Hasta La Gadget!

All right, so I have seen fair trade clothes as well as fair trade coffee, but a fair trade smartphone? Somehow, that particular idea does take some amount of time to sink in, and it seems that the world’s first fair-trade smartphone has been aptly called the Fairphone. Just what the heck is the Fairphone, and why does it deserve such recognition? Touted to be the most ethically sourced device on the market, the Fairphone smartphone happens to be the product of the company’s campaign for fair wages as well as working conditions for those who happen to earn a living by being part of the supply chain for smartphone manufacturers.

According to product manager Miquel Ballester, “The whole point of the Fairphone social enterprise and the campaign that came before it is to intervene on the ground where the problems have originated. It’s only as a manufacturer that you’re playing by the same rules as the big brands. Then you can have real impact.”

So far, some smartphone manufacturers, Apple and Samsung included, have been pointed out for rumored links to conflict zone sources when it comes to their smartphone supply chains. The Fairphone itself is made from tin and tantlum, where the materials have been extracted from conflict-free mines in South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ballester did explain the situation further, touting that the Fairphone is not 100% fair trade, but rather, it is “about creating a business environment that favours ethical treatment from the outset.” Hardware specifications of the Fairphone include a 4.3” display, a dual SIM card slot, and a version of Android. Available this December, the Fairphone will cost you £272 a pop, and so far, nearly 15,000 Fairphones have been pre-ordered.

Fairphone Is First Fair Trade Smartphone In The World original content from Ubergizmo.

Given the recent leaks, it’s no surprise that ASUS is now readying the launch of its aptly named “the new PadFone Infinity.” According to an invitation we just received, CEO Jerry Shen will be hosting an event for said device in Taipei next Tuesday, so we’ll be there to get our hands dirty. For now, all we know is that this phone + tablet combo will look pretty much identical to the current model, except it’ll likely get a more powerful Snapdragon 800 SoC inside, as well as a microSD slot and an all-white color option. Stay tuned for our coverage!

Update: ASUS has just added a short, cheeky video (after the break) showing the smartphone leaving the orbit of its tablet companion. A countdown page has also appeared showing the six or so days left until the new new PadFone’s “launch” on September 17th — you can find it at the source.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS

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Source: Asus

While Lenovo’s Snapdragon 800-powered phone has yet to make an official appearance, the Chinese company’s gone ahead and unveiled its other quad-core flagship device: the Vibe X aka IdeaPhone S960. Much like most of its recent siblings, this Android 4.2 slate is powered by a MediaTek SoC — the quad-core 1.5GHz MT6589T, specifically, with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. There’s also a 5-inch 1080p IPS display and a 2,000mAh internal battery, along with a 5-megapixel, 84-degree front-facing camera plus a 13-megapixel main imager on the back. As you’d expect, the camera app will come with face enhancement features for your bad skin days, and Lenovo also teases a “full-featured” photo app that lets you organize your photos (with tags and folders), as well as making puzzles with them.

Thanks to Gorilla Glass 3 and the “premium polycarbonate body” (with “fabric-like surface” and side chrome accents), the overall package weighs 121g only and is just 6.9mm thick — the same thickness as the slightly larger but metallic, Intel-powered K900. Also, while the Vivo X3 with the same MediaTek chip and battery capacity is way thinner at 5.75mm (sorry, Huawei!), do bear in mind that its 5-inch display only has a 720p resolution.

There’s no price nor a date just yet, but as with most Lenovo phones these days, we’ve been told that the Vibe X will not be entering either Europe or the US. As the Chinese saying goes: you can quench thirst by thinking of the plums. By “plums” we mean the press release and our first impressions after the break. %Gallery-slideshow79651% %Gallery-slideshow79657%

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo

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The Wall Street Journal published an important investigation last week, reporting that the National Security Agency (NSA) has direct access to many key telecommunications switches around the country and “has the capacity to reach roughly 75% of all U.S. Internet traffic in the hunt for foreign intelligence, including a wide array of communications by foreigners and Americans.” Notably, NSA officials repeatedly refused to talk about this story on theirconference call with reporters the next day. Instead the Director of National Intelligence and the NSA released a statement about the story later that evening.

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Following the original ASUS PadFone Infinity (A80) with Snapdragon 600 SoC, rumors of a new “PadFone Infinity A86” (or “PadFone T004”) go as far back as July 20th, with benchmark evidence showing a more powerful Snapdragon 800 enabling this mysterious device. While details are still light, several eagle-eyed PadFone fans have started noticing a new name on ASUS’ tech support page: “The new PadFone Infinity.” Assuming this is more of an official name and less of a placeholder, it looks like we’ll be seeing an identical-looking device sporting Qualcomm’s latest piece of silicon; and perhaps a launch is imminent — maybe at IFA next week? But ASUS, it really wouldn’t hurt if you guys can throw in a microSD slot plus a dedicated keyboard dock as well this time. Remember the original PadFone? Good times.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, ASUS

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Via: Mobile01

Source: ASUS, GFXBench