If you’ve been closely following Meizu, chances are you would’ve heard about the wild M9 launch across China from just a few days ago. Sadly, said smartphone maker told us that it has absolutely no interest in reaching out to other countries in the near future, but potential foreign buyers now have an option: Hong Kong-based DealExtreme is offering the 8GB Android Froyo device for $449 — a $70 markup — with free shipping. Not a bad alternative to the M9′s Hummingbird buddy Galaxy S that goes for about $570 sans contract, and bear in mind that the former is still the first Android phone to sport a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 display. Maybe this is a good time to spend your holiday cash.
The D-Pad and E-Pad are two pint-sized cellphones that are reminiscent of the iPad, except they are telephones, they are much smaller, and they are totally different. Featuring a 3.5-inch resistive touchscreen, 2.5mm headphone jack, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera and 2 megapixel rear camera with LED flash, you don’t even have to get to the dual SIMs, telescoping antenna, or the CMMB mobile TV tuner before you realize this is all Shenzhen, and very little Cupertino. Available now in either pink or white for 550 Chinese yuan (about $70). Get a closer look — and some video to boot — after the break.
Did a Thai company we’ve never heard of just make the best-looking portrait QWERTY Android phone to date? We might not jump the gun that quickly — but it’s definitely up there. Spriiing Design (yes, three i’s) is launching its Smile model in Bangkok on January 18th and the rest of Thailand thereafter, featuring a 3 megapixel camera, 512MB of ROM, 256MB of RAM, microSD expansion to 16GB, and a 2.6-inch QVGA display along with 3G support on the 900 and 2100MHz bands paired to a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 core atop Android 2.1. In other words… yeah, this pretty low end fare. More interestingly, though, the handset was apparently designed in Sweden and manufactured by Huawei — in fact, it’s got “In connection with Ideos” silkscreened on the back, and Ideos is the brand that Huawei’s been pushing this year for its Android-powered gear. Small world, ain’t it? Follow the break for Spriiing’s video teaser.
Update: Turns out this puppy is on sale in Australia, too, through Boost Mobile (yep, there’s a Boost Mobile there). Thanks, Matt!
Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Meizu sure has made a wise decision to launch its M9 Android Froyo phone on the first day of 2011 which, like most other countries, happens to be a public holiday in China. According to some Meizu fans (aka “Mei-yo” or literally “friends of Meizu”) outside one of the two Shenzhen stores, there were already about 60 people lined up outside at around 6am. A few of them even braved the cold weather since 8pm last night, despite CEO Jack Wong actively discouraging such hustle on the forum for the sake of people’s health, promising “all the flagship stores will have sufficient stock” for all pre-orderers. Meizu wasn’t keen on giving us an official number, but the two Shenzhen stores alone could’ve easily served several thousand customers this morning. With no limit on how many units each person could pre-order (¥2,499 / $379 for 8GB, and ¥2,699 / $409 for 16GB), you can imagine Meizu’s assembly lines working long hours to supply its stores from 28 other provinces in China. Meanwhile, somewhere out there, Mr. Wong is happily checking his bank account. Video after the break.
Once again, here’s proof that China is the place to be for piping-hot gadget leaks. The latest delivery is yet another mysterious Sony Ericsson handset, which is allegedly the Android 2.3 successor to the much loved X10 Mini Pro slider but with an X8 screen size. Despite its modest dimensions, this little gem packs a 1GHz chip with an Adreno 205 GPU, scoring an impressive 1,553 on the Quadrant benchmark app — coming close to the Nexus S’ score — and 42.5fps on Neocore, as pictured on the 3-inch 320 x 480 multitouch LCD above. It sure sounds juicy, except for one thing: the buttons are in reverse order of the current Xperia layout. Very funny, Sony Ericsson, now just give us a date. One more shot after the break.
Meizu CEO Jack Wong has been teasing the M9 handset for some time now, and if we’re not mistaken, the official site just went live with a full list of specs to boot. As promised, there’s a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 resolution screen (reportedly the Sharp ASV display), and we’re also apparently looking at a 1GHz S5PC110 processor (just like the Samsung Galaxy S), Android 2.2, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A-GPS, 802.11b/g/n, microSDHC, a removable 1370mAH lithium-polymer battery, and support for (drumroll, please) GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA,and HSUPA. Too good to be true? Word on the street is this very phone will be available December 25th in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and will expand to the rest of China days later. We’ll believe it when we see it.
Hooray on top of hooray, it’s like Christmas came super early, we got our hands on and unboxed a Google Nexus S and you’re all invited to sit by the campfire and watch! Joy! Then prepare yourself for a better way to leak as WikiLeaks staff members declare their intention of creating a separate site by the name of Openleaks. Next, get super pumped up and take a look at a leaked five year plan for Blizzard Entertainment – can you say Diablo III? SEE Facebook turn down a $15 BILLION DOLLAR offer from Microsoft. And SEE the Netbook category Go Extinct via Ben.
Also they have some models who love their product so much, they put the logo on their skin. BenQ must be really, really awesome. They’ve released a new camera: S1420, a lovely orange-only addition to their S-series. This S1420 camera has a whopping 14 megapixels to its name, but its main selling point is it’s Optical Image Stabilizer, a powerful blurry shot preventer indeed. It also features a 26mm wide-angle lens, 5x optical zoom, and HDR II image enhancement technology that “helps keep colors true to life,” even in high contrast situations.
This camera has a giant 3.0″ LCD screen and comes equipped with filters such as LOMO, Fisheye, and color accent. S1420 is capable of HD video capture, low-light image capture with its ISO 6400 exposure, and it’s available in China and Asia Pacific this month, Latin America and Europe in January, and by the looks of it, North America NEVER. Check out the press release below:
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, December 6, 2010 – BenQ announced the expansion of its S-series digital camera lineup today with the 14 Megapixels S1420 digital camera. Stylishly encased in a vibrant orange-coloured metallic casing, the S1420 is designed for those who pursue high image quality whilst also values compact and mobility of their cool camera.
The O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) feature on S1420 prevents blur on shots and it is the most powerful technology for anti-shake. This amazing feature works automatically and compensates for unintended camera movements or slow shutter speeds to deliver crisply rendered, sharp and crystal clear images which without might ruin an otherwise perfect shot.
S1420 is the ideal camera companion with the flawless combination of the 26mm wide-angle lens with 5x optical zoom. The wide-angle lens give allows expanded field of view needed for group shots, ensuring everyone is in frame even in a close-up shot whilst the powerful zoom makes it possible to capture detailed photos even when the subjects are of a distance.
BenQ’s HDR II image enhancement technology is a magical feature that lets users get great shots of high-contrast scenes that are usually so difficult to photograph well. HDR II depicts the scenes in the photograph exactly how it is seen by the eye, with all the details in both dark and bright areas intact. Furthermore, HDR II allows previews on the bright 3.0” LCD with HDR applied, so users know exactly what kind of shots they will be taking.
BenQ’s S1420 comes bundled with a full range of creative shooting modes which includes “LOMO”, “Fisheye” and “Color accent”. The “LOMO” adds effects like dark-corners, off-kilter exposure, and over-saturated colors to snapshots turning the photographs into gallery-worthy artworks. Apply the “Fisheye Lens” to get a wide-angle hemispherical view of the photographic subjects, adding a new source of fun and intriguing creative possibilities to photos. The “Color accent” effect allows users to keep one selected color in the photo whilst having the rest converted into black and white, heightening the ambiance and imbuing the photographs with mood and personality.
When even a great photograph cannot capture the action desired, S1420’s 720p HD movie recording capability comes into play, allowing users to record the actions in crisply detailed, brilliant and vivid HD videos. The highlights of one’s life can now be preserved in big, beautiful movies.
S1420’s highly sensitive sensor can take realistic-looking, detailed photographs in a low light scene. An ISO 6400 exposure index ensures that photographs in a dance-club or a romantic candle-lit restaurant are not compromised.
BenQ’s vibrant orange-coloured S1420 will be available in China and Asia Pacific in December, Latin America and Europe in January 2011. For more information, please visit www.BenQ.com
For those still waiting to hear about the robot revolution, you’ll have to keep waiting a bit longer. Though, finding out that a restaurant in China is now letting a team of robots not only greet customers, but also serve them food, perhaps that day is right around the corner. A new restaurant, called the Delu Rebot Restaurant opened its doors in Jiang, China, and offers up plenty of robot entertainment for those who want to partake.
The new restaurant has two robots that serve as receptionists. They’ll greet you, but the real fun starts when you find your seat. You’ll notice that the tables are set up in a circular fashion. This makes it easier for the robots to follow that pre-ordained path. And they do it on bicycles, no less. But, these robots will not only take your order, but also serve it to you, too. Drinks included.
In the kitchen, though, there are humans preparing the food. At least for now. The ultimate goal? To have the restaurant staffed by up to 40 robots.
This is for those office workers who are the laziest. Those people you more than likely don’t want working for you (unless a nap break is in your plan, that’s cool!) In this chair is not only a super comfy situation, but an office bed as well. Take a nap in the middle of the day if you wish!
Apparently, and I’ve not been there to confirm this by watching offices like a hawk, in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, people take 30 minute power naps right in the middle of their work day to increase their productivity. Does it work? Have you seen the movie Office Space? You gotta do what it takes go get ahead, even if that means laying your head back.
