Hasta La Gadget!

As mobile phones have become more powerful, prices for many flagship models have managed to linger were they always were — at the top end. The Xiaomi has always been one exception, though. Last year, this Beijing startup launched its very first namesake phone at just CN¥1,999 ($320), which was rather impressive given that this was the first Chinese device to feature the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon MSM8260 chip (not to be mistaken with the Krait-based MSM8260A). This stimulated two fronts of the smartphone war: the price-per-performance ratio kind, and the cheap-as-hell kind. With regards to performance, we’re looking at competitors like Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and good old Meizu; while the price battle involves taking on MediaTek-powered devices under various new brands — many of which have done so well that they’ve now set up stores in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei area.

Needless to say, Xiaomi is now facing a greater challenge — one that barely existed a year ago. But on the brighter side of things, the company now has three Android devices spanning two price tiers: two editions of the Xiaomi Phone 1S for ¥1,299 ($210) or ¥1,499 ($240), and the quad-core Xiaomi Phone 2 — the star of this review — for ¥1,999, which is well below its ¥2,350 ($380) raw cost, according to CEO Lei Jun. There’s no doubt that Xiaomi could recoup some of the costs from its vast range of accessories, and with the imminent launch of the Xiaomi TV set-top box next month, it’s clear that the company’s hoping to profit from content. Still, as mama said, it’s the first impression that counts (especially for consumers outside China, anyway), so read on to see how we coped with Xiaomi’s second-gen flagship phone.

Continue reading Xiaomi Phone 2 review: high-end specs in a surprisingly affordable package

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Xiaomi Phone 2 review: high-end specs in a surprisingly affordable package originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the number of bamboo backs, cases, and stick-on phone decals available, it’s no wonder that someone decided to make a phone out of bamboo too. Remember the Adzero bamboo phone? Well it looks like the specs have been finalized and it’s heading for crowdfunding through Kickstarter.

AD Creative have developed the first bamboo smartphone, which is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core processor. It has 1GB or RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It will run Ice Cream Sandwich or the company’s Android operating system build they’ve named ADAOS.

The ADzero’s 4.5-inch screen is a TFT LCD with 1280 ×720 HD resolution and a retina-sharp 326ppi density. Its camera is spec’d at 8MP with f/2.0 back illuminated sensors, and its battery offers 2050 mAh of power.

When it’s launched through Kickstarter, it will be available for $500(USD), without a contract requirement.

[via designboom]

Somehow, taking a look at the £24.95 Loud Mouth Telephone reminds me of the evergreen rockers, the Rolling Stones. How about you? You can say that retro designs tend to be in vogue from time to time, as though there was an unspoken rule that dictates it to be so. The Loud Mouth Telephone is pretty much self explanatory, and would make for a great living room ornament whenever you have guests over, especially when you do not have a fine bone china collection to show off unlike the Joneses. This will still be able to generate plenty of conversation around the room, I’m quite sure about that.

The Loud Mouth Telephone will feature a huge mouth that carries the key pad, while what looks like the tongue is actually the receiver itself. It does look rather strange at first glance, but use it for a week and you would be chatting away into this crazily designed, fully functioning telephone like before. If you want to gross things out this Halloween, just add some non-abrasive gooey liquid to it to fool folks into thinking that it is drool or saliva.

[ Loud Mouth Telephone copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Hmmm, the $99.95 Captioning Telephone is not something that you see everyday, considering how you are now able to “see” the phone calls that you cannot hear. Sporting a large, easy to read display screen, the Captioning Telephone offers free voice-to-caption service, and best of all is, you are not required to own any special equipment to get started in the first place. Senior citizens would definitely find the Captioning Telephone to be a decent addition to their arsenal of gizmos, where it works in a similar way as that of captioned TV. All words spoken by your caller will appear on a screen , scrolling right across so that you can keep up with the conversation in real time.

This allows you to give a correct answer or response as though you were still in the prime of your life. It will require you to have a high speed Internet connection though, as the technology used behind the generation of voice-to-text translation is pretty data intensive. Of course, should you not need the captioning function, just turn it off and the Captioning Telephone will function like any other standard phone. Other features include adjustable volume amplification, the ability to save captions for future review, and answering machine functionality.

[ Captioning Telephone offers something new for incoming calls copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

With all these Snapdragon S4 Pro phones popping up here and there, Xiaomi’s finally announcing its launch plan for the retail version of its very own Xiaomi Phone 2 aka MI-Two, which is also powered by Qualcomm’s APQ8064 SoC. Here’s what’s going to happen: on October 30th, the company’s online store will release the first 50,000 units, followed by another 250,000 units (approximately) in mid-November. Additionally, the device will be offered in both 16GB and 32GB flavors, which are priced at ¥1,999 (about $320) and ¥2,299 (about $370), respectively. Folks who reside in China can now register online for a quota, but it’ll probably be just a matter of time before we see these on eBay in the US, anyway.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Xiaomi Phone 2 officially launching in China on October 30th, 16GB and 32GB flavors offered originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 01:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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