IF / News

Chipsets

Xiaomi unveils ‘Pinecone’ mobile processor, the Pinecone Surge S1. It comes with an octa-core architecture with 4×Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and 4×Cortex A53 cores at 1.4GHz and Mali-T860 GPU. It also comes with 32-bit DSP support, VoLTE, 14-bit dual ISP with support for dual noise optimized night picture improvement. (Android Headlines, Engadget, GSM Arena, Gizmo China, MIUI, CNR, 21CN, Tencent, 163, VentureBeat)

[MWC 2017] MediaTek officially announces Helio X30, with a tri-cluster CPU design –  2 Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.5GHz, 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 2.2GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 at 1.9GHz. MediaTek is touting its intelligent task switcher, CorePilot 4.0, to deliver up to 25% power savings. It should make its debut inside a mobile device in 2Q17. (Android Central, AnandTech, Kejixun)

[MWC2017] Spreadtrum has launched its 14nm octa core 64-bit LTE SoC platform, SC9861G-IA. Built on Intel’s 14nm foundry platform, SC9861G-IA is targeting the global mid-level and premium smartphone market, and features Intel Airmont architecture with powerful mobile computing performance. (Laoyaoba, China Flash Market, Yahoo, Telecom Paper)

[MWC2017] SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced that he personally expects ARM, the chip-making division of SoftBank, to have somewhere around 1T chips built for Internet of Things devices out the door within the next 20 years.  (Android Headlines, Fortune, 163, TechWeb)

[MWC2017] Qualcomm has announced a partnership with TomTom, the navigation company, to provide autonomous cars with the best map data around. The collaboration will pair Qualcomm’s Drive Data Platform (DDP) with TomTom’s HD Map tool. (Laoyaoba, Yahoo,  Digital Trends)

Camera

[MWC2017] OPPO has unveiled what it is calling the world’s first “5x Dual-Camera Zoom” for smartphones. The dual camera setup is outfitted with both wide-angle and telephoto lenses. The telephoto lens is housed in a periscope-style mechanism that is mounted at a 90º angle to the smartphone’s internal electronics.  (Android Headlines, Forbes, Engadget, TechCrunch, Kejixun)

Memory

SanDisk has announced that its iXpand Flash Drive is now available in a larger 256GB storage capacity for USD279.99, expanding upon existing 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities available for between USD49.99 and USD129.99.  (CN Beta, Mac Rumors, Business Wire)

Battery

[MWC2017] Meizu is introducing world’s quickest fast charging solution dubbed Super mCharge. It uses 11V/5A charging to deliver a power output of 55W and can full charge a device in just 20 minutes. Super mCharge adopts the Charge Pump Principle, applying only 2 groups of conversion circuits to directly output half of the voltage. (CN Beta, Sohu, Pocket Now, Digit)

[MWC2017] Huawei X Labs project, in partnership with China Mobile, envisions a future where cell towers could potentially be used to wirelessly charge drones as they fly around them to make site inspections.  (Engadget, Ubergizmo, CN Beta)

Hanergy launches a series of portable thin-film solar power products, power generator film, power generator backpack, power storage lamp, small off-grid power generation system with price from CNY399. The thin-film power generator has minimum of 8W power, weigh 160g, 1mm thick, and with 4 colour options. (CN Beta, Sohu)

Connectivity

[MWC2017] Nokia has announced 5G FIRST, which allows operators to utilize early specifications for 5G networks. It comprises its radio access network (RAN) including Nokia AirScale massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas, packet core and mobile transport solutions, with end-user devices to be powered by Intel.  (Android Headlines, Fierce Wireless, Fone Arena, 4-Traders, Sohu, HC360, OfWeek)

[MWC2017] ZTE is unveiling a new series of 5G products. ZTE projects that its 5G products will be deployed in commercial 5G networks in 1Q19. ZTE is releasing a full range of new mmWave and sub-6Ghz base stations. The new 5G solutions support 5G New Radio (NR) air interfaces of 3rd Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP) and mainstream 5G frequency bands in the industry. The new ZTE 5G base stations use massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO), Beam Tracking, beamforming and other key 5G technologies, meeting pre-commercial deployment requirements for 5G. (CN Beta, OfWeek, iFeng, PR Newswire)

[MWC2017] China Mobile CEO Li Yue said 5G field trial will begin in 2017, and in 2018 will begin 5G pre-commercial trial, and aims to achieve 5G commercialization by 2020. (CN Beta, 163)

[MWC2017] Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies have announced that they will be conducting 5G new radio (NR) trials over the networks of telecommunications operators Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo in an effort to speed the commercialisation of 5G network technology. (ZDNet, PC World, Newswire Today, Electronics Weekly, CNII, Admin5, IT Home, C114)

SoftBank said it will invest USD1.7B into a merger of its OneWeb Ltd. satellite venture and Europe’s Intelsat SA. (Reuters, MSN, TechCrunch, 163, 10JQKA)

Apple is reportedly to displace the proprietary Lightning connector of its iPhone series in favor of USB Type-C, and the 2017 models could be among the first recipients.  (Ubergizmo, WSJ, 9to5Mac, Phone Arena, Sohu, 163)

Smartphones

[MWC2017] Motorola announced new Moto Mods for its modular smartphone, the Moto Z, including Moto Power Pack, Turbo Power Moto Mod, a mod roviding Amazon Alexa connectivity through Harman-branded speaker while docked. (Ubergizmo, Android and Me, PC Mag, Android Central, ZOL, 163)

[MWC2017] Huawei’s mobile unit missed an internal profit target for 2016 even though revenues exceeded targets, Richard Yu, head of its consumer business division that includes mobile device operation has indicated. “It is still profitable but the profit margin is very low,” Yu said of the unit that contributes around 1/3 to the group’s revenue. (CN Beta, Sina, CS.com, Business Insider, Reuters)

[MWC2017] UMIDIGI Z Pro is unveiled – 5.5” FHD display, MediaTek Helio X27 processor, dual rear 13MP-13MP + front 13MP cameras, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 6.0, LTE, dual-SIM, 3780mAh battery, USD299.99. (Android Headlines, Mobile Indian)

[MWC2017] Turkish smartphone manufacturer General Mobile announces GM 6, a new Android One smartphone – 5” HD 2.5D curved display, MediaTek MT6737T processor, 13MP + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, Android 7.0, LTE Cat. 4, 3000mAh battery.

Xiaomi Mi 5c is official with Xiaomi’s own SoC – 5.15” FHD display, Xiaomi Surge S1 processor, 12MP PDAF + 8MP cameras, 3GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, Android 7.1, USB Type-C, 2860mAh battery, CNY1499. (Android Headlines, Liliputing, Gizmo China, CNET, Sina, iFeng)

Tablets / PCs

[MWC2017] Lenovo unveiled its upgraded Lenovo Connect e-SIM feature, which could help international business travelers stay connected without swapping SIM cards or paying for expensive roaming plans. (CN Beta,  Lenovo, TechRepublic, MSN)

Wearables

Sony‘s Andrew House indicates that the company had sold 915K Playstation VR headsets as of 19 Feb 2017, just over 4 months after its 13 Oct 2017 debut.  (Engadget, NYT, Tencent)

Valve has confirmed that LG is developing a VR headset that will utilize SteamVR Tracking and the OpenVR platform. (Road to VR, Pocket Lint, Tencent, Baijia)

[MWC2017] Samsung is debuting a new Gear VR headset which comes with a controller. This new Gear VR is still powered by Oculus. This controller is Equipped with an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetic sensors, ergonomic and features a curved design, allowing the user to use the controller with one-hand. (Android Headlines, Ars Technica, PC Mag, 163, China Byte)

[MWC2017] Nokia is announcing that the health and fitness accessory maker Withings will rebrand its products under the Nokia name, as well as revealing a “Patient Care Platform” that appears to directly compete against Apple HealthKit.  (Apple Insider, Nokia, 163, ZOL)