YotaPhone 2 review

It may look like the YotaPhone 2 has lost the element of surprise but the sequel is actually trying to please the users the original wowed - and get a bigger crowd interested. The first generation was unexpected and fascinating but high price and low awareness didn't help it get its message across.

Number 2 isn't going to be a bestseller either, not in its wildest dreams, but it does well to fix a lot of things that didn't quite work the first time around. Yota Devices announced the YotaPhone 2 almost a full year ago for it to only recently become available. And, of course, we couldn't miss the opportunity to review one of the most intriguing gadgets in the market.

On a first glance, the YotaPhone 2 looks just like a regular Android flagship - even a bit old-fashioned, as in curvy and not too slim. The specs mean business though: a gorgeous FullHD AMOLED display, 32GB of storage, LTE, a solidly-built body and buttery-smooth experience courtesy of a Snapdragon 800 chip.
However, your perception of it will change completely once you turn it around. The unique feature is the always-on e-Ink display mounted on the back, safe under a layer of curved Gorilla Glass 3.

Think of all the possibilities that the battery-efficient screen opens - a power-frugal, pocket-sized e-reader for those sunny days on the beach or those long commutes; instant access to your smartphone's most important features - notifications, the time, calls, messages and email, the web and your favorite contacts, and even games. An ever changing battery cover style for your phone too, if you will.

There is a lot to discover about the new YotaPhone 2 but before we proceed to the key features, we must say we really like the YotaPhone 2 concept. It managed to get us excited as few devices have - let's hope it's not just in it for the points for trying.

Key features

• 5.0" 16M-color 1080p AMOLED touchscreen, 442ppi
• Always-on 4.7" 16-level grayscale e-Ink display (540 x 960 px, 235ppi)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on both screens
• Android OS v4.4.3 KitKat with Yota Apps
• Quad-core Krait 400 CPU at 2.3GHz, 2GB of RAM, Adreno 330 GPU; Snapdragon 801 chipset
• 8MP autofocus camera, LED flash; HDR, panorama; 1080p@30fps video capturing
• 32GB of built-in storage (25GB user-accessible)
• Cat. 4 LTE (150/50Mbps); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.0; NFC; GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou; FM radio; microUSB (SlimPort)
• 2,500mAh battery
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic

Main disadvantages

• No high-end video recording (either 4K @ 30fps or FullHD @ 60fps)
• No microSD card slot or higher storage capacity option available
• Always resting on a screen regardless how you put it down and double the chance of breaking a screen if you drop it

The YotaPhone 2 wasn't meant to compete with the current crop of flagships in terms of productivity and value-added features. On a second thought though, the extra screen has more added value than most.

Anyway, it was obviously built with smooth performance in mind. The lack of 4K video recording or a microSD card slot are not that much of a problem and surely won't be tough to swallow having in mind the YotaPhone 2's unique skill and character.

Selfie-centered Samsung Grand Max unveiled in Korea

Samsung's event at CES 2015 was lacking in smartphone flair, instead focusing on domestic appliances and what they called SUHD television. In South Korea though, they are launching the Galaxy Grand Max which is to hit local shelves on January 9 at KWR 319,000 ($290).

From the front the device is an unmistakable member of the family, so much so that it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell which exactly Galaxy this is. The back is what distinguishes it with yet another iteration of the faux leather concept around the otherwise familiar flash-camera-speaker layout.

The phone features a 5.25" display of 720p resolution in a slender 7.9mm body weighing in at 161g. Running the show is the decent Snapdragon 410 with its CPU clocked at 1.2GHz and a modem supporting LTE Cat 4. It is joined by 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, as usual with a microSD slot for expansion. Power will be provided by a 2500mAh battery, which should be about adequate.

The main camera is a 13MP unit, but Samsung is marketing the Grand Max as a selfie device stressing the 120 degree wide angle lens of the 5MP front snapper. It also allows voice operation to let you focus on making funny faces instead of shutter release.

New Honda Jazz review, test drive

A high price may have hurt the original Honda Jazz’s chances, but there’s a new one heading our way. Here's our exclusive review. 

 Photographer Yang has just driven the new Honda Jazz to our rendezvous point in downtown Singapore. But he doesn’t give me much of a chance to have a thorough look at the car. He’s expecting rain and wants to make the most of the even light we have this afternoon, and within no time I’m belted up and ready to drive. I’m told the route will take us through the heart of the city to emptier roads in the suburbs where I can ‘drive faster’. You see, most of Singapore is covered by a web of speed cameras, radars and perhaps even telepathic devices that would fine me if I so much as think of speeding.

But I don’t intend to really max out the Jazz I’m driving either. That’s because the Singaporean Jazz comes with 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre petrol engines, and it would be silly to put my license (and bank balance) in jeopardy for engines not destined for India. At this point, you should know that the Indian Jazz models will get the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines as the Honda Amaze. Remember, for a small car (read sub-four-metre in length) like the Jazz to qualify for excise benefits, it must use a petrol engine below 1200cc or a diesel engine below 1500cc. Let’s start with the diesel engine, which will see application in the Jazz for the first time. Given that the four-cylinder, fixed geometry turbo unit makes about 99bhp in the Amaze, City and Mobilio, it’s safe to assume Honda will not tinker with this engine’s power output on the Jazz. This would also make the Jazz the most powerful premium diesel hatchback this side of the Volkswagen Polo GT TDI. While Honda could pitch the Jazz as a performance diesel, its i-DTEC engine is actually more about excellent driveability than outright punch. Given our start-stop traffic conditions, I don’t think the bulk of buyers will mind the compromise. Perhaps of equal interest (and arguably its trump card) would be the Jazz diesel’s fuel economy. The Amaze and City diesels perform superbly on this front and the Jazz should be no different. Just how well the Jazz diesel does will, in part, be a function of the gearbox it will come with. In all likelihood, Honda will equip the Jazz with the Amaze’s five-speed manual. But let’s not forget, the City carries the same engine mated to a more efficiency-oriented six-speed manual.

Xiaomi Redmi 1s with dual-LTE set to launch on January 4

Xiaomi will launch a new version of its popular Redmi 1s smartphone this coming Sunday, on January 4. The device will hit the shelves soon after its unveiling.

Xiaomi teased there will be a big thing happened with tencent and today Xiaomi claimed in their Weibo that Xiaomiwill release a new product along with Tencent through QQ space  at 4th January and the phone will be on sale at January . The new product is the long waited new edition of Redmi 1s.

According to the specifications on TENNA, the new Dual 4G LTE Edition Redmi 1s will be powered with Qualcomm’s 64 bit Snapdragon 410, have 4.7 inch 720p display, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 2 megapixel front facing camera and 8 megapixel back camera, 2200mAh battery, running Android 4.4 based MIUI 6.0. This new Redmi 1s supports GSM, WCDMA, TD LTE, and LTE FDD networks. It has 2 SIM card slots, and both of the SIM card slots supports 4G LTE.

According to TENNA’s picture, its weight is 134g and some improvements must have been done with the texture and the bezels are thinner than last edition of Redmi 1s, the screen is also like an OGS screen, everything are pretty much better. But there are already a lot of phones in the market with this kind of  specifications and with more and more new competitors like Dazen and Meizu, how much will this phone will be priced at?

Meanwhile, the next generation Xiaomi Mi smartphone was also leaked recently. According to the leak, the phone features extremely thin bezels. There will also be a black edition model

, which was revealed a day before. Moreover, it is said that the flagship will top end specifications like a 2K resolution display, 3GB RAM, 4G LTE support etc. Also, the screen size will be increased from 5-inches to 5.5-5.7 inches in the upcoming flagship.

Unfortunately, apart from the leaked images, there is nothing too concrete about the device. The Xiaomi Mi5 is yet to hit TENAA or crop up on any benchmark websites, so for now, let’s hope that Xiaomi has something exciting to show at CES 2015.

OnePlus One gets official Android 5.0 Lollipop alpha ROM

OnePlus has been quietly developing its own Android 5.0 Lollipop based ROM for the OnePlus One. Following the controversy with Cyanogen licensing in India, the company had announced that it will be providing an early build to customers, which will replace the Cyanogen OS on their devices.

The company has now released an alpha build of the ROM on its forums, and is available to download and flash right now.

The ROM looks pretty much identical to stock Android Lollipop on Nexus devices but with a few minor changes, such as the ability to have either onscreen or physical navigation buttons.

This is an alpha build so there definitely are bugs, many of which are listed on the forum and others no doubt you'll find while using it. There are also clear instructions on how to install the ROM and the things you need to keep in mind, so make sure you read everything properly and know what you're doing before you take the plunge.