Sony Xperia Z3 Takes and Passes the Coca Cola and Nutella Tests, but Why Would Anyone Do That?

So, it looks like this year will be known as the year of weird smartphone tests. After #Bendgate, #Gapgate and a few more others, it looks like we have another set of tests that doesn’t imply the “gates” word.

If you thought that bending a smartphone to find out how solid it is just for the kicks is a bit out of the ordinary, then you will probably laugh very hard when you find out that someone thought it would be wise to make a Coca Cola test. Yep, you hear that right. YouTuber adriansen felt there was a need for Sony fans to find out how much the Xperia Z3 could endure before collapsing. Given the fact that Sony Xperia Z3 is IP68 certified and can withstand being submerged in over 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes, one would think that our YouTuber would actually test this feat and see if what the Japanese company claims is true. But no, the test that we’re writing about involves Coca Coal and Nutella. Although he specifically says that we shouldn’t try this at home, he basically washes the Xperia Z3 in Coca Cola for a few minutes.

Upon wiping it out, Sony’s latest flagship smartphone does not seem to have any issue and it looks to be working fine. However, the buttons might start being harder to press after the sugar in the Coca Cola starts strengthening. This can be easily solved by washing the smartphone, once again, but this time in fresh water.

Sony Xperia Z3 endures some of the weirdest ruggedness tests

Well, if that wasn’t enough, adriansen though it would wise, and without question a smart thing to do, to bathe his Xperia Z3 in Nutella. After being covered in Nutella and then cleaned up with towel paper, the smartphone did not seem to have any major issues except for the sound which suddenly became a bit laggy. However, the sound problem disappeared a few moments after the smartphone was cleaned, which means whatever the issue was, it fixed itself. We can’t help but wonder why anyone would do these kinds of tests. Who does it really help to know that his/her Xperia Z3 will continue to work if dropped in Coca Cola or bathed in Nutella? Now that we’ve eliminated Coca Cola and Nutella from the list of potential tests for smartphones, it will be interesting to see what’s next. What other liquid do you think would be worth spilling on the Sony Xperia Z3 to see how rugged the smartphone really is?

Sony Xperia Z3 taking the Coca Cola test
Image cedits to andrianisen

Videos credits to andrianisen

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Android L Gets Demoed on Motorola Moto G [Video]

Unveiled back in November 2013, Motorola Moto G was launched on the market during the same month and soon became one of the best-selling Motorola smartphones.

Motorola sold millions of Moto G units since its launch, which is why it decided to continue to launch sequels of the smartphone this year. Although the device was launched with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, the Moto G was quickly upgraded to Android 4.4.4 KitKat over the next several months. In fact, the Moto G was one of the first smartphones to receive the KitKat update after Google officially introduced the new operating system last year. There’s a high chance that Motorola will continue to offer major OS updates to Moto G devices in the months to come as well, but Android L might be the last one that the devices will receive if Google does not revise its updating policy.

According to Google, devices older than 18 months will not receive any major OS updates, so owners will have to upgrade to a new device almost once every two years if they want to keep up with Android versions. Anyway, Moto G owners should not be afraid that their phones won’t receive the Android L update, as the smartphone is not even 1 year old. But there is more proof that Motorola plans to upgrade the Moto G to Android L as soon as Google makes the new version of the OS official.

Android L will be officially released on the market sometime this month

GSMArena reports that Moto G has just been caught on video running an Android L build. The 6-minute video has been recorded by a developer who got access to a version of Android L before the OS got released on the market. The video shows the biggest change included in Android L, the Material Design, which is the new UI design language that Google has decided to bring into its new OS. Lots of the features that we already know and love at Android will be improved esthetically, as well as performance-wise. The notifications area has been changed, along with the lockscreen and the animations between different tasks.

Android L is a completely different vision, which is why Google had to launch a preview version back in the summer, so that developers can get acquainted with the new look of the OS and make their apps and games compatible. The new version of Android is expected to be officially unveiled sometime this month, along with Google new Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet.

Motorola Moto G running Android L
Image credits to MotoGDevelopmentMexico

Video credits to MotoGDevelopmentMexico

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Lenovo Sisley Is an iPhone 6 Copycat

Chinese handset maker Lenovo is one of the most prolific brands in Asia with millions of smartphones sold every year. But smartphones are not the only business Lenovo has, as the company is also one of the major players in the tablet and laptop markets.

Lenovo’s success in the smartphone business doesn’t seem to be enough for the company, which has recently acquired another handset maker directly from Google. Motorola Mobility is likely to pave Lenovo’s way into the United States’ market where the Chinese company hasn’t been able to set foot yet. But that’s not the only market where Motorola will help Lenovo reach, as the US-based company’s mid- and entry-levels smartphones have become best-sellers in lots of other countries. Although there’s not one Lenovo or Motorola high-end smartphone that would sell as many units as the Apple’s iPhone 6, the Chinese company is trying to boost sales of its products by any means necessary even if that would violate a few patents in the process.

We’re talking about the upcoming Lenovo Sisley smartphone, which is expected to hit China and probably other Asian countries in the next couple of weeks. Well, the so-called Lenovo Sisley happens to look awfully similar to the Apple’s iPhone 6 that’s been recently launched on the market.

The Sisley has the same size as the iPhone 6

Aside from design, we’re not sure anything else would apply to the comparison, as Lenovo’s smartphone is powered by Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system out of the box. However, as anyone can see from the live pictures showing the Lenovo Sisley, the smartphone has the same dual speakers on the bottom side and a thin stripe on the back side. The iPhone 6 has two stripes on the back, but Lenovo probably skipped the one on the top on purpose. Even so, the smartphones are strikingly similar when it comes to look, which is why we think Apple will have a good case here if it decides to file a lawsuit against this copycat.

The camera of the Lenovo Sisley has been placed exactly like the iPhone 6 one, to the left upper corner of the back cover. The whole form factor of Lenovo’s smartphone has been created to induce the idea that this is an iPhone 6. We’re pretty sure Lenovo Sisley will be much cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 6. Spec-wise, the smartphone comes with a 5-inch HD (720p) capacitive touchscreen display and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, Gizmobic reports. It also features an impressive 8-megapixel camera in the front, which would be perfect for selfies, and it will be only 6.9mm thin (just like the iPhone 6).

Lenovo Sisely bottom side
Image credits to Weibo

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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Receives First Update That Improves Battery Life

Samsung’s new flagship smartphone has only been officially released in several countries, but the South Korean company plans to introduce the Galaxy Note 4 in a lot more regions by the end of the month.

Although the handset is not yet available in major markets, such as the United States and the UK, Samsung has already launched an update for the phablet. This is the first software update for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and it’s currently being pushed in all countries where the smartphone is now available for purchase. However, as the device goes on sale in additional countries, the update will be available for download in more regions. According to appdated, the new software update (firmware XXU1ANJ4) is expected to improve the Galaxy Note 4’s battery life. Given the fact that the rollout of the update has just kicked off, it’s hard to say whether or not it really improves the battery consumption efficiency of the Galaxy Note 4. Only time will tell if Samsung managed to enhance the phablet’s battery life.

Also, the update doesn’t really say by how much the smartphone’s battery life should improve after installing it, which is why additional testing is needed to determine how effective Samsung’s changes really are.

The update brings some stability and performance improvements as well

But this is not the only improvement included in this update, which is expected to be around 35MB in size. The changelog also mentions Galaxy Note 4 owners should also get some stability and performance improvements, though no additional details on any of these have been provided yet. We expect Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to be among the first smartphone launched by the South Korean company to receive the highly anticipated Android L update. Google has been confirmed to launch the new version of its mobile platform this month, which means it will take a few months until Samsung is capable of delivering a working Android L update for the Galaxy Note 4.

Until then, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will be able to download this small update that brings a major improvement, better battery life, by going to Settings / About phone / Software Update. Keep in mind that the update is rolled out in stages, so if you are not notified on availability and it doesn’t show in the Settings menu either, then you should try again later. Customers who will purchase the Galaxy Note 4 in the following weeks should have access to the update right out of the box, so make sure you check for it if you want better battery life for your smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 first software update
Image credits to appdated

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Motorola DROID Turbo aka Nexus 6 Mini Leaks in Official Press Render

There’s been quite a debate on the matter of Google launching a phablet Nexus over a standard smartphone with a smaller display.

We’re still not sure what will happen with those customers who are anxious to upgrade to the new Nexus 6 or whatever it will be named, hoping it will not be a phablet. According to the latest reports, Google will indeed launch a 5.9-inch Nexus phablet this month, though a smaller version of the smartphone is still in the cards. The question is how Google will be able to deliver the smaller version of the Nexus 6 internationally. We do know that the 5.2-inch Nexus 6 model was nixed by the search giant in favor of the larger version, but that doesn’t mean that the maker of the smartphone will not launch it under its own brand. The so-called Motorola DROID Turbo is a 5.2-inch smartphone that packs the same features that were known to belong to the Nexus 6 when the first details on the handset leaked online several weeks ago.

However, the DROID Turbo will be exclusively available in the United States through Verizon Wireless carrier, which means customers in other countries won’t have access to it. There were a few pictures of the DROID Turbo leaked a few weeks ago, but they weren’t coming through any of the official channels. Over the weekend though, Verizon’s Twitter account in charge of DROID family mistakenly published a press render of the DROID Turbo. Even though the carrier pulled the picture, the damage was already done as the online media was able to save the picture and inform readers about the DROID Turbo.

DROID Turbo may be available through other carriers under different names

This is not the first time that something official regarding the DROID Turbo leaks ahead of the actual announcement. No later than last week, the smartphone’s “User’s Guide” manual popped up online and confirmed some of the features the DROID Turbo was rumored to pack. For example, the DROID Turbo will be compatible with Motorola’s Moto fast charger and it will support Qi Wireless charging. As mentioned earlier, the smartphone will sport a 5.2-inch capacitive touchscreen display, a 21-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 3900 mAh monster battery,

The DROID Turbo is likely to be launched at other US carriers as well, but only after Verizon exclusivity period ends. The smartphone could be released at AT&T as ATRIX 2014 or something similar. Obviously, the unlocked version will be released internationally under a different name, possibly as Motorola Moto S, though this is just a rumor which has been confirmed by multiple sources yet. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.

Motorola DROID Turbo back
Image credits to @DroidLanding

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HTC One M8 Receives Desire Eye Experience with New Android 4.4.4 KitKat Update

HTC introduced a new high-end smartphone a few days ago, the Desire Eye, which will be released on the market sometime this month.

The Desire Eye’s main selling point is the 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, which comes with dual-LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording. However, the camera is not the only thing that HTC included in the smartphone. The so-called Eye Experience greatly enhances the Desire Eye’s camera and it is exclusive to this handset, which is not yet available on the market. However, it won’t remain exclusive to HTC Desire Eye for too long, as the Taiwanese handset maker has announced that it will offer the Eye Experience to other compatible HTC smartphones soon. Well, it looks like the first device to receive the promised Eye Experience is the HTC One M8. As GSMArena points out, a new Android 4.4.4 KitKat update is now being pushed to HTC One M8 handsets worldwide.

Beside the Eye Experience, as mentioned in the changelog, the update also brings some security fixes, which have probably been on HTC’s list for quite some time. The update is about 250MB in size and is pushed OTA (over-the-air) in waves, so not all HTC One M8 units will get it at the same time.

Other HTC smartphones will receive the Eye Experience as well

With the Eye Experience, HTC One M8 owners will be provided with exclusive enhancements for taking photos and making videos. Face Tracking is one of the features added via Eye Experience, which allows the camera to track up to four faces during a video chat and ensure that they stay within the camera’s angle of view. Split Capture is another interesting feature that provides the camera with the option to record the action in front of you and yourself at the same time. You can also record the action first and then record a commentary.

Then there’s the Face Fusion feature that uses two photos, such as your selfie and a photo of your favorite celebrity, and merges them together. With Voice Selfie, you can take a picture or video selfie by saying “Cheese” or “Action.” Living Makeup is another new feature that smoothens your skin before taking your selfie, while the Photo Booth option takes 4 selfies and merges them into a single picture. HTC One M8 owners might want to check their phones for the update by going to Settings / About phone / Update. If it’s not available, you might want to try out later.

Android 4.4.4 KitKat update for HTC One M8
Image credits to GSMArena

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Galaxy GeForce GTX 750 Ti Razor Single-Slot Graphics Card Released

Motherboards may have multiple PCI Express slots, but sometimes those slots are too close together to be used, since graphics cards usually take up the space of two because of their coolers. Not so for the new Galaxy GeForce GTX 750 Ti Razor though.

The GeForce GTX 750 Ti graphics card may be based on the Maxwell architecture, but the GM107 doesn't produce much heat, and neither do the 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, since 5.4 GHz is a pretty tame setting. Still, the original card was made in a dual-slot form. Now, though, the board has been outfitted with a single-slot cooler. Admittedly, it's not the first time this happens. Still, it's good to see a mid-range board showing up now, when only high-end NVIDIA cards have been unveiled, all of which are mostly MIA anyway.

The GTX 750 Ti Razor has 1,020 MHz GPU clock, 1,080 MHz GPU Boost clock and the 2 GB of 5.4 GHz VRAM we already mentioned. The cooler chills the GPU, memory chips and VRM. The price is of around €140, which can mean anything from $140 to $177, depending on how much retailers care about exchange rates. Needless to say, you'll have to install the product in a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot.

Galaxy GeForce GTX 750 Ti Razor
Images credits to TechPowerUp

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Cube T7 Is a 7-Inch Tablet with 64-Bit MediaTek Octa-Core CPU, LTE Networks

We are seeing more and more 64-bit devices being unveiled these days and the growing trend has even hit China.

Device manufacturer Cube has recently launched the T7 tablet, a device that runs a 64-bit octa-core MediaTek chipset on the inside. The MediaTek MT8752 processor living inside is the tablet alternative to the MT6752 which the chip-maker uses for smartphones. The tablet is a 7-incher with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution and brings about 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, as Giz China reports. Other selling points of the tablet include GPS, Glonass, 15 network frequencies, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and H.256 video.

The tablet runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat and is 9.3-inch / 236 g thick so it can’t be considered the skinniest in the bunch. The tablet should be available for pre-order starting next month with a price tag of $162 / €127 in China. At some point international third-party retailers might pick the tablet up, but you’ll probably have some time to wait before that happens. In related news, MediaTek is rumored to go into the Chromebook business soon. The first models taking advantage of the low-cost chips are said to come on the market sometimes in 2015.

Cube T7 is octa core tablet
Image credits to GizChina

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Motorola DROID Turbo Could Be Powered by a 3900 mAh Monster Battery

Even though Motorola has yet to officially introduce the DROID Turbo on the market, we can already agree that this will be a very powerful smartphone.

Since most of the smartphone’s specs have already leaked online and some of them have been confirmed in the “User’s Guide” that popped up on the Internet a few days ago, the only thing that remains to pinpoint is the exact release date of the device. Oh well, that and probably a few of the specs that did not yet appear in any of the leaks we reported on. For example, the battery of the DROID Turbo is supposed to be pretty large given the fact that the smartphone is considered the sequel to the DROID Maxx which is powered by a huge 3,500 mAh battery. The only information we had until today has been the fact that the DROID Turbo will be compatible with Motorola’s Moto Turbo charger that’s capable of replenishing your battery’s charge up to 80% in under 30 minutes.

Slashgear reports Chinese e-tailer TaoBao has just listed the Motorola DROID Turbo’s battery, which is labeled as model EQ40. The good news is that this is a 3,900 mAh battery, which makes DROID Turbo’s battery one of the best on the market, only second to Huawei Ascend Mate7’s 4100 mAh monster battery. Obviously, there’s no certainty that the DROID Turbo will indeed be powered by a 3,900 mAh battery until Motorola and Verizon have made it official.

The DROID Turbo will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive in the US

However, the FCC filing and the listing at the Chinese e-tailer are both a clear indication that Motorola plans to pack a huge battery inside the DROID Turbo, which isn’t surprising considering what specs the upcoming smartphone is said to feature. For example, the DROID Turbo has been tipped to boast a stunning 5.2-inch QHD (2560 x 1550 pixels) resolution display, as well as powered by 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor. As we reported a few days ago, Motorola DROID Turbo has been confirmed to feature an amazing 21-megapixel rear-facing camera with dual-LED flash, autofocus and video recording.

Furthermore, Motorola DROID Turbo is also expected to pack 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage inside. There’s no word on microSD card slot for memory expansion for the moment, so we will just have to wait until the smartphone is officially unveiled. Keep in mind that Motorola DROID Turbo will be exclusively available in the US through Verizon Wireless, but different versions may be carried by other operators as well.

Motorola DROID Turbo battery
Image credits to TaoBao

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Dell Alienware 17 & 18 with Intel i7 Overclocked CPUs Launched

In recent days lots of gaming solution manufacturers have unleashed new or revamped notebooks taking advantage of NVIDIA’s latest GPU architecture which consists of the GeForce GTX 980M and GTX 970M.

We were expecting a similar announcement from Dell related to its Alienware notebooks, but it appears the producing company has postponed making any GPU updates for the time being. In the meantime, Dell and Intel have partnered up to bring overclocking enthusiasts a nice surprise.

Two overclocked Alienware laptops announced

In a short press release, the chip giant announced the availability of Alienware 17 and 18 with overclocked core i7 CPUs up to 4.4 GHz (for the 18-inch models) or up 4.0 GHz (for the 17-inch model). The larger model can be configured with an Intel Core i7-4940MX (Haswell) processor normally clocked at 3.1GHz (4.0GHz in Turbo Mode) that can be overclocked to reach 4.4GHz. The 17-incher will bundle an Intel Core i7-4910MQ clocked at 2.9GHz (3.9GHz in Turbo Mode) with 4.0GHz in overclock mode. Such frequencies might generate a lot of heat under the hood, but Dell and Intel have thought about this unwanted by-product and have come up with a solution. Alienware engineers have developed a new thermal solution which aids with the dissipation of heat and helps the notebook run in reliable and cool conditions.

Alienware 17 is the less powerful of the duo coming in with less powerful processor solutions and NVIDIA GPUs and starting price of $1,399 / €1,101. On the other hand, Alienware 18 has a starting price of $2,099 / €1,652 and for this money customers will be given access to more advanced processor options, dual NVIDIA graphics in SLI configurations or AMD (Crossfire). Both models support 32GB of RAM and should last you a few hours of game time off the chord.

The thinnest and lightest Alienware comes next month

Dell’s Alienware lineup is quite hailed by gaming enthusiasts for obvious reasons. The producing company is also expected to bring out what’s being called “the thinnest and lightest” model in the lineup in November. The laptop will take advantage of a smaller 13.3-inch display and customers will be given a choice between 1366 x 758, 1920 x 1080 or 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution. Under the hood, Alienware 13 will bundle an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M working in concert with Haswell-based Core i3/i5/i7 processors. A Broadwell version is said to be made available at some point in the future.

Dell managed to squeeze all these specs in a laptop weighing just 4.5 lbs / 2.04 kg, so if you want a new, portable machine, keep an eye on the Alienware in November.

Dell and Intel overclock the Alienware 17 and 18
Image credits to Alienware

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