ZOPO P5000, Z5000 with dual-cameras, 5000mAh battery announced

Chinese device maker Zopo has set foot into the bezel-less territory. The company at IFA 2017, announced P5000 with near bezel-less design boasting 18:9 aspect ratio. In addition, it also unveiled battery-centric Zopo Z5000 with a beefy battery capacity.

Talking about the Zopo P5000 first, it features 5.99-inch HD+ (1440 x 720 pixels) IPS 2.5d curved glass display with 18:9 aspect ratio and minimal bezel at the sides. It also gets a dual-camera setup at the rear, sporting a 13MP Sony IMX258 sensor with PDAF, f/2.0 aperture, and a secondary 5MP shooter to capture depth information. The rear camera is accompanied by dual-tone LED flash.

The selfie camera at the front is a 16MP shooter and features Samsung S5K3P3 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, and there's an LED falsh for low-light photography.

It comes with 1.8GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 chip, 4GB RAM, 64GB of expandable storage and a beefy 5000mAh battery. It runs Android Nougat and supports 4G LTE, VoLTE, dual-SIM, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB Type-C for connectivity. There's also a fingerprint scanner at the back.

The Zopo Z5000 offers the same specs as the P5000 including the processor, RAM, storage, battery and cameras, but comes with a bigger 5.5-inch HD AMOLED 2.5D curved glass display, and the fingerprint sensor is baked into the home button.

The ZOPO P5000 comes in Black and Red colors and the Z5000 comes in Gold and Black colors. The pricing and availability details were not revealed.

Huawei announces its AI powered Kirin 970 processor

Huawei at the IFA 2017 tech show in Berlin announced its next-generation processor for high-end devices called Kirin 970. It is the first mobile SoC that has its own AI processor built in.

The Kirin 970 is an octa-core processor with four high performance ARM Cortex A73 cores clocked up to 2.4GHz and four low powered ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked up to 1.8GHz, same as Kirin 960. But it is manufactured using 10nm process technology compared to 16nm process in the predecessor for improved performance. 10nm is the same process used in other powerful chips like Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 and Samsung's Exynos 8895.

The chip gets the latest and faster ARM Mali-G72 12-core GPU to deliver improved performance and efficiency. It also supports HDR, 4K video recording at 60fps. 

However, the main highlight of the Kirin 970 processor is the dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU), built right onto the chip, which will deliver faster and efficient AI function. Thanks to the integration of the NPU, the Kirin 970 is said to deliver up to 25x the performance of a CPU with 50x greater efficiency for tasks like voice recognition, real-time image,  intelligent photography, and other AI related task.

It has a new dual ISP supporting improve noise reduction, 4-way hybrid auto-focus, and improved low light shooting and capture of moving subjects without motion blur. It also supports LTE Cat 18 for download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps.

The first phones to use Huaweo's Kirin 960 chip will be the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, which will be introduced on October 16. 

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Asus ROG Chimera is the world's first gaming laptop to boast a display with 144Hz refresh rate

At the IFA 2017 in Berlin, Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) introduced its latest flagship gaming laptop: ROG Chimera. The company touts it to  be the world's first gaming laptop to boast a display with 144Hz refresh rate for a smooth and seamless experience never seen before in a laptop.

The Asus ROG Chimera features 17.3-inch Full HD display with NVIDIA G-Sync technology and 7ms response time, and is equipped with factory-overclocked  Intel Core i7-7820, that can reach clock speeds of up to 4.3GHz. It also packs NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card, with a maximum boost clock of up to 1974MHz.

Asus says the high-end gaming laptop has built-in Xbox Wireless, and gamers can connect their Xbox accessories to the PC, without the need for multiple adapters.

Unfortunately Asus did not reveal any other details including price and availability of the laptop.

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Caterpillar's rugged Cat S31 & S41 smartphones, Cat T20 Windows tablet can take a beating

U.S based rugged device maker Caterpillar at IFA 2017 unveiled two durable smartphones: Cat S31 and Cat S41, and a rugged tablet: Cat T20. All these devices are designed to survive extreme environments and boasts rugged build, water resistance, shock proofing, military grade protection and beefy battery capacities.

Cat S31 and Cat S41
The smartphones have rubber back to withstand drops and falls, and bent edges to help cushion the fall further. They are beyond IP68 certified, which means the phones can survive in water for up to depth of two meters for up to one (Cat S31: up to 1.2 meters for up to 35 minutes). They are also drop proof for up to 1.8 meters on concrete,  feature category 4 vibration proofing, and have passed MIL-STD 810G certification. There's also customizable physical buttons for push-to-talk, flashlight or camera. As for the software they are Android phones, running Nougat out of the box, and support 4G LTE and dual-SIMs.

In terms of specifications, the Cat S41 features Gorilla Glass 5 protected 5-inch Full HD IPS display with wet finger and glove support. It is powered by 2.3GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P20 processor, and comes with 3GB RAm and 32GB storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. It gets 13MP PDAF assisted rear camera with an LED flash, and 8MP front facing camera. A 5000mAh battery runs the show, that's rated to deliver up to 38 hours of talk time and 44 days of standby time. It also supports reverse charging technology, which means, you can charge other devices via USB OTG.

The Cat S31 is an affordable model featuring 4.7-inch HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, Snapdragon 210 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, 8MP/2MP rear & front camera and 4000mAh battery. 

Cat T20 tablet
It is the company's first tablet and runs Windows 10, and also has a rugged design. It is able to withstand drops from height of up to 1.8 meters, and is IP67 water resistance, which means it can survive up to one meter of water for up to 30 minutes.

The Cat T20 features 8-inch 800 x 1280px IPS display with Gorilla Glass protection, and is equipped with 1.44GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z8350 processor, 2GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. It has 5MP rear camera and 2MP front camera, and packs a beefy 7500mAh battery. It also has USB 3.0 and mini-HDMI for connectivity, and the tablet weighs 650g.

Coming to the pricing the Cat S30 is priced at 329 Euros ($390 | Rs. 25,000) and the Cat S41 is priced 449 Euros ($533 | Rs. 33,000), while the Cat T20 tablet carries a price tag of 649 Euros ($770 | Rs. 50,000). 

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Garmin outs three new fitness tracking wearables including a hybrid smartwatch

Garmin has announced three new wearables with fitness-tracking capabilities at IFA 2017. These include vivomove HR, and vivoactive 3 smartwatch, and vivosport activity tracker, and are compatible with Android and iOS devices.

The vivomove HR is Garmins's first hybrid smartwatch that comes with built-in digital sub-display in addition to the touchscreen display. In other words, a traditional watch with smart features. The sub-display appears when the wearer turns their wrist. It also has several fitness tracking features like wrist based heart rate, and offers smart notifications like messages, fitness data, reminders and more. It is also water resistant, and alerts users of V02 levels as well.

Garmin says the watch will run for up to five days when used in smartwatch mode, or up to two weeks in traditional watch mode. 

It is priced at $299.99 for the premium version, and $199.99 for the sports version. It also comes in four color combinations: Black with black silicone band, Rose Gold with white silicone band, Silver with dark brown leather band and Gold with light brown leather band.

Next is the vivoactive 3 smartwatch, a full-fledged smartwatch with touchscreen display and activity tracking capabilities including heart rate monitoring. It has GPS, and is the first smartwatch to support's Garmin's new contact payment solution called Garmin Pay, allowing you to leave your wallet at home, when you're out. It also supports third-party apps, that can be downloaded from Garmin Connect IQ store, and promises up to seven days of battery life (up to 13 hours on GPS mode).

The vivoactive 3 is priced at $300, and comes in Black/stainless, White/stainless and Black/slate color options.

Lastly, the vivosport is a swim-proof activity tracker that has a 72 x 144 pixel color display that's always-on and visible in sunlight. It has heart rate monitor, displays notifications from a paired smartphone, built-in GPS, and up to seven days of battery life. 

It comes in small, medium and large size. The small and medium models come in Slate and Fuchsia Focus color, while the large sized model come in Slate and Limelight colors. The fitness band carries a price tag of $199.99.

SandDisk iXpand Base can back up your iPhone while charging

Western Digital at IFA 2017, launched the world's highest capacity 400GB microSD card. Additionally it introduced iXpand Base, a 2-in-1 portable charger and back up device for iPhone users. It will be offered with up to 256GB local storage

The iXpand Base lets you automatically back up contents including photos, videos and contacts from iPhone, while the phone is charging  (15W charging is supported). This is the perfect device for users who don't prefer backing up iPhone contents to the iCloud. Another advantage is that you can put it in your bag, and carry it around as well.

Sandisk says the iXpand Base "gives consumers plenty of room to automatically save files in their original quality, with no need to pay monthly fees for cloud-based storage"

You can transfer and restore files directly from the iXpand Base to a PC using  USB cable, or access them on iPhone through the companion SanDisk iXpand Base app, and back up the files while charging.

The device  has a soft rubber top to place the iPhone, and a wrap-around groove to keep the Lightning cable tidy and organized. It weighs 189.66g.

The SandDisk iXpand Base comes in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options priced at $49.99 (Rs. 3,100), $99.99 (Rs. 6,300), $129.99 (Rs. 8,300) and $199.99 (Rs. 12,700) respectively. It is available in the US from company website, Amazon, BestBuy.com, B&H Phone video.com and other major retailers.

JBL intros smart speaker series "JBL Link" with Google Assistant

Google, a few days back announced that Google Assistant, which works with Google Home (and other Google devices), will make its way to third-party smart speakers. Sony at the IFA show introduced a Google-assistant smart speaker. And now audio device maker JBL has also announced voice-activated Google Assistant smart speaker called JBL-Link.

The JBL Link line up includes three models in total, each with different form factor: Link 10, Link 20 and Link 300, and all come integrated with Google Assistant, which can be activated by either tapping the button place on to, or by saying "Ok Google" and giving voice commands. You can stream music, control smart home appliances, get weather updates, or answers for questions and more. There's also built-in support for Chromecast.

The JBL Link 300 is a designed to keep at home, and comes with 50W speaker, and measures 9.3" x 5.3" x 6". It doesn't come with a battery, instead uses AC power. It carries a price tag of $249 (Rs. 16,000).

The other two Link 10 and Link 20 are portable Google Assistant speakers and are powered by rechargable battery.

The JBL Link 10 boasts two 8 watt speaker, up to five hours of battery life and IPX7 water resistance. It measures 3.4" x 6.7" and is priced at $149 (Rs. 9,600).

The Link 20 is bit larger measuring at 3.7" x 8.3". It packs two 10W speaker, and promises up to 10 hours of battery life. It also has IPX7 water resistance rating, and costs $199 (Rs. 13,000).

The JBL Link smart speaker line up will hit the market this fall, and comes in Black color. 

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Alcatel intros A7, dual-camera toting A7 XL

Alongside the Idol 5 and Idol 5S, TCL sub-brand Alcatel also unveiled the A7 and A7 XL at IFA 2017. Both run Android Nougat and boasts metal body, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, LTE CAT6 support and a beefy battery capacity. Moreover, the A7 XL is Alcatel's first smartphone will dual-cameras.

The Alcatel A7 comes with 5.5-inch Full HD display, and is powered by octa-core Mediatek MT6750T processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. It gets 16MP f/2.0 PDAF assisted rear camera with dual-tone LED flash and 8MP front facing shooter for selfie, also assisted by an LED flash. It is fueled by 4000mAh battery, that's rated to deliver up to 22 hours of talk time, up to 62 hours of music playback and up to eight hours of video playback.

The Alacatel A7 XL gets a bigger 6-inch Full HD display, and is powered by the same processor found on A7, MediaTek MT6750T. It packs 3GB RAM and 32Gb internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. The dual-camera system assisted by dual-tone LED flash sports 12MP + 2MP sensors, with the latter sensor used for background blurs for bokeh effects. The selfie shooter is a 5MP sensor, and is accompanied by an LED flash unit.  A 4000mAh battery runs the show, and promises up to 17 hours of talk time, and upto 800 hours (33 days) of standby time.

The Alcatel A7 has been priced at 229.99 Euros, and will be available in Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, APAC this month in Metal Black. The bigger A7 Plus is priced at 279.99 Euros, and will be available in Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, APAC in Q4 2017 in Metal Black, Metal Blue, Metal Gold and Rose Gold colors. 

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Alcatel Idol 5 and Idol 5S announced

Alcatel is expanding its Idol family with two new members: Idol 5S and Idol 5. Both smartphones boast premium metal and glass design with rear mounted fingerprint scanner and runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box. They also have built-in customizable "Now Key" that lets users to launch specific apps, tasks or actions.

The Alcatel Idol 5S features 5.2-inch Full HD IPS display and is powered by octa-core MediaTek Helio P20 processor. It comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, which can be further expanded via microSD card. For photography, it gets 12MP f/2.0 rear camera with hybrid auto-focus (PDAF + CAF) and dual-LED flash, and an 8MP front facing camera, also assisted by a flash. A 2850mAh battery runs the show. It also has USB Type-C port and front facing dual-speakers. 

The Alcatel Ideol 5 on the other hand is a budget option, and comes with 5.2-inch Full HD IPS display, quad-core MediaTek MT6753 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB of expandable storage and 2800mAh battery. The camera department include 13MP f/2.0 rear camera with dual-LED flash, and 5MP f/2.4 front facing camera with 84-degree wide-angle lens.

The Alcatel Idol 5S has been priced at 399 Euros, and comes in Metal Gray color, while the Idol 5 costs 239 Euros, and comes in Metal Silver and Metal Black. Both will be available in Europe in Q4 2017 (Idol 5 will also be available in Latin America). The Idol 5S will also come bundled with a JBL headset. 

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Lenovo Miix 520 2-in-1 tablet announced

Alongside, the Yoga 920 and Yoga 720 convertible, Lenovo also announced Miix 520, a 2-in-1 Windows 10 tablet that comes with detachable keyboard and support for optional pen stylus.

The Lenovo Miix 520 sports 12.2-inch Full HD IPS touch display and comes with the options of Intel Core i3 (7th gen), Core i5 (8th gen) or Core i7 (8th gen) processors, 4GB/8GB/16GB DDR4 RAM and 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB PCIe SSD.

Just like Yoga 920, the Miix 520 is also equipped with far-field voice recognition, and Microsoft's Cortana will be able to hear your voice when you're up to 4 meter away from the tablet.

Connectivity options are a USB Type-C port, a USB 3.0 port, audio combo jack, SD card reader, WiFi 802.11ac, 4G LTE/SIM slot (optional). Other feature include fingerprint reader for Windows Hello login, 5MP front and rear camera, full sized backlit keyboard and Dolby Audio powered dual-speakers. It promises up to 7.5 hours of battery life.

The tablet measures 9.9mm around the waist and weighs 880g, and with the keyboard attached weighs 1.26kg. Color options are Platinum and Iron Gray.

The Lenovo Miix 520 price starts at $999.99 and will be available in October.

Lenovo unveils Yoga 720 and Yoga 520 convertibles

Lenovo has introduced two new thin and light Yoga series convertible at IFA show in Berlin: the 13-inch Yoga 920 with slim bezel and top-end specs and the compact 12-inch Yoga 720.

The Lenovo Yoga 920 features 13.9-inch IPS touch display and comes with the option of UHD/4K (3840 x 2160) or Full HD (1920 x 1080) It sports very slim bezels, and has a 360-degree watchband hinge, that lets you prop the device in four modes including laptop, stand, tent and tablet.

It runs Windows 10 Home and is equipped with 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor. The convertible can be configured with 8GB or 16GB RAM and 256GB/512GB/1TB PCIe SSD. Connectivity options include 2 x USB Type-C port  (2 x Thunderbolt, PD, DisplayPort, USB 3.0 full function), a USB 3.0 port, 3.5mm audio jack and card reader.

The convertible also comes with some special features like, the voice assisted Cortana will be able to recognize your voice commands even in standby mode for up to four meters away. For this function it is equipped with Far Field microphones. It also has fingerprint reader that supports Windows Hello. Other features include HD cameras, JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos, backlit keyboard, stylus support (optional Lenovo Active Pen) and 70wh battery that promises up to 10.8 hours of battery life on the 4K model, and up to 15.5 hours on the Full HD model.

The convertible measure 323 x 223.5 x 13.95mm, and weighs 1.37kg. It comes in Platinum, Bronze and Copper color.

The Lenovo Yoga 920 will be available in October for $1,329.99 and up.

Lenovo Yoga 720
The Yoga 720 is a more affordable options, and weighs 1.15kg and measure 293 x 203.4 x 15.75mm. It features 12.5-inch Full HD display, and can be configured with 7th generation Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processor, 4GB or 8GB RAM, and 128GB, 256GB or 512GB SATA SSD. 

The connectivity options include a USB 3.0 port (Always-on Charging), a USB Type-C (DisplayPort + USB 3.0) and 3.5mm audio jack. It promises up to eight hours of battery life, and comes with HD web cam, and Dolby Audio powered Harman Speakers.

The Lenovo Yoga 720 will be available in October starting at $ 649 in Onyx Black and Mineral Grey color.

Lenovo's Mixed Reality Headset is called Explorer and starts at $349

Acer, HP, Asus and Dell already introduced their Windows platform based Mixed Reality Headset. Joining the bandwagon is Lenovo with the Explorer. Its specs are almost similar to other models, but is priced little lower. It does not need a high-end PC to work with, and will preform fine in affordable budget PCs.

The Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality headset has the usual dual 1440 x 1440 pixel display and dual-camera for inside-out positional tracking offering a "free and unfettered natural motion". It also does not have external sensors, which means it is easy to setup. Just connect the built-in Y-cable of the headset to the computer's USB port and HDMI output, and you're good to go.

The headset lets you move around in an area of up to 3.5 by 3.5 meters, which means within this space users can move around, hop, lunge, couch, and perform other actions.

There's also an optional motion controllers, but you can use the Explorer with an Xbox controller, Keyboard and mouse (to run Microsoft Office apps), or voice commands through Cortana. It also has the ability to run VR games and apps.

The standalone Lenovo Explorer is priced at $ 349, and the headset and motion controller bundle will cost $449. It will hit the shelves in October.

Moto X4 with Snapdragon 630, dual-cameras gets official

 

Motorola's Moto X line is back from the dead, and the Moto X4 marks it return. It's an upper mid-range smartphone sporting a premium look with an anodized aluminum frame, 3D rear contoured design, Gorilla Glass at front and back, and IP68 water and dust resistance. 

In terms of specifications the Moto X4 has 5.2-inch Full HD AMOLED display, and is powered by 2.0GHz octa-core Snapdragon 630 processor accompanied by Adreno 508 GPU. It comes in two configurations: 3GB RAM/32GB storage and 4GB RAM/64GB storage.

It has dual-camera setup at the back sporting a12MP sensor with dual autofocus, f/2.0 aperture and 1.4µm pixel size plus an 8MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 1.12µm pixel size and 120-degree field of view. The dual-cameras will have the ability to add depth of field effects, take portraits and balck & white image, much like other  dual-camera phones and are further assisted by 4K video recording, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash. 

The selfie shooter is a 16MP camera on the front and will be assisted by a LED flash, for ultra-low light selfies. It comes with an Adpative Low Light mods.

For software it runs near-stock version of Android Nougat and comes with Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa. Connectivity options include dual-SIM, 4G LTE, VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, GPS, NFC and USB Type-C. Thanks to the addition of Bluetooth 5.0, the Moto X4 has the ability to connect  up to four Bluetooth audio devices at the same time.

It has a fingerprint sensor built into the home button that also offers one-button navigation. A 3000mAh battery runs the show, and is backed by TurboCharging,  promising up to six hours of power in 15 minutes with the 15W TurboPower charger.

The Moto X4 price starts at 399 Euros ($475 | Rs. 30,000) and will be available in Europe starting September, followed by a global roll out to markets including the U.S this fall. It comes in two color options Super Black and Sterling Blue.

SanDisk's 400GB microSD card is the world's highest-capacity microSD card

Western Digital has introduced the world's highest capacity microSD card called SanDisk Ultra 400GB microSDXC card. It boasts transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s or more 1,200 photos per minute, or can store up to 40 hours of Full HD videos.

The company says it was able to pack that much capacity in a tiny form factory using Sandisk's memory technology and design and production process for more bits per die.

The new 400GB microSD card is aimed at smartphone and tablet users who are heavy on photos, videos, offline content and apps. The card meets Application Performance Class 1 (A1) specification, which means it can loads app faster. Most of the flagship devices that support up to 2TB of expandable storage, should support the card.

The 400GB SandDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card is priced at $249.99 and is available in the U.S from SanDisk.com and other major retailers. It is backed by a ten-year limited warranty.

Sony's smart speaker has Google Assistant built-in

Sony is foraying into the voice-controlled smart speaker market with the help of Google, with the Sony LF-S50G, to compete with Amazon Echo, Apple's HomePod and others.

The Sony LF-S50G is equipped with  a 360 degree vertical two-way facing speaker system and serves as the digital hub for your home. It is integrated with Google Assistant (just like Google Home) for hands-free control, and by saying "Ok Google" you can request to play music (Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, TuneIn and iHeart Radio), set alarm, manage calendar, retrieve flight booking details, weather update, news, control smart home appliance or simply ask questions. You can even stream music from your mobile device, by pairing it to the speaker via NFC or Bluetooth.

It can also connect with more Chromecast built-in smart speakers in the home for a multi room set-up. The device features a full range speaker to clearly reproduce vocal and treble notes, a dedicated subwoofer to reproduce bass sound, damped bass reflex duct for natural bass coming from a small form, and an omnidirectional two stage diffuser to spread the sound in all directions.

The smart speaker is also IPX3 rated making it splash proof and has water repellent coating, which means you can use in kitchen. It can also display time and has gesture control top to control music, skip tracks and adjust the volume.

The Sony LF-S50G is priced at $200 / €230 / £200 and will be available in the US in October, and in UK, Germany and France in November. It comes in Black and White color.

Sony RX0 is a compact, waterproof action camera

At its IFA press event, Sony expanded its RX line up camera with a new model called RX0, an action camera with an ultra compact rugged body.

The Sony RXO features 1.0-type stacked 15.3MP Exmor RS CMOS image sensor, BIONZ X processor and a ZEISS Tessar T 23mm F4 wide angle lens, allowing users to capture high-resolution images and 4K videos. It also has super slow motion recording capability to capture up to 960 frames per second. It comes with maximum shutter speed of 1/32000 second.

The camera boasts rugged body that makes its waterproof in depths of up to 10 meters, shockproof for heights up to two meters, and can withstand a 200Kgf/2000N load. This enables users to capture photos and videos in any shooting condition including rain, underwater, in sandy or dusty environments, or in a scene, where impact force is applied to a camera body. The camera's sturdiness can be increased by using the MPK-HSR1 Housing, which allows the camera to be used at up to 100m.

Apart from using the RX0 as a standalone camera, multiple units (up to five) can be linked together to produce content in bullet-time, time slice, and other unique styles. The cameras can be controlled via the PlayMemories Mobile app wirelessly from any paired device.

Sony has also released a bunch of accessories to go along with the camera including cable & lens protector, protective housing, battery pack, filter adapter kit and more.

The Sony RX0 has been priced at $700 (Rs. 44,800), and will go on sale in October 2017.

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus mid-ranger announced

Sony announced the 5-inch Xperia XA and 6-inch XA1 Ultra at MWC 2017 back in March. Now at IFA 2017, Sony has unveiled Xperia XA1 Plus, that sits in between both the smartphones. It gets minor upgrade over its predecessor in terms of specs, with a bigger battery and still runs Android Nougat out of the box.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus features 5.5-inch Full HD edge-to-edge display with Image Enhance Technology, and is powered by MediaTek's Helio P20 processor. It comes with the option of 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage. The storage is expandable via microSD card.

The camera department includes 23MP f/2.0 rear camera with Exmor RS mobile image senor. On the front, it gets an 8MP f/2.0 shooter for selfies with wide angle lens.

Connectivity options on-board are dual-SIM support, 4G LTE, VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB Type-C and GPS. It is fueled by 3430mAh battery and supports Qnovo adaptive charging and MediaTek's Pump Express+ 2.0 quick charging. It also includes a fingerprint scanner as well, that's embedded into the power button.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus is priced at $379.99, and will release on October 20. It comes in Black, Gold, and Blue colors.

Sony Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact with Android Oreo gets official

Sony at its IFA 2017 event in Berlin has announced its latest flagship smartphones, the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact. While the latest trend among smartphone makers is bezel-less design, Sony is still sticking with the old OmniBalance design on the latest Xperia phones, with thick bezels at top and bottom. They also have single camera, but boast IP68 water and dust resistance and are the first phones to ship with Android Oreo out of the box.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 features 5.2-inch Full HD TRILUMINOS display with X-Reality engine for mobile and Gorilla Glass 5 protection, and is powered by octa-core Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform. It comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, which can be expanded via microSD card.

For photography, it gets 19MP Motioneye f/2.0 rear camera with EIS, 960fps slow-motion recording, PDAF and laser auto-focus. For selfies there's 13MP f/2.0 front shooter with HDR support. The main camera also gets a new feature called 3D scanning that lets you capture three-dimensional objects. It has four modes: Face Scan, Head Scan, Food Scan and Free Form.

It is fueled by 2700mAh battery, and support 4G LTE, VoLTE, USB Type-C, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and GPS for connectivity. It's fingerprint scanner is embedded to the home button and the phone supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 and Adaptive Charging. It comes in four color: Warm Silver, Moonlit Blue, Venus Pink, and Black.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact has the same design as the Xperia XZ1, but is smaller. It also shares the same specs sheet, but gets a smaller 4.6-inch HD display, 32GB internal storage, and 8MP f/2.4 front facing camera with 120-degree wide-angle lens. Color options are Black, White Silver, Twilight Pink, and Blue.

The Sony Xperia XZ1 has been priced at $699.99 and will be available from September 19, while the Xperia XZ1 Compact costs $599.99, and release October 4.

Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet is indestructible

Dell's latest tablet is called Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet, and as the name suggests it is built to withstand rigors of use in the world's toughest jobs and harsh environments like extreme cold, heat, humidity, corrosive sand or sea water. It can survive in adverse temperature from -20 degree to 145 degree Fahrenheit (-29 to 63 degrees Celsius), and can handle drops, shocks and vibration along with water, blowing dust and sand, humidity.

The Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet sports 11.6-inch Full HD Gorilla Glass display that's readable outdoor and has a kickstand that rotates a full 180 degrees for a comfortable viewing angle. It can be configured with Intel's 6th or 7th generation Core I-series 15 watt processor, up to 16GB RAM, up to 1TB SSD and Windows 7/Windows 10. It packs dual-batteries inside that promises up to 19 hours of battery life.

Connectivity options include USB Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, SmartCard reader and optional 4G LTE. It features Dell's Quad-cool passive and active thermal management system that uses a sealed fan assembly to dissipate heat, while preventing water and dust from entering the tablet.

Even though the tablet has a rugged design, it weighs at just 2.8 pounds. The tablet comes with several rugged accessories like dock, keyboard cover, battery charger, shoulder strap, extreme handle and IO module.

The Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet is priced at $1899, and is available for order in the U.S.

LG V30 goes official with 6-inch FullVision display, dual-camera

LG earlier this year unveiled the Snapdragon 821 powered G6 with FullVision display, but it was not powerful compared to Galaxy S8/S8+, HTC U11 and Galaxy Note8. However, now the company has launched its most powerful flagship till date: the LG V30 at IFA 2017 in Berlin. The first thing you'll notice of the V30 is the near bezel-less design, same as G6, and as a result, the unique feature of the 'V' line, the secondary display gets an axe. 

The LG V30 sports 6-inch QHD+ P-OLED FullVision display with 18:9 aspect ratio that's protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 5. It is powered by Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, and comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, that's further expandable via microSD card. There's another version housing 128GB storage called the V30+.

The camera department offers a camera with an f/1.6 aperture, as well as Crystal Clear Glass lens  for improved low-light camera performance and better color reproduction. The dual-camera setup consists of a 16MP f/1.6 sensor with OIS EIS, 3-axis stabilization, laser and phase detetction auto focus, and a secondary 13MP f/.19 sensor with 120-degree wide-angle lens. The selfie shooter on the front is a 5MP f/2.2 sensor.

For security, it gets rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and voice and facial recognition for unlocking the device. It also boasts MIL-STD 810G certified case and IP68  water and dust resistance for extreme durability. It supports Google's Daydream VR Platform out-of-the-box, which means you can use the V30 with Daydream VR headset.

Just like its predecessors, the V30 also gets advanced audio capabilities. It is equipped with 32-bit Advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC backed by ESS Technology's SABRE ES9218P chip. It comes with new audio features like sound presets and digital filter, which is normally found on expensive digital audio player. It also features an HD Audio recorder that lets users to use the audio receiver simultaneously as a microphone, and record dynamic range sounds from a whisper to thunderstorm without distortion. In addition, the V30 comes bundled with B&O Play ear phones as well.

It runs Android Nougat on top of the improved UX 6.0+ and connectivity options include 4G LTE, VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB Type-C and GPS. A 3300mAh battery keeps the lights on, and supports Quick Charging and wireless charging.

The LG V30 comes in Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet colors, and will go on sale in Korea starting September 21, followed by North America, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The LG V30+ will be available in select markets. Pricing is yet to be revealed.