android
Ainol Novo 7 Aurora II Dual-Core Android Tablet Coming This Month
China-based tablet maker Ainol was in the spotlight last year when it announced that it would be the first company to produce an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running slate. In addition to that, the company also said that it would cost a mere $100. After the device was released, reviews about it stated that it wasn’t exactly the fastest device and since it featured an MIPS processor, it meant that some Android applications wouldn’t even work with it. Since then, the tablet manufacturer has released a few more tablets but now, it seems the most impressive one is in the works and should be landing soon.
The Ainol Novo 700 Aurora II is due to be released in May and it features a 7-inch IPS display which has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, wide viewing angles, a 1.5GHz Amlogic ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage space, a 2MP front-facing camera, a g-sensor, Wi-Fi connectivity, a microSD slot for memory expansion and it will be running Android’s latest OS, Ice Cream Sandwich. The dimensions of it are decent as well and it measures in at 7.4” x 4.4” x 0.5” plus it only weighs in at 0.8 pounds. Reports online suggest that it has been spotted on a retailer’s website for as little as $190 although there is no official verification of that price yet.
Besides that, Ainol apparently also revealed that it will have a cheaper and younger sibling which will be allegedly called the Novo 7 Elf II. Apparently, the specs will be similar devoid of the IPS display. If the information is accurate, that tablet will be retailing at just $149. What do you think? Is this tablet worth looking into as a more affordable alternative?
The Fairphone 2 was first unveiled in June earlier this year, where this particular handset carried a modular design while featuring majority of its components that have been sourced from conflict-free mines. It seems that this particular handset that you can purchase with a clear conscience has begun to ship to those who happen to live across Europe.
Fairphone announced in a blog post, “It’s been almost two years in the making, and some of the earliest buyers have been patiently waiting since July to receive their new phones. As community manager, I want to personally welcome the new batch of Fairphone owners to our community.” The initial 1,000 units are tipped to ship this month, before the other pre-orders follow in January 2016.
In terms of hardware specifications, the Fairphone 2 will run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, has a 5″ 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, with Android 5.1 Lollipop in tow. It will be a dual SIM capable handset with a microSD memory card slot and plays nice with 4G LTE networks, retailing for approximately €525 a pop.
It looks like the upcoming flagship model from Xiaomi will feature NFC support, at least based on a document that was released by China UnionPay. Just in case you are scratching your head and wondering who China UnionPay is, they happen to be the only domestic payment gateway supplier and card organization, and hence, to see them offer detailed support concerning the newly released NFC-based payment system points to the very real possibility of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 featuring NFC capability.
After all, the Xiaomi Mi 3 was also mentioned on the list, which so happens to feature NFC, and there is no mention of the Xiaomi Mi 4 which does not come with NFC. Still, such a new payment system would be the ideal tool to see the reintroduction of NFC to the flagship model.
OnePlus did make an announcement in the previous month that the Ceramic variant of the OnePlus X will be released on November 24. True to their word, they did exactly that – although only a pitiful number of units were made available, and not only that, this was through a charity auction. Thankfully for the rest of the masses who are on the lookout for this device, it has gone on sale officially already.
Needless to say, this particular variant is available only by an invitation, although do bear in mind that standard OnePlus X invites are not good here – you will still need to snag yourself a specific Ceramic variant invite before you make a purchase. OnePlus is also on the lookout to offer additional methods of picking up this smartphone, although no further details were revealed.
The OnePlus X Ceramic will be available only in select markets, where among them include Europe, India, and Hong Kong. To date, we do know that OnePlus had made only 10,000 units of the handset available. A case of the early bird getting the proverbial worm here?