The Ascend P1 S crams some very respectable hardware into that tiny frame. A 4.3inch screen, 1.5Ghz dual-core OMAP 4460 processor and 8MP rear camera make it the equal of most of the high-end smartphones on the market today, though the AMOLED screen is “just” 960×540. A 1,800mAh battery is an impressive accomplishment considering the size. While the pre-production models we saw at CES were rocking a barely functional version of Ice Cream Sandwich, Huawei assures its customers that the retail version of the phone will launch with the latest version of Android in a complete state. Like a surprising number of ICS phones, the Ascend P1 S comes with capacitive buttons.

Huawei is making big waves in the international market, and they intend to keep doing so. Along with announcements from HTC and Samsung, we’re expecting a new line of high-end phones from Huawei under the “Diamond” label to appear at Mobile World Congress. With any luck, carrier partnerships for the Ascend line will also be announced.

[via motoringcrunch]

Under the hood you get a 1.5Ghz Qualcomm dual-core processor, a full gig of RAM and 16GB of storage space. The screen uses a somewhat disappointing 800×480 resolution, but the IPS panel should help mitigate that. OPPO says that the 8-megapixel camera on the back of the phone is made by Sony, and therefore should be as the iPhone 4S – a lofty goal, indeed. The camera gets dual LED flashed and is paired to a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. All this is wrapped in a brushed aluminum/plastic shell, with squared-off styling that’s admittedly pretty fetching. Gingerbread and a custom UI skin will have to do s far as software goes.

There’s still no official price or availability details for the Find 3, but expect it to be in line with competitors from Xiaomi and Meizu. That would put it in the $450 (unlocked) range in local currency. The odds of this one leaving China are pretty low, but other OEMs like ZTE and Huawei are making big pushes in North America and Europe – we can hope to see OPPO’s ware get a wider release in the next couple of years.

[via SlashGear]

A lot of the buzz is about the new 1.4GHz processor (up from 1GHz on the M9), and the screen which moves up to 4 inches from 3.5. The phone bears a strong resemblance to the iPhone from a short distance away, though it uses Android and a custom Meizu skin over Android. It is rumored that the OS will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich later this year. Meizu has also confirmed users can in the future choose stock Android, or the Meizu UI build versions for future purchases.

Production at Meizu is ramping up to meet the huge demand. Customers who have not placed their order are encouraged to do so now to be guaranteed one by Chinese New Year which is on January 22nd. As production increases Meizu is stating that most customer orders will be satisfied by the end of January.

Are you one of the many that waited in line, or will you buy one online when you decide if it’s right for you?

Thus far none of the above have been seriously affected by patent litigation, since Apple and Microsoft are more interested in shutting down the bigger players (or at least making them pay). HTC, Samsung and Motorola have all been hit, with varying degrees of damage, and even smaller players like Asus, Acer and Barnes & Noble have been scorched in the Android patent wars. It appears that as the Chinese manufacturers turn their sights towards the global market, they’re ready and willing to put up a fight to the American giants who wish to profit from Android without contributing.

An interesting omission in the report is Huawei, a Chinese OEM that’s been betting big on Android and winning, for the most part. Devices like the Glory/Honor, Ascend and the MediaPad are getting good reviews and solid sales in markets around the world, making Huawei one to watch. Perhaps the company thinks it can stand on its own IP, as it recently secured several key cellular patents. There’s always the possibility that more OEMs (possibly even the smaller companies from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan) could join the coalition in the future.

The litigation train doesn’t seem to be slowing down as we enter 2012, and in the case of Lenovo and ZTE, they’ve resolved not to be caught at the crossing.

[via Phandroid]

The workers tried to reach an amicable compromise today, but the negotiations ended in failure, and at present there’s no end in sight. They’re demanding better pay, equitable to what employees in LG’s native South Korea get, as well as year-end benefits. The strike has been going on since Monday, with irate employees breaking glass and a decorative Christmas tree outside the factory offices. LG is the second-largest manufacturer of LCD panels in the world, supplying internals for dozens of electronics manufacturers who don’t produce their own screens. More comprehensive companies, like Sony, Sharp and Samsung, shouldn’t be affected.

LG’s home office assured The Korea Herald that its operations wouldn’t be drastically affected, as other factories can modify their production lines to fill the missing demand. LG is one of three suppliers rumored to be producing panels for the iPad 3, so any interruption of service could give their competitors a major advantage. If the strike continues for a considerable period, supplies of existing phones from LG and its partners could dry up, and future models may have to make due with lower-resolution displays that have already been manufactured.

[via AsiaOne]

The device clearly has the Android gamer in mind, though by the looks of it JXD is encouraging some almost certainly illegal emulation to boot. Advertising ”Apple games, Android games, Sony games, Nintendo games, Arcade games, Sega games”, they follow through with standards like Angry Birds, Mario Kart 64 and others, as well as some baffling Microsoft Office apps. If a no-name Hong Kong OEM has managed to develop Office for Android, they need to be marketing a whole lot more than some PSP knockoff.

The 7-inch tablet manages to include WiFi, a front-facing camera and an HDMI-out function into its oversized iPhone body, and with a Cortex A9 processor it might just be able to run a stolen misappropriated N64 emulator at a few frames per second. There appears to be at least a little bit of custom software on the device, in the form of a proprietary ”game center” app. The S7100 doesn’t appear to be for sale directly from the manufacturer, but you’ll probably be seeing them in your local slightly shady electronics retailer soon – just don’t buy one within 100 yards of a patent lawyer, or his injunction senses will start tingling.

[via Kotaku]

The specs of the Galaxy S II Duos will be familiar to anyone who’s been following GSII variants for the past few months: a 4.5-inch, 800×480 Super AMOLED display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 16GB of on-board storage. Gingerbread is still the order of the day, but Samsung will likely upgrade the new phones to Ice Cream Sandwich shortly after the international version. Unfortunately you won’t be getting your hands on this in the United States any time soon: the phone is bound for China Telecom at the beginning of next year.

It’s a real shame too, since dual SIM phones are perfect for international travel, and for just about anywhere with a spotty signal. T-Mobile users still happy to get cheaper data plans but frustrated with a smaller coverage area could slide in a prepaid AT&T SIM for when their signal goes out. The 1800mAh battery should be able to handle the trip. Perhaps we’ll be seeing this model at import shops soon.

[via GSM Arena]

Dell is the first company to produce a Yi phone, though they’ve released more subtly modified Android phones in the territory in the past. And just because it’s releasing to a traditionally low-income market doesn’t mean it won’t be impressive: the Streak Pro is aiming for the growing high end with a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen and qHD resolution. That’s enough to match most of the flagship phones in the US and Europe, and considerably more powerful than any ARM-based Dell products produced before.

Baidu apps are already commonplace on many Chinese Android smartphones, and the Yi platform will be an even greater integration with the company’s far-reaching services. It’s unclear how closely Yi will follow Android’s development path – they could simply update the modified Android code incrementally, as Barnes & Noble has done with its Nook tablets, or continue with independence development on their own. The latter seems unlikely, as apps published for Android would become increasingly nonfunctional the further that Yi’s code strays away from Android’s source.

[via Engadget]

Just for a quick refresher, the specs on the Ainol Novo/Novo7/Knight/Paladin (it seems to have something of an identity crisis) are as follows: a 7-inch screen with just 800 x 480 pixels, a 1Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM, and a microSD card slot. The resellers note that it comes with the Android Market, but I would frankly be amazed if this turns out to be true. Considering the brief experiment Android Community pulled with the Galaxy Nexus screen density, I’m kind of amazed they managed to force Ice Cream Sandwich to display its tablet interface on a resolution that is a little low even for a 5-inch device, let alone a 7-inch.

So, will the somewhat lower price and less shady sellers convince you to lay down your hard earned cash? It shouldn’t. In the next few months dozens of cheap ICS tablets will become available, and almost all of them will feature better specs and less cringe-inducing credentials than this little guy. For just a little extra cash you can pick up the Archos Internet Tablet 70b, a Honeycomb tablet from a respected manufacturer with an active mod community for just $200. You’ll be seeing a home-grown ICS build on the hardware soon enough, and an official update eventually.

[via Liliputing]

The Yinlips (what?) YDPG18 Android Smart Game Player isn’t just a pretty face. The hardware is paired with a collection of classic gaming emulators, probably some of Yongzh’s popular implementations. The 5-inch device has some surprisingly strong hardware for a knockoff, in the form of a 1.2Ghz processor, 512 MB of RAM, an 800 x 480 5-inch screen and dual cameras. WiFi-only connectivity puts this one straight into the PMP category, With an equivalent price of just $110, expect this device to start showing up in eBay auctions and seedy Craigslist listings near you. Parents, for the love of Santa, do not get this if your kid asks for a PlayStation Vita.

If you’re more interested in official Sony merchandise, it might be best to wait for the PS Vita’s release next year, or just pick up an XPERIA Play on the cheap. If you’re looking for some high-speed data, you can wait for a possible Verizon LTE version, and all current models should be getting Ice Cream Sandwich at some point. If you do go ahead and hunt one down, caveat emptor.

[via Engadget]

As you can see from the picture, the MX will certainly include a heavily masked version of Android 2.3.5; I’ve never been a fan of anything but vanilla Android, but this skin seems to appeal to my taste. Jack Wong (CEO) has also stated the device will eventually be updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

The MX also has an impressive 8MP rear-facing camera supporting smile detection and an option for shooting panaramic photgraphs. It records in 1080p as well, but no HDMI output will be included. If you feel the need to go learn Chinese – go check out the official word on Meizu’s website. Or just Google Translate it like the rest of us.

Press Release:

Calling all dreamers, the Meizu MX is unveiled

HONG KONG—9:30 AM GMT +8, October 6—Today Meizu unveils a new product, the Meizu MX. Borrowing the first two letters from the Chinese characters of the word “dream,” or “meng xiang,” the MX is a dream phone in all its senses. The MX comes with a dual-core 1.4GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 8 megapixel back-illuminated camera and LED flash, along with a gyroscope and other sensors. Its design is clean, intuitive and minimalistic, which is the result of countless discussions, prototypes, and revisions.

The Meizu MX has a gorgeous 4-inch, high resolution (292 PPI) AVS screen with the ideal 3:2 aspect ratio. Compared to wider 4.3-inch screens, the screen edges are easily reachable with your fingers, while providing better readability for text; both in horizontal and landscape mode. In addition, the phone comes with Meizu’s unique Flyme OS, which features a custom designed UI, as well as cloud services such as data syncing, music store (China-only), and an applications market. The Meizu MX also features a Meizu-only innovation, namely our patented situation-aware bottom light keys.

MX offers ample connectivity and media sharing options such as a micro USB port, coaxial digital audio output, MHL, USB Host and other features.

A 16GB version of the MX will be available January 1, 2012 priced at 2 999 CNY.

With the MX, Meizu is taking its first steps into the international market. Meizu is opening a store later this month in Hong Kong, on Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mong Kok.

About Meizu
Founded in 2003, we began producing music players which later came to be world renowned. Since 2008, all our efforts have been focused on making great smartphones, which have made us one of China’s most loved smartphone makers.

Since the beginning, something we have always held dear was the power of daring to dream. We believe in focus, in doing few things, but doing them really well. To us, focus is the key to achieving and exceeding our dreams. In focusing, our team is devoted, plans for the long-term, and strives for perfection. As a company, we want to transcend convention and imagination, with the ultimate goal of making products worthy of dreaming about.

The NOVO7 is your basic 7-inch cheapo tablet, not altogether unlike the Polaroid models that were on sale everywhere on Black Friday. A “power-efficient” 1GHz processor it twinned to a 444Mhz GPU. A 2-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing cam of indeterminate quality cover the absolute basics. The 7-inch screen is thankfully capacitive, not resistive, but the marketing materials omit a resolution – I’d guess either 1024 x 600 or 840 x 400.

The manufacturer is quick to tout the tablet’s low-power status, claiming a power draw of less than 400mA during web browsing and a 30-hour standby time. An actual mAh battery rating is absent, but you get expandable storage via the microSD card slot. The tablet comes with 4GB of on-board storage. Wireless is limited to WiFi, but MIPS highlights support for “external 3G”. Obviously the Android Market is nowhere to be seen, but the ad mentions Google CTS Certification, so you can probably get the Market, Gmail, etc. running if you’re up for a little aftermarket hacking. The NOVO7 will offer support for Gameloft titles, including the pre-installed Spider-man.

So, how do you get one? Just click on the “$99″ link on the image-only website to be directed straight to a PayPal order form. But be ready for a nasty shock in the form of $60 shipping and handling, bringing the total price up to $159. That’s Nook Color territory, and even considering that it ships straight from China (with no assurance of a date, by the way) it seems a little stiff. I’d steer clear of this one for your holiday shopping, and wait for ICS tablets or updated software from more established brands. But if you’re feeling adventurous, head on over there and check it out. This is only the first of many Chinese ICS tablets set to hit the market very soon.

The unbranded tablet has a surprisingly solid specification sheet: a Tegra 2 SOC with a full gigabyte of RAM, 16GB of storage and front and rear cameras on a 10-inch frame. It’s very similar to what you’d get for any entry level tablet from Samsung or Asus. The hardware itself definitely looks a little slapdash, but that’s to be expected – the unit on display is pre-production, and won’t be available for some time. Predictably there’s no word on price or release date, but expect this device and many more to show up in some of the low-rent districts of CES. This device and other are probably running on the Rockchip architecture,which has already received an early version of AOSP Ice Cream Sandwich.

We’ll be seeing many, many more ICS tablets in the coming months, and not just from relatively no-name manufacturers. Mid-range hardware makers like Vizio and Barnes & Noble have the same access to ICS’ source code as everyone else, so you an expect either new versions or upgrades for current units. These will likely do without the Android Market and other Google apps, much as previous 2.2/2.3 tablets do. By Black Friday 2012, you’ll probably be able to pick up an Ice Cream Sandwich tablet for less than a C-note…if you dare.

[via TechCrunch]

As far as hardware goes, the phone has a 1Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM, making it roughly the equal of the original Nexus One or DROID Incredible. That’s still plenty of power to handle Android 2.3.5, and should keep the off-contract price nice and low. You can spot front and rear cameras in the trade show photos. Since it’s running a pretty heavily modified version of Android and Lenovo’s shown no hesitance to stray from the safe and happy pastures of Google in the past, we’re pretty sure this one won’t have the Android Market or its associate Google apps.

Like all of Lenovo’s smartphone offerings thus far, don’t expect this one to show up in the US, though Chinese buyers can get one before the end of the year. The company’s 5, 7 and 10-inch LePad tablets from earlier today have a much better chance of crossing the Pacific, and the Tegra 3-powered 1080p monster the IdeaPad K2 tablet is almost certain to show up in the US eventually. So why not smartphone love for Americans, Lenovo? We’re good enough for your laptops, after all.

Aside from the exterior styling, the HD XT928 (left)  and MT917 (right) are essentially identical, though the latter is sporting the RAZR’s Kevlar back panel. Both seem to be running the standard Motorola-customized version of Gingerbread, for their sins. There’s no news of either model making their way oustide of the country, but considering the extensive amount of development that high-end phones like these require, don’t be surprised to se similar devices or variants popping up in other markets.

The most interesting development may be for the US market – though I’m hardly an impartial judge there. Verizon has so far had a monopoly on Motorola’s DROID line of devices in the US, with the original QWERTY DROID, the DROID X and all their subsequent sequels absent from competitors line-ups, even as the de-branded international versions. The slight visual changes, not to mention spec upgrades, could make them different enough for Motorola to sell the devices to AT&T or T-Mobile. Those of you waiting for a RAZR-like form factor without the Verizon contract may soon have something to look forward to.

[via Droid-Life]

This non-symmetrical phone has been spotted in China and Taiwan sporting a 9.8mm profile with a 4-inch, 854 x 480 screen, putting it in the upper end of the mid range. There’s been no word on a United States carrier just yet, but the version that the FCC is currently checking out is tuned to Radio AT&T quad-band. That probably means that the Gingerbread phone is several months away from release, if at all.

The design’s certainly unique, with a blue tabbed cutout on the glass front surrounded by white plastic. An 800mhz processor won’t fly, but it’s good enough for basic apps. The 8MP camera is pretty good for the mid-$300 unlocked price range (in China, anyway) and I’m happy to see that Motorola hasn’t completely abandoned the physical camera button.Once again, thanks, FCC – now how’s about getting rid of those annoying PDFs on your website?

[via Engadget]

Colloquially known as “the MIUI phone,” the MI-One is notable for running an aftermarket customized Android ROM right out of the box. The MIUI family of ROMs has grown very popular over the last few months, spreading to many mainstream devices. It’s gained a lot of attention for its slick user interface, which blends elements of stock Android and the iPhone. With new releases every week, the core supported devices are extremely stable, and since the devs also publish their own open-source code, modified versions of MIUI make it on to even more phones.

Manufacturer Xiaomi is hoping that MIUI will help distinguish its phones from the myriad of Android handsets already popular in China, and if there’s any truth to the quoted “industry insiders” reports, it looks like they’ve definitely succeeded. So far as we know, the MI-One is the only phone in the world to launch with a community-modified version of Android installed. However, the new VOIP carrier Republic Wireless may be using CyanogenMod on its beta hardware.

The photo above should give you a few ideas as to what we’re talking about here. The last device is the DROID RAZR we know and love that was just released, and reviewed here. Then the middle device was revealed last week as the Motorola RAZR for Chinese markets known as the Motorola MT917. These new photos clearly see the slight change to the design, the 13 megapixel camera, and the additional second LED flash.

Then we have that first phone of the three, looking slightly different from the rest and quite possibly a different phone altogether. It doesn’t have the same Kevlar coating on the back and appears to be decently larger. Its specs are being kept under a tight grip so we don’t know anything regarding it. If its anything like the China RAZR it will have a 4.5″ HD AMOLED display rocking a 1280 x 720p resolution. Pair that with the 13 megapixel camera on the rear and possibly Ice Cream Sandwich that would be one awesome smartphone.

Take note that the first phone (or far left) looks considerably different. The camera is more in line with the DROID X and X2 line especially how it looks and doesn’t have the aluminum ring, the rear has the same soft coat matte back instead of Kevlar. Then in the second picture you can clearly see the back slides down (just under his thumb) and appears to slide and be removable — just like the Droid X and X2 (picture in gallery).

If you ask me I think we’ve just seen our first picture of the upcoming Motorola DROID X3, but we don’t know for sure. Either way the Motorola RAZR will hit other regions soon, like China seen here, and we can expect to see others receive the same treatment. Hopefully we learn more soon regarding the other device shown in these pictures.

[via Engadget]

The DROID RAZR was officially announced last month and we quickly received some hands-on time with it and you can see all of those videos right here. Apparently the model shown above has just cleared China’s equivalent of the FCC and will be headed to a few markets across China soon. Shown below is an image of the US model so you can see the difference.

Known as the Motorola MT917 the newly designed model will most likely share the same specs as the recently announced DROID RAZR. With a dual-core processor and the new 4.3″ AMOLED qHD display, 8MP camera on the rear making up that little hump and running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. We’ve been told the DROID RAZR should see ICS very soon in 2012 and would expect the same for this too. From the front it resembles the Motorola Atrix if you ask me and the entire design goes back to the original shape they’ve used in the past instead of what we’ve been seeing from Motorola with tapered edges. Either way we don’t expect to see this outside of China, but was worth a look.

[via UnwiredView]

The screens have to be shrunk somewhat to fit the frame of course, but at 3.5 inches it still makes for a sizable device. 800 x 480 resolution on an AMOLED panel should make for a pretty solid viewing experience, and hardware nav buttons on the dial pad will make it easy for users to get around Android when the screen is flipped up. A 1.5GHz processor and 5 megapixel camera round out the package.

The SCH-w999 is joined by the more pedestrian SCH-i929, yet another Samsung Galaxy S II variant with a 4.5-inch screen and an 8 megapixel camera. The photos are courtesy of a Chinese standards office, which says that both phones are headed for China Telecom in the near future. Specific Android versions aren’t mentioned, but Gingerbread seems to be a safe bet. There’s no word on pricing or availability yet, not that it’ll matter for most of our western readers – unfortunately, high-powered flip phones don’t seem to make it out of Asia in most cases.

[via Engadget]