Hasta La Gadget!

Even though Xiaomi’s been doing quite well in mainland China and Taiwan, you still won’t be able to find its products in brick-and-mortar stores, except for those of partner carriers and scalpers. This is why we got a bit giddy when we heard the company is now in the process of setting up 18 stores across China. But there’s a catch: you won’t be able to buy any Xiaomi Phones or Xiaomi TVs in them. Instead, you’ll only find accessories there, including the Xiaomi Box, phone cases, batteries, cables, RC toys, clothes and even dolls of the Xiaomi bunny mascot.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: CBN (Chinese)

A bunch of Twitter’s alpha and beta testers for Android might have fired up their apps today, and thought they’d been kicked out of the program. After all, the social network recently scrapped the new design it debuted to intrepid early adopters in September and brought its older look back. The familiar buttons take their place on top of the app again, replacing the menu that allowed testers to swipe their way from one stream to another. Twitter took elements from both designs, though, so it isn’t a complete throwback to the old interface. Alpha users, in particular, see an entirely different Discover section that features a basic list view and a detailed view that shows sample tweets. Also, the prompt that pops up when you post a tweet comes with a note that reads “Are you in [city, state]?” below “What’s happening?” According to TechCrunch, the microblogging site has been getting mixed feedback from its testers, which could’ve influenced the firm’s decision. Whatever the real reason is, it looks like Twitter has more than a few kinks left to iron out before it unleashes an overhauled app to the general populace.

Filed under: Mobile

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TechCrunch

Those on our side of the pond who’ve been lusting after LG’s intriguingly flexible handset might’ve seethed with jealousy after finding out it’s heading to Asia and Europe later this year. Thankfully, the US will get its very own version of the LG G Flex as well, if this FCC filing is any indication. The document reveals an LG D959 — the G Flex’s model number — with LTE band 17, a sure sign that the phone is headed to the Ma Bell network. Other tidbits gleaned from the listing suggest that the G Flex also has quad-band GSM support, 802.11a/ac/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and GPS, most of which we already knew. At last, it seems that we’ll be that much closer to seeing how LG’s bendy smartphone compares to its curvy competitor.

Update: It appears the FCC document also listed LTE Band 4 (AWS), which means it might head to T-Mobile as well.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

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FCC

Another day, another phone gets update post. But this time, it’s a smartwatch — Samsung’s Galaxy Gear — that’s party to a software refresh and it’s going to bring you closer to that Go! Go! Gadget dream. According to Sammobile, an update to the Gear Manager app now lets you add nearly every type of notification for display on your wrist. So, you won’t need to trawl forums any longer for an unofficial workaround. There’s even an option to open a particular notification on your associated smartphone. In all, it’s really nothing revolutionary and it in no way makes the case for a smartwatch purchase. But if you took the plunge and bought a Gear, it’s just one more thing you can do for $300.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Software, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Sammobile

If you’ve been jonesing for that other flagship Windows RT tablet, you won’t have long to wait. AT&T has just announced that it will release the Nokia Lumia 2520 on November 22nd for $400 when paired with a two-year data contract. It will launch only in black, unfortunately, rather than the vibrant colors you see above. However, there is a perk if you’re going all-in on Nokia hardware — buy a Lumia 925, 1020 or 1520 at the same time and the carrier will drop the 2520’s price down to $200 with a two-year agreement. If you’re eager to learn more about the LTE slate, you can check out AT&T’s quick tour video after the break.

Update: We’ve since confirmed with AT&T that the Lumia 2520 will be available for $500 contract-free, as Nokia originally promised.

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, Nokia, AT&T

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Source: AT&T