Phones

By August 27, 2016 Read More →

Archos 55 Helium range fashionable and powerful

archos_55heliumultra-large_05Archos unveils today its new ARCHOS Helium range, including the ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra. Presented next week at IFA 2016, available from October 2016, this smartphone offers many possibilities at a wallet-friendly pricing.

The ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra flaunts a quad-core Mediatek MT6737 chipset, 3 GB of RAM, and 32 GB internal storage. Launched in Dark Grey and Pearl White, it features a refined design and form factor.

It also packs a large 5.5-inch HD IPS screen and a display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, making it comfortable for heavy multimedia users to view their favorite content.

Along with a microSD card slot, to extend the internal storage up to 128 GB, the ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra contains two SIM cards spaces and allows fast downloads thanks to their 4G/LTE connectivity. It is therefore the best companion for professional and personal uses.

It includes two cameras, 8 MP with autofocus and LED flash on the back, 2 MP on the front, to catch and share what is necessary.

With its 2700 mAh removable battery, the ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra easily gets through an entire day without needing to be charged.

The ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra runs Google Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) in its purest version.

As of today, a Lite version, the ARCHOS 55 Helium, with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage in Pearl White, is available on the company’s website

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In view of the success ARCHOS continually meets with colourful smartphones and back casings, such as with the Yellow ARCHOS 50 Diamond or with the Pink and Blue back casings that came with the 50c Platinum, a third version of the ARCHOS 55 Helium will be commercialized: the ARCHOS 55 Helium 4 Seasons. This smartphone doesn’t differentiate itself with its interior; it has the same technical specifications as the ARCHOS 55 Helium, but with its four interchangeable back casings: Blooming Gold, Blazing Yellow, Autumn Woodland and Frosted Grey allowing for a change of style and color at a moment’s notice.

On top of all uses provided by Google Android and its Google Play Store, the three models offer elaborate functionalities:

  • Smart Gesture, to control the phone and make it take various actions to save time and keep things simple, through a defined motion.
  • HotKnot, to transfer content from/to another device by simply having them in close proximity.
  • Turbo Download, to run simultaneously 4G and WiFi connections as a super pipe and to download large files much faster.

The ARCHOS 55 Helium, ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra and ARCHOS 55 Helium 4 Seasons will be exhibited on ARCHOS’s booth at IFA 2016 (Hall 25, Booth 206). They will be available for purchase on www.archos.com and through its distribution’s channel worldwide starting at £89.00

  • ARCHOS 55 Helium (1 GB RAM / 16 GB of internal storage): £89.00 in September 2016
  • ARCHOS 55 Helium Ultra (3 GB RAM / 32 GB of internal storage): £119.00 in October 2016
  • ARCHOS 55 Helium 4 Seasons (1 GB RAM / 16 GB of internal storage / 4 back casings): £100 in October 2016
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By August 27, 2016 Read More →

Archos 50f Helium arrives affordable and powerful

archos_50fhelium-large_03ARCHOS unveils today its ARCHOS 50f Helium. Demonstrated next week at IFA 2016, available in October 2016, this model places itself as the legacy product of the Helium range. It combines an HD screen, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, 4G/LTE connectivity, a fingerprint sensor, runs on Google Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), all in an elegant package for an affordable price.

The ARCHOS 50f Helium features a premium design, with rounded edges and metal finishes.

Common on high-end products, ARCHOS has chosen to include a fingerprint sensor on a budget friendly smartphone. Located on the backside, the sensor allows for an ease of use by unlocking the smartphone in just one second.

It sports a 5-inch IPS HD screen with a display resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, for accurate colour reproduction and large viewing angles.

The ARCHOS 50f Helium offers a 4G/LTE connectivity, providing fast speeds especially for multimedia content downloads.

It is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 chip and 2 GB of RAM. It has 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128 GB with a microSD card.

It includes two cameras: 8 MP with autofocus and LED flash on the back, 2 MP at the front, to benefit from all the essentials in terms of photo and video.

The ARCHOS 50f Helium packs a 2000 mAh removable battery.

This wallet-friendly smartphone runs Google Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) in its purest form, with fancy functionalities:

  • Google Now, with its focus on “context” and its improved digital assistant, for a better understanding of where the user is and what he/she will need to know as a result.
  • Customisable lock screen message, a new textbox that is the perfect place for motivational quotes, important reminders, name tags and much more.
  • Doze, that uses motion sensors to detect when the smartphone is not moving, enters automatically in a deep sleep, stopping all non-essential tasks such as Wi-Fi, syncs and jobs until the handset starts moving again, optimising drastically the battery life.

It gives a complete access to the Google Play Store and its millions of apps.

A Lite version, with 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, will also be available at a lower price.

Posted in: News, Phones
By August 25, 2016 Read More →

vMall offering gifts as it turns one

downloadvMall, Honor’s officially licensed online store, is celebrating its one-year anniversary. Enabling customers to get products right off the manufacturer’s production line and benefit from fantastic promotions, vMall is the go-to destination for online shoppers who want to get the latest flagship device, the new Honor 8 (£369.99).

To add to this, the online store has now also unveiled a plethora of gifts for its loyal and prospective digital native customers in celebration of the launch. With every Honor 8 purchase, customers will receive a free anniversary package – each totaling up to £86 – for free!

The vMall anniversary package is an amazing offer, with a range of vouchers to choose from giving you access to other exciting products.

Honor has partnered with several companies, such as Deezer and Car2Go, to bring its customers the most value. Redeem a Gameloft voucher for £43 and get all the extras you always wanted! On top of that, the first 2,000 customers to buy between the 08/24 and the 08/31 will get a 3-month full damage insurance package, also for free, as well.

The Honor 8 device is the brand’s new ground-breaking flagship, with superior features that include a glass back and front, a special dual camera enabling high quality photos even in dark environments and a super-fast, but energy-saving, Kirin octa-core CPU. It will be exclusively sold in the first weeks through vMall from 24 August.

Honor is calling on all digital natives to vMall buy an Honor 8 and get an anniversary package while stocks last.

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By August 24, 2016 Read More →

Honor 8 arrives in all it’s beauty

Honor8 EN [55177]Today we saw the launch of the latest in the line of Honor phones. Each year improving over the last with more style and value packed in. This year we see greatly improved looks, commendable specs and some of an new approach to make the Honor stand out in it’s price range.

Honor’s newest flagship device, the much-anticipated Honor 8, has officially launched in Europe, bringing state-of-the-art mobile and camera technology into the hands of digital natives, at a price tag of just £369.99.

Every generation has its own idols, its own point of view on the world and its own rules. The Honor 8 has been specifically designed by Honor, the leading e-commerce smartphone brand for digital natives, to meet the ambitious, fast-paced lifestyles of this generation. It combines breakthrough design with supreme speed, high-quality camera capabilities and smart functions, making it the perfect match.

 

Premium materials and design

Encased in glass, which is made from fifteen layers of Process on the back, the handset’s sleek 5.2 inch design has an unrivaled finish. Within the layers are lithography and 3D grating coatings that come together to create lots of fine prism lines. Although invisible to the human eye, these generate bright colours for a stunning visual experience. Thanks to its 2.5D curves, the glass fits seamlessly into a diamond-cut metal frame making the device exceptional to hold, and acts as a protective layer against occasional drops and rough handling.

Two cameras join forces for extreme quality

Following with previous models, the device holds a dual camera with two 12 MP sensors; one RGB sensor to capture colours and one monochrome sensor for detail. Minus an optical filter, the monochrome sensor captures three times more light than normal, improving the dynamic range of the image and reducing noise – even in darkness – delivering unparalleled picture quality. The two sensors also enable photographers to utilise a range of filters, from setting focus after the shot to changing the appearance of the Bokeh effect.

On top of this, the Honor 8 camera supports an extensive set of functions and filters, from light painting and beauty mode to panorama frames, slow-mo, food mode, HDR, super night and water mark. In a world where we now turn the camera on ourselves, the Perfect Selfie mode will enhance every smile, pout or pose which, when combined with an 8 MP shooter on the front, promises a shareable snap. Perfect every photo or finesse video content with a whole host of editing tools to make your content stand-out whether you post it on Instagram, add it to your blog or print it for your walls.

Power in your hands                                                                                                     

The Honor 8 has been built with a Kirin octa-core CPU chipset containing an i5 co-processor, which work in tandem to increase processing speeds, response times and battery life, making sure you are powered-up when you need to be (4x 2.3 GHz). Supporting this further, the device supports Wi-Fi connections on both bands (2.4GHz/ 5 GHz).

 

Smart features at your fingertips

Knowing that speed is key, Honor has made sure you can access a full set of functions in the blink of an eye with its unique Smart Key function: the fingerprint sensor acts as a multi-purpose button, where you tap, double tap or tap and hold to start apps like WhatsApp or Pokémon Go. Everything you need to keep your daily routine ticking is at your fingertips. Its Type-C USB sets a new standard in charging ports, bringing an end to fiddling with cables, as the plug fits in no matter how you turn it, on top of enabling super-fast charging in only 30 minutes from 0-50%. Honor 8’s fingerprint sensor has a self-learning capability, meaning the more it is used the faster it will perform, reaching less than 0.4 seconds.

High specs at an affordable price

The Honor 8 is available from August 24 on Honor’s vMall for an incredible offer of just £369.99, including an anniversary package worth £69.99 (while stocks last).

Shoppers can choose from three colors: Pearl White, Midnight Black and Sapphire Blue. At Amazon, the Honor 8 will be bundled with an Amazon Fire TV Stick free of charge (while stocks last). With stocktrades.ca you can get a deeper report of your investments.

Selected online retailers like Clove, Ebuyer and Expansys will also stock the Honor 8 Sim-free along with it being available on contract exclusively at 3 in the next coming weeks.

Key specifications

  • Kirin 950 chipset in flagship-grade 16 nm FinFET production
  • Four 2.3 GHz high-performance cores and four 1.8 GHz high efficiency, energy saving cores
  • 4GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard memory, expandable up to 128 GB via microSD card
  • 3,000 mAh(Typ.), 2900 mAh(Rat.) battery
  • 2-inch Full-HD LTPS display
  • 12MPx2 main dual camera with separate RGB and monochrome sensor, capturing more, HDR mode, Slow-Mo, pro-mode, etc…
  • 8MP front-facing camera
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By August 21, 2016 Read More →

Archos 50 Power Review

archos_50power_specsArchos are forever trying to find a sweet spot between bargain budget and quality products, Often having to take a step back on one particular feature in order to bring the whole price of the unit down to a more acceptable level.  It is difficult to say whether they have a hit more often than a miss however of late Archos products have really taken a step up over a few  years of substandard products. The image may never repair however take it from me they know what they’re doing.

This £139.99 phone is a little bit of a misfire from Archos this time round. There is only one killer feature inside amidst a specification list that really doesn’t excite. For the money, you will find better value however it will be lacking that killer feature that this phone has.

Looking around the phone, to the right of the screen is the sim card tray and a power button. The 50 Power can take both a Mini and Nano Sim, the MicroSD shares the Mini Sim seat so you are limited to two sims, or a Nano sim plus expanded storage.

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To the Left is a volume rocker. The sides of the device are rounded and really comfortable.

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On top is a 3.5mm headphone socket and little else.

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On the bottom, there is a MircoUSB port offset to the left and the microphone.

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The back has a LED flash plus the 13mp camera. There is a second microphone above the camera. The whole device is coated in a non-slip rubber that feels good in the hand.

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That killer feature is a 4000 mAh battery. The last few phones from Argos have featured fairly hefty batteries and this seems to be one staple they are determined to keep in their book. You can easily clear around three days of use out of this device and if it isn’t heavily used that could possibly stretch to four or five. While some manufacturers lean toward faster-charging solutions with standard size batteries, Archos have you covered if you don’t want to have to plug your phone in at all. Whilst it has a huge battery charge time isn’t massively increased as we have seen with other products. The 4000 mAh battery can go from 0 to 100% in two and a half hours of charging. Those with fast charge facilities on their phone may scoff at that, however, it wasn’t long ago that two and a half to three hours was a standard charge for a standard battery. In fact, some may have even been quite pleased to have that sort of charge time. Especially when you consider a 50% will last as long as the average phone on 100%.

 

Otherwise the device it’s fairly unremarkable.  I wish I could just say it’s a very strong device with nothing really wrong however it has a mediocre build quality, something of a bland design. Even Android has little in the way of enhancements save for the typical Archos additions.

 

If I was to criticise one thing about the phone is the screen is fairly disappointing, whilst it’s quite sharp at 294ppi, brightness appears very dull. There are no details on the Archos website regarding the Nit count however I dare say it is very low. You will have to run the screen at full brightness in all conditions. The speaker is largely disappointing also, being tinny and lacking any substantial depth. It really caters only for notification sounds and perhaps the odd YouTube video.

Benchmarks aren’t horrible. The device can hold its own against some of the budget phones out there, albeit at a lower price.

The camera is actually pretty good, certainly, it doesn’t pack the punch of maybe something like a Samsung, however, it does captured colours quite well. There isn’t any apparent noise however light levels can bleed into each other quite easily from intense sources.

There isn’t a host of options available here there other than things like gesture functions and HDR. The HDR didn’t really blow my socks off and probably won’t blow yours off either.
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Video quality is pretty poor however you could certainly make do if absolutely necessary.

The Archos 50 Power isn’t a terrible phone, far from it, it’s probably the blandest, middle of the road phone I’ve ever had to review. I think it’s slightly overpriced and the only justification for this price is the 4000 mAh. If that’s what you’re looking for above all else, this is the phone for you. A great backup or business phone but otherwise I couldn’t recommend it for day-to-day use and there are certainly better options on the market available now.

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By August 8, 2016 Read More →

How “like new” is a second hand phone?

vlcsnap-00020We have been sent the phone by O2, to test if second-hand phones bought from online classifieds / auction sites on the internet are ‘like new’. We know nothing of the site this was purchased from, the price, description or history of the phone, only that it was described as “like new” in the listing.

What O2 are outlining here is a real problem with second-hand phones and the sites they are sold through. The buyer isn’t protected  by much more than an easily manipulated blanket policy. Take a look at the video below and feel the pain that many are having to deal with on a daily basis when they think they are getting a good deal just to save a few £’s.

 

Find more about O2 like new handsets at www.o2.co.uk/shop/like-new.

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By August 3, 2016 Read More →

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in a nutshell

2016-08-03 (1)Samsung has officially announced the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and the likes of @evleaks have managed to hit the nail on the head of every detail. So here is a survival guide of what it’s all about.

First up, there is no Galaxy Note 6. Samsung decided to skip a number to keep the Note inline with the Galaxy S series. Simply put, the Galaxy S series is 7 years old and the Note is 6. Samsung wanted the Note to have the same digit as their flagship so they skipped a number. Now we have the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and Galaxy Note 7, tidy.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is notable for it’s a subtle dual edge curve display, return of a microSD card slot, USB-C port, and IP68 water resistance and an iris scanner. There is also everyone’s favourite 3.5mm headphone jack.

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  • Display: 5.7-inch 2560×1440 SuperAMOLED Edge display
  • Chipset: Octa-core 2.3GHz processor in the international model (likely the same Samsung Exynos 8890 used in the global GS7)
  • RAM: 4GB of RAM
  • Storage: 64GB of storage as standard, microSD up to 256GB
  • Battery: 3,500mAh battery with wireless fast charging
  • Other features: USB Type-C, Iris scanner, IP68 water-resistance, fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Camera: Dual-Pixel” 12MP camera with OIS, f/1.7 aperture; 5MP front-facing camera
  • Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS
  • Dimensions: 153.5mm x 73.9mm x 7.9 mm
  • Weight: 168g

The features? Well first up, TouchWiz is now running on Marshmallow with Nougat promised in the future. As you would expect Samsung inject a few new concepts of their own. Samsung Cloud, for example, a new cloud storage service that’ll let you back up information and content. It’s a little like Google Backup when you log into a new Android device, however, it adds photos and files. Meaning if you lose your phone and purchase another Samsung phone you can restore up to 15GB of data. Certainly, there are Pros and Cons to this arrangement, however, it’s there, free and a potential life saver.

Samsung Pass uses the biometric authentication methods housed within the phone, the fingerprint scanner and iris scanner, to secure apps. Crucially, this feature is at the mercy of the app developers and may never take off.

Samsung has reintroduced the water and dust resistance with the Note 7. The company has achieved an IP68 rating, meaning it can be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. Water resistance has also been extended to the S-Pen for note taking in the rain. The tip of the S-Pen shrinks from 1.6mm to 0.7mm to allow precise writing. Pressure sensitivity has also been increased meaning it should feel more like writing with an actual pen.

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As with the Note 5 and the Galaxy S7, a new Gear VR headset has been launched to go along with the Galaxy Note 7. This time, there is an all-black color scheme and an updated visor. There aren’t any radical changes and of the hardware, a USB-C connector seems to be the biggest difference, as essential to communicate with the Note 7.

Pre-ordering starts today. Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s costs the Earth at £749, however, you might find it for a better price on a particular network. Launch is on the 19th of August in Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx. There is only one storage flavour, 64GB, however, the MicroSD card slot will see up to 256gb of expansion.

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By July 28, 2016 Read More →

ADATA i-Memory Flash Drive Review

productGallery4496Even the most stalwart iPhone user will concede that one of the major limitations of the device is the lack of expandable memory. This isn’t much of an issue if you splashed out on the 128gb model, but those with the 16gb version will know the pain of having to upload and delete holiday photos to make room for more. Enter the ADATA i-Memory 64gb flash drive, potentially the answer to many prayers.

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With its rounded edges and rather tasteful metallic rose colouring, it looks the part, very apple-esque. Once out of the packaging however, it does feel a little plasticky. It doesn’t have that “just throw it in a pocket/in your bag” feel. Aluminium would have been a nice touch but would increase the cost significantly. But does it work?

Right out of the gate we hit a stumbling block. Being a clumsy oaf, the first thing I do when I get a phone is to put it in a robust case, in this instance, an Otterbox Commuter. As you can see, the lightning connector is rather short and does not work with encased phones. That’s a bit of a pain.

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Once out of the Otterbox (and feeling vulnerable) the ADATA fits nicely into the iphone, and you are prompted to download the free i-Memory app. The app appears extremely simple in design, allowing the user to select Photo, Music, Video, Document and File Manager for both the phone and the ADATA drive.

Unfortunately it becomes quickly apparent that the Achilles heel of this device is the app. It is simple, but not particularly intuitive nor pleasant to use and did have a few glitches and hang-ups when I was using it.

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There are no tutorials, prompts or on screen instructions in the app, so you’re on your own. Transferring photos or videos from your camera roll is fairly straight forward, but no transferable music or document files could be located on my phone. It allows access to an “internal storage” for your phone, but could not find anything in it. It was unclear where this storage actually was. At this point I couldn’t help but wonder if this is an iproduct specific app, or a generic template that has been beaten into an apple shape.

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Still, I used the rather nifty sliding connector feature and plugged the device into my pc. Another snag. Due to the width of the device, it covers two USB ports if they are side by side. This could be problematic for laptop users.

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The pc found the device without issue and up opens like any regular flash drive. Once in familiar territory of dragging dropping, the ADATA performed well and transfer speeds were impressive.

Plugging the ADATA back into my phone, I found that accessing the new data through the app was easy enough and was pleased to see that both music and video files played directly from it without hesitation. Transferring content to the phone is the same somewhat clunky procedure as before. Out of interest, I decided to copy a music file from the ADATA to the internal storage area of my phone. According to the app, the file transferred successfully, however, it would not appear in any searches carried out on the phone. It would appear that anything sent to the internal storage is only accessible through the i-Memory app and does not integrate into any other apps. This is a drawback, especially when it comes to music files.

The ADATA i-Memory Flash Drive is undoubtedly a very handy device and allowing the user to safely copy content from their phone to free up some space is definitely where it shines. I can also see its usefulness as a media drive, somewhere to store videos that you can access on your phone without eating up all its memory. It is not without some design issues, but the biggest let down by far is the app. I can’t help but feel that what could have been an excellent little device has been hamstrung by its software.

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By July 26, 2016 Read More →

Albird Uoplay Review

ImageuAre you sick of the shakey camera footage you see on your phone during those treasured moments? Does this have you yearning for a smoother and more watchable feel to your videos? The Albird Uoplay hopes to rectify this common annoyance. Vloggers, families and amateur photographers will be happy to see that the Uoplay give you one of the closest experiences to having Hollywood-style Steadicam footage from your smartphone with a simple, high quality peripheral that has a lot more thought put into it as we have seen in the past.

Whilst the price is quite high, at £256.00, this is easily one of the more expensive accessories for the smartphone and certainly not for everyone. For those that have wished to have a smoother experience with the smartphone video, this is a dream come true, providing both good build quality and respectable performance for the money.

 

http://www.aibird.com/en/products.php

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262485617083

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By July 25, 2016 Read More →

Archos 50 Power Unboxing

Image13Archos have sent over another cheap and cheerful mobile, the Archos 50 Power. This £139.99 phone has 4G/LTE compatible, a 5” IPS HD display running on a Mediatek Quad-Core 1 GHz processor, with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory. In addition, its 13 MP back camera make the ARCHOS 50 Power a fully equipped smartphone for intensive use. Under all that is the key feature, a 4000mAh battery to that see you handle two days on the trot easily.

  • CPU – MT6735P Quad-core @ 1GHz Cortex A53
  • GPU – Mali 720
  • RAM – 2 GB
  • Storage – 16 GB +  Micro SD card, up to 32GB (when formatted to fat32 standard)
  • Screen – 5 inches IPS 1280 x 720 pixels HD
  • Operating System – Android 5.1, Lollipop
  • Dual SIM – 1x micro SIM + 1x nano SIM or 1x micro SIM + microSD card
  • GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
  • 3G/ WCDMA freqs 900 / 2100 MHz
  • LTE frequencies 800 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 MHz
  • Data Rates HSPA + 21 Mbps / 5.76 Mbps
  • Rear camera – 13 MP* AF + Flash LED
  • Front Camera – 2 MP
  • Video – 720p
  • Battery -4000mAh Li-Pro
  • Audio – 3.5mm Jack
  • USB – Micro USB V2.0
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