New version of the Kindle Fire HD 8 is apparently in the works at Amazon

Amazon might be looking to add a new 8-inch tablet to its Kindle Fire-branded lineup soon. The new slate will intriguingly be mostly lower-end than the currently available Kindle Fire HD 8, so perhaps it's actually going to be a more affordable version of that.

Some of the new tablet's specs have been leaked because someone put a prototype through the paces of GFXBench. The device is identified as Amazon KFGIWI, as you can see. The only thing that's higher-end here than in the Kindle Fire HD 8 is the RAM amount, now 1.5GB compared to 1GB.

The new device has an 8-inch 1,280x800 touchscreen just like the Fire HD 8, but its processor is clocked at 1.3 GHz, 200 MHz below. The chipset powering things this time around is MediaTek's MT8163, which sports the Mali-T720 GPU and a quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU.

The new tablet has 8GB of storage, a 2 MP rear camera (compared to the 5 MP unit on the Fire HD 8), and a VGA selfie snapper (that's 720p on the Fire HD 8).

It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, undoubtedly underneath Amazon's very own Fire OS fork. There's no telling when the new 8-inch device will launch, but with those specs it could be cheaper than the $149.99 Kindle Fire HD 8, even if just slightly.

HTC 10 promo code nets you 10% discount in the UK, buy the phone for just £512.99

HTC seems to be on somewhat of a discount spree for its just-unveiled new flagship, the 10. Yesterday some promo codes were outed for the North American markets which took the phone's price down by a cool $100 or CAD 100, respectively, mere hours after the launch.

And today the promo code mania has hit the UK. Only in this case you're not getting a fixed amount off the normal price of the device, instead you're treated to a 10% reduction. So you can now buy the HTC 10 for just £512.99, a nice £57 less than its £569.99 recommended asking price.

All you need to do is go to HTC's UK online store, add the 10 to your cart, and then use the promo code HTC10. You'll see the discount instantly appear. As with the American codes, there's no telling how long this one will last either, so use it quickly if you're interested in HTC's new handset.

If you're not sure whether it's worth getting, perhaps our hands-on report will be helpful in making up your mind.

Marshmallow update hits Lenovo A7000

Less than a month after the Lenovo K3 Note started receiving it, the Marshmallow update has started rolling out to Lenovo A7000. The update not only brings Android 6.0, but also includes the Android security patch for the month of March.

Weighing in at around 1.3GB, the update is being rolled out over-the-air. So, it may take some time before it hits your device. However, if you are feeling impatient, you can manually check for it by heading to the Settings menu on your device.

Oh, and make sure you have 2GB of free space on your device before downloading and installing the update.

Google Calendar gets an update for Goals that automatically fit your schedule

Google has updated Calendar for Android and iOS to support goals. Tapping the plus icon in the right hand corner now allows you to add various goals to your daily schedules and best of all - Google automatically finds the best time for them.

Calendar is smart enough to automatically reschedule if another event pops up that's in a direct conflict with a goal. Naturally, you can also postpone (defer) a goal, if now's not the time for it.

Google also boasts that the Goals feature will learn with time and make even better adjustments to fit your daily schedule.

You can expect the update to become available starting today, but it may take a couple of days to show up.

New Amazon Kindle Oasis brings leather covers, better backlight

A Voyage takes you to Oasis, naturally. No, these are not my travel plans, Amazon just announced the new Kindle Oasis, an even more premium premium e-book reader.

The new design tapers the thickness to just 3.4mm on one end, keeping the other end thicker (kind of looks like a folded magazine). AND YOU GET PAGE TURN BUTTONS BACK... sorry, just not a fan of the touchscreen page flip.

Anyway, this curved design allows for premium covers to be magnetically attached (firmly, there are 12 magnets!). The covers are bound in high-quality leather (Black, Walnut, Merlot) and have a built-in battery. This extends battery life and simplifies charging - you can read on the Kindle and charge the cover, then head out with both knowing you'll never run out of juice. Not that this is much of an issue with months of battery life, but still.

The other major upgrade is the backlighting. There are now 10 LEDs that illuminate the page more evenly, compare that to the 6 LEDs in the Voyage and just 4 in the regular Paperwhite.

The screen is still 6" big with 300ppi pixel density, same specs as the Paperwhite and Voyage. The Oasis is lighter though (131g without cover vs. 180g), though despite its name it is not waterproof in any way.

The Amazon Kindle Oasis is pricey at $290/€290 (€350 with 3G).

USB Type-C Authentication protocol aims to solve some of the standard's issues

The USB Implementers Forum together with USB 3.0 Promoter Group have announced a new Authentication Protocol for USB Type-C. The non-profit and the group of companies which includes HP, Intel, and Microsoft among others, have agreed upon a protocol, which lets host systems assess the authenticity of connected devices using 128-bit encryption before any power or data has been transferred.

For one, the authentication should help prevent damaged devices by cables, which don't strictly comply with the standard. So far that issue has been taken care of almost personally by Google's own Benson Leung and his reviews on Amazon, prompting the retailer to adoptdrastic measures.

Power delivery negotiation is only one aspect of the new standard, the other major one is security. The aim is to fight malware using your thumb drive as a vehicle to gain entry into your system. In theory machines can be set up to only accept a connection with drives that have the required security certificates installed.

Existing devices, which meet the requirements of the protocol, will be able to have their firmware and/or software updated (at the will of their respective manufacturers) to bring them up to spec. You can't update cables though, these will need to be replaced.

Meizu PRO 6 unveiled: with 5.2" AMOLED screen with 3D Press

The Meizu PRO 5 launched in September and had monster specs now half a year later the Meizu PRO 6 launches and it's... smaller? Yep, Number 6 comes with a 5.2" screen.

As expected it's a Super AMOLED with 1080p resolution, but the size took us by surprise as the PRO 6 was 5.7" and even the MX5 was 5.5". The "killer feature" of the new screen is 3D Press, Meizu's alternative to 3D Touch. In fact, it seems that Apple was the motivation behind going smaller - the iPhone SE did it. Curved Gorilla Glass 3 protects the screen.

Meizu PRO 6

The Meizu PRO 5 is powered by MediaTek Helio X25 chipset - the 10-core processor and Mali-T880 GPU have been overclocked from the X20. You get 4GB of RAM too (so much for the rumored 6GB).

The company positioned the camera as the big draw. It has an interesting 10-LED dual-tone flash arranged in a circle (but this is not a ring flash, mind you). The sensor has 21.1MP resolution and measures 1/2.4". The camera also boasts Laser and phase-detection AF.

Flash aside, the camera is essentially a match for what the PRO 5 packed. And the battery seems quite small at 2,560mAh, but at least it charges fast with the 24W mCharge 3.0.

The Meizu PRO 6 will be available on April 23 for CNY 2,500 ($385/€340) for the 32GB option and CNY 2,800 ($430/€380) for the 64GB option. Meizu may be looking at a tough sell as both the MX5 and PRO 5 have very similar features. That said the PRO 5 is actually more expensive than the PRO 6.

Indian startup CREO launches its first phone, the Mark 1

CREO, a Bangalore, India based startup, has launched its first smartphone in the Indian market, the CREO Mark 1. The Mark 1 is a flagship device for the company, and as such comes with all the hardware bells and whistles, but the main focus for the company is the software.

The phone comes with what the company calls FUEL OS, which is based on Android. It comes with features such as Sense, a universal search engine that can find anything on the phone and can be evoked by a double tap on the home button, Echo, which is a voicemail service of sorts that can work with any carrier, Retriever, which sends an email to you if another SIM is inserted in your device, smart forwarding to forward calls from one SIM to another one it is unreachable, notification manager, and segregated SMS inbox for messages from people and businesses, with quick reply and copy OTP functions.

But CREO's claim to fame is the 'A New Phone Every Month' initiative, where the company will push out updates to the phone every month that will add functionality to it. And the updates will be based on community feedback and what the users want, and you will be informed of all the changes before you install the update.

Coming to the hardware, the Mark 1 has Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the front and back and a metal frame in Gunmetal Black. On the front is a 5.5-inch QHD display and powering it is a MediaTek Helio X10 with 3GB RAM and 3100mAh battery. The phone also packs a 21 megapixel Sony IMX230 sensor on the back with PDAF, 4K video and 120fps slow-motion capture. On the front is an 8 megapixel shooter with features such as 3D Photos, Live Photo mode, and Beautify.

The company has set up a countrywide service network of 106 centers in 96 cities (set to increase to 300 centers in 150 cities in the coming months) and pick up and drop service in 15 cities. You can also chat with the customer service by typing "CREO Support" in the aforementioned Sense.

The CREO Mark 1 will be available on the company's website and Flipkart for INR 19,999 ($300).

HTC still undecided about HTC 10's India launch, will clear the air soon

Yesterday, we told you about the HTC 10 Lifestyle, an SD652-powered variant of the Taiwanese company's flagship smartphone HTC 10. Given that the former was listed on the company's India website instead of the latter, we took it as a confirmation of sorts that the latter won't be officially available in India.

However, turns out we'll have to wait for sometime before this is officially confirmed, as an HTC spokesperson has said that the HTC 10 Lifestyle listing - and the absence of the HTC 10 - should not be taken as a confirmation that the SD820-powered flagship won't be available in the country.

He also added that an announcement in this regard will be made soon, although no specific time-frame was given. So for those who were disappointed with the news yesterday, there still seems to be some hope - fingers crossed.

SD820-powered ZUK Z2 Pro tipped to launch next week

Lenovo-backed ZUK will launch a new smartphone next week - April 21 to be precise. This was revealed by the Chinese company's CEO Chang Cheng on Weibo (China's Twitter). While he didn't reveal the name of the handset, reports say it'll be the Z2 Pro.

Meanwhile, a new ZUK phone - dubbed Z2121, and alleged to be the Z2 Pro - was spotted on AnTuTu, revealing some of its key specs. The benchmark listing reveals that the device is powered by Snapdragon 820 SoC, and sports a full HD display.

It comes in 3GB as well as 4GB RAM options, while the internal memory is listed as 32GB. The camera department is handled by a 13MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. The phone runs Android 6.0.1 out of the box.

If you recall, there have already been rumors about a ZUK Z2 featuring a rotating camera (render shown below).

There's currently no information on whether or not the Z2 and Z2 Pro are the same handsets.

Samsung accidentally reveals version number for Android N

Google might have released a developer preview of its upcoming Android OS (currently known as Android N), but the company is yet to officially reveal what exactly will the OS be called, and what version number will it carry.

While there have already been some rumors about its official name, looks like now we have a confirmation of sorts as far as Android N's version number is concerned.

In the release notes of its MultiWindow feature SDK, Samsung - one of the search giant's high-profile Android partners - has revealed that Android N will be version 7.0. "This version has been released with Android N(7.0) compatibility," the release notes say.

So, no surprises here, as the version number is inline with previous versions - for example, Lollipop from 2014 was 5.0 and Marshmallow from 2015 was 6.0. However, we'll still have to wait for official confirmation from Google, which will reveal these details as well as more about the new OS at its I/O conference next month.

Verizon Moto X 2014 starts receiving latest Android security update

Verizon has started rolling out a new update to Motorola Moto X (2nd gen) devices on its network. As per the release notes, the update brings along the latest Android security patch.

Aside from the Android security patch, nothing else seems to be included in the update. As the roll-out has just begun, it may take some time for the update to hit your device. However, if you're feeling impatient, you can also manually check for the update by heading to theSettings menu on your device.