and will be demonstrating the drone at upcoming NASA events.
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Take a look inside the Asus Zenfone 2
The Asus Zenfone 2 has been a big hit, offering strong specs in a phone that’s well supported by international brand Asus.
If you’re curious as to what’s inside the Asus Zenfone 2, you’re not the only one. User shakalaca, the man behind the rooted Asus ROMs, decided to take it a step beyond root and dismantle the Asus Zenfone 2 to see what’s making it tick.
- Winbond W978H6KBVX2E 6) SKY77597-11 ( TxRx FEM)
- SK hynix H9CKNNNCPTMR PRNUH 501A
- Intel P10 H1448 F4486902 PMB6830 (PM IC)
- BROADCOM BCM4339XKUBG (WiFi)
- Intel P10 PMB9933 C XG726G H1450 F450A513 (Baseband, XMM 7260)
- SanDisk SDIN8DE4-32G (eMMC)
- Intel 8818 2.3W XG223 H1502 F502A511
- Qualcomm SMB1357 (fast charge?!)
- Intel P10 H1428 F4288509 PMB5747
- ?
- SKY77627-11 (PAM)
- ?
Peeking inside we see the Asus Zenfone 2 is all class, including components from Qualcomm, Winbond, Sandisk, Broadcomm, Hynix, and Intel.
Take a look at the Zenfone 2 review on our forums and join in the discussions.
