HTC officially launches the One E9+ with 5.5-inch Quad HD display and 20 megapixel camera

Oddly enough, HTC has introduced a new phone that’s supposed to be an upgraded version of another phone that doesn’t yet officially exist. It’s the HTC One E9++, a 5.5-inch device with 2560 x 1440 resolution. It also sports a 20 megapixel camera on the rear, an UltraPixel camera on the front, 3GB of RAM and MediaTek’s 64-bit 8-core MT6795M chipset.

Compare that to the regular version of this phone — the HTC One E9 — which we’re expecting to launch with just a 13 megapixel camera, 1080p resolution and 2GB of RAM. We’d assumed HTC would look to wait until their April 8th event in Beijing to reveal this device up alongside the HTC One M9+, but it appears HTC wants to give the M9+ a stage of its own.

The E9+ isn’t likely to travel far outside of China from the starting gate, though there’s a possibility we’ll see it or its lower grade sibling made available for other markets. As it stands HTC hasn’t yet mentioned anything in terms of availability so it’d be wise to wait for official word. In the meantime let us know if you wouldn’t mind this low-cost option up against something like the HTC One M9 for your 2015 smartphone.

[via HTC]

DOWNLOAD: All of the stock wallpapers from the HTC One M9+ (Quad HD)

We don’t expect the HTC One M9+ to have many different wallpapers compared to the flagship that was officially released today, but they did have to be upscaled to Quad HD resolution. Here’s the full set of wallpapers swiped straight from the HTC One M9+ we’re expecting HTC to announce in April (click to enlarge):

[via Google+]

ASUS reveals an 8-inch ZenPad tablet with 4GB of RAM, Quad HD display and USB Type-C

ASUS has had quite the day at Computex. we got a new smart watch and a selfie phone, and you can bet they have a good crop of tablets on the way, as well. This is the ASUS ZenPad 8.0, an 8-inch tablet that can either be very affordable or pack a whole lot of punch (depending on which you fancy).

There’s the base model — simply dubbed the ASUS ZenPad 8.0 — that has a 1280 x 800 display, 16GB of internal storage, an Intel Atom X3 chipset, a 5 megapixel rear camera and more. Not bad for those on a modest budget.

What really gets us excited is the ASUS ZenPad S 8.0, which is a whole different beast. This thing packs Intel’s Atom Z3580 chipset (top-line stuff for their mobile line), 4GB of RAM, 2,048 x 1536 resolution, your choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, a 5 megapixel rear camera, a 2 megapixel front camera and USB Type-C. We’re sure it’s going to be more of a wallet buster than its weaker brother, but with these specs (and ASUS’s history for quality) we’d argue it’ll be worth it.

ASUS also has 7-inch and 10-inch models planned, but the company hasn’t yet released any details about them. We’ll expect the 7-inch variant to be on the affordable side, while they’re bound to go balls to the walls for the biggest option. Unfortunately all we can do is speculate until they unleash some details or we stumble upon some juicy leaks. Either way, the 8-inch tablets are enough to satisfy our undying need for new tech for the time being.

Chinese analyst: Huawei-made Nexus will have 5.7-inch Quad HD display, Snapdragon 810

While we’ve been dreaming of what a Huawei-made Nexus could look like, one Chinese analyst claims to already know some hard details of the supposed device. Pan Jiutang — who has a pretty good track record when it comes to uncovering the details of Chinese OEMs’ plans — claims on Weibo that Huawei is indeed the maker of the next Nexus smartphone.

The analyst had more than just confirmation of its existence, though. The device will apparently sport a 5.7-inch Quad-HD display and be equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810.

That sounds about par for the course for a smartphone in 2015, though that spec sheet isn’t nearly long enough to satisfy our appetite. We’d expect the next big Nexus smartphone to be compatible with Google’s Project Fi at the least, and we can always expect it to be the catalyst for ushering in the next major version of Android (which recently leaked details revealed might be introduced at Google IO).

[via G for Games]

Xiaomi Mi Note Pro launches May 12th with 4GB of RAM, 5.7-inch Quad HD display and Snapdragon 810

Xiaomi today officially unveiled that their Mi Note Pro, a 5.7-inch Quad HD device with a line of specs that will make any participant of the mobile arms race sweat, will launch May 12th. Here’s the spec sheet being touted in case you needed a refrsher of what’s inside:

• 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor


• 4GB LPDDR4 RAM


• 64GB eMMC 5.0 flash storage


• 5.7″ 2K (2560 x 1440) display from Sharp/JDI (515 PPI)


• Sunlight Display technology for unparalleled outdoor visibility


• 13MP camera with optical image stabilization (OIS)


• 4G Dual SIM


• Supports LTE CAT 9 for up to 450Mbps download speeds


• Hardware-optimized Hi-Fi audio for incredible sound quality


• High-capacity 3090mAh battery, supports Quick Charge 2.0 (charges up to 70% in 1 hour)


• Incredible craftsmanship with an aluminum frame and curved 2.5D and 3D glass on the front and back

All of that is coming in at an incredible price point of RMB2999 (about US3).

That’s a lot of bang for that amount of buck so it certainly has our attention. Unfortunately it does appear you’ll have to import this thing as Xiaomi has only announced plans to make the Mi Note Pro available online in their home base of China starting May 12th.