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Manta 7x Does Seem To Lack Hardware Buttons
For a smartphone or a device to lack a hardware button is rather unusual – but then again, the Manta 7x is no ordinary handset. This particular device is right now up for pre-order goodness, where it has a shipping date that has been set already. Of course, we have also gotten whiff that the Manta 7x will have a sibling in the form of the Manta 7L that points to a lower range device. But I digress – back to the Manta 7x.
The Manta 7x is touted to arrive with a 5.5″ Sharp-made display that carries 1080p resolution, with a 401 PPI ratio. It will run on a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, accompanied by 2GB RAM, has 32GB of internal memory, is IP55 rated – allowing it to handle a bit of shocks here and there, as well as having a degree of resistance to both water and dust.
Apparently, it will allegedly arrive with a 13MP Sony IMX 214 sensor not only at the back, but in front as well. Now this is rather unusual! At least it will reportedly run on a 4,200 mAh battery that ought to be enough to keep it going the whole day. Touch sensors on its bezels would mean doing away with hardware buttons, while a solitary capacitive button is located at the bottom of the device.
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?