Watch Xiaomi Mi 5 crack and pop under pressure

JerryRigEverything has come up with somewhat a standardized durability test for smartphones and he does it quite often. He first tests the scratch endurance of the shell, then the flame resistance of the screen, and finally - the bend test.

Xiaomi Mi 5 uses two Gorilla Glass 4 pieces on its front and rear side and their scratch resistance is on par with the rest if the flagship crop. Its camera is protected by a sapphire piece, which is resistant to scratches, too.

The aluminum is rather easy to scratch - that's for sure. But as it turns out the Mi 5 lacks a secondary metal chassis to hold the insides and uses a cheap aluminum for the one and only frame. The consequences? Watch the video below.

As it turns out the Xiaomi Mi 5 is one of the easiest-to-bent smartphones out there due to the single and lower-grade aluminum frame that's supposed to hold everything in place.

We are not great fans of bend tests, because every phone is bound to break when plenty of force is applied, but this test sheds some light on why the Mi 5 is cheaper and lighter than other competitors.

Samsung Gear 360 goes on pre-order in South Korea and Europe, costs €350

Samsung Gear 360 camera was introduced back at the MWC in Barcelona as part of the Galaxy S7 lineup of accessories. The exact pricing and availability was left out of the announcement, but it seems the sales of the round fella will be kicking off very soon.

The Gear 360 camera is now available on pre-order in South Korea, Samsung's homeland. It costs KRW 399,300 (€320) and will be released on April 29. Those who pre-order the VR camera will also receive a 5,100 mAh battery pack for free.

Samsung Gear 360 is already available on pre-order in the Netherlands, too. A retailer there has listed the camera for €419 and it is supposed to ship on May 22.

The official page of Samsung Netherlands details the Gear 360 camera and confirms its retail price to be €350, which means Samsung is essentially lowering the price ahead of the official European launch. Even better, Samsung is already letting you book the Gear 360 in its Experience Store in Amsterdam at that price.

Samsung Z3 is 20% off in India, going for $105

The best Tizen phone and, uh, also the third one ever (not counting watches), the Samsung Z3, is currently 20% off in India on the Big Three etailers - Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart.

The phone goes for a hair under INR 7,000 ($105), having launched at INR 8,500 ($130) in October last year.

Snapdeal has the Black, Silver and Gold versions, so does Flipkart (but the silver one is a smidgen pricier). Amazon is running low on Gold units, which are the only ones under INR 7,000, Silver and Black cost a couple of hundred INR more.

Samsung Galaxy A (2016) promo videos are out - A for You

Samsung has just posted a set of videos on YouTube promoting this year's Galaxy A-series under the tagline "A for you" (A4U, millennials?). From the A3 (2016) to the A9 (2016) they all share the same glass/metal build, and that's the first thing the PR team has highlighted.

Almost the entire range has the same camera too - they all rock the 13MP f/1.9 unit with OIS, save for the A3, which has been denied stabilization. That won't stop you from photographing kittens, though.

And they all have the fingerprint sensor in their home buttons, allowing them to support Samsung Pay - until recently reserved for the flagships only

First Xiaomi Max render leaks

Last week, we told you about the existence of a Xiaomi phablet dubbed Max. Shortly thereafter, another leak surfaced online allegedly showing off the front panel of the device. And now, the first render of the handset has been leaked.

The image shows a device with thin bezels, a hardware home button (which wasn't there in the front panel leak, and might house a fingerprint sensor), and volume and power buttons on the right side. Design-wise the phone looks quite similar to the Chinese company's Mi 5 flagship.

As for the specs, nothing much is known at the moment, except the rumored massive 6.4-inch screen size, QHD display, SD820 SoC, and a May launch.

Huawei P9 Lite now spotted at TENAA

The Huawei P9 Lite - which is yet to be announced by the company, but is already available for purchase in some European markets - has now been spotted on the website of Chinese telecommunication authority TENAA, suggesting an imminent launch in the Asian country.

The listing reveals that the device is powered by an octa-core 2.0Ghz chipset, and sports a 5.2-inch 1080p display. It comes with 3GB RAM and 16GB expandable internal memory, and packs in a 2,900mAh battery.

In terms of camera, the P9 Lite features a 13MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. Measuring 146.8×72.6×7.5 and weighing in at 143g, the device runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. Color options include gold, white, and black.

Sony rumored to launch Xperia M Ultra with 6-inch display, 23MP/16MP camera combo

According to a new rumor out of China, Sony will launch a new smartphone dubbed Xperia M Ultra. Specs-wise, the device is said to be powered by Snapdragon 652 chipset, and sport a 6-inch full HD display.

The device will have 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, and pack in a large 4,280mAh battery. The camera department will be handled by a 23MP rear unit and a 16MP selfie shooter. It is also said to feature a USB Type-C port and a fingerprint sensor.

Aside from the the Xperia M Ultra, the Japanese company is also rumored to launch the successor to last year's Xperia C5 Ultra - allegedly dubbed Xperia C6 Ultra. Needless to say, none of this has been officially confirmed, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Huawei P9 Lite forgets it hasn't been announced, goes on sale

The P9 Lite is currently Huawei's worst kept secret. For whatever reason, the Chinese company decided not to unveil it alongside the P9 and P9 Plus, yet it's been spotted in many places recently. We've seen it offered by a Romanian retailer, and then we got some info about its pricing in Belgium.

Now the Huawei P9 Lite has been listed by a German online retailer, in three color versions. You can pick one up sans contract for €299, or you can grab a plan from a carrier alongside it and pay as little as €4.95 upfront.

The listing also mentions some of the phone's specs. The P9 Lite has a 1080p touchscreen, 16GB of expandable storage, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash, and it runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Huawei's EMUI 4.1 on top. Its dimensions are 146.8 x 72.6 x 7.5 mm, and it weighs 147g.

According to past leaks and rumors, the P9 Lite's screen should be 5.2" in size, and the handset will be powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 650 chipset, aided by 2GB of RAM. A 5 MP selfie camera and a 3,000 mAh battery should also be present.

If you're in Germany and order one from the Source link below, do note that deliveries are set to start during the 19th week of the year. That starts on May 9 and ends on May 15.

Microsoft Lumia 650 finally lands at Cricket on May 6 for $129.99

It's been more than two months since the Lumia 650 got official, and on the same day that happened Microsoft basically confirmed that it would be headed to Cricket in the US. And today we finally get the full availability details from the prepaid carrier.

It turns out that Cricket will have an exclusive on the Lumia 650, so you won't be able to purchase the device from any other carrier. Obviously you can still buy an unlocked unit though.

Anyway, Cricket will be selling the handset from May 6, and it's priced it at $129.99. As is obvious, you're not going to sign any long-term contracts to grab it at that price.

The Lumia 650 is the successor to the Lumia 640 from last year - which, incidentally, was also offered by Cricket. It comes with a 5-inch 720p OLED touchscreen, an 8 MP main camera with a LED flash, a 5 MP selfie shooter, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 212 powering things (with a 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU), 1GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and a 2,000 mAh battery. It runs Windows 10 Mobile.

Alcatel POP 7 LTE is only $130 at T-Mobile, available now

T-Mobile stores all over the US are gearing up for the launch of the Alcatel POP 7 LTE tablet. Alcatel brings you affordable hardware to get you connected and the company's newest 7 inch tablet comes with Android Marshmallow right out of the box. Marshmallow brings features like improved battery life, Google Now on Tap, and overall performance optimizations.

POP 7 LTE Key Features Include:
• 7-inch Display (1024x600 pixels) with Oleophobic Coating
• 1.1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Quad-Core Processor
• Android 6.0 Operating System
• 5MP Fixed-Focus Main Camera + 2MP Fixed-Focus Front Camera
• 1GB of RAM + 8GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB with MicroSD)
• 4G LTE Cat 4 (Bands 2/4/12)
• 3240mAh battery

Alcatel is currently the 4th ranking mobile phone manufacturer in the US, which is mostly thanks to its focus on providing affordable products to its customers. Likely, the POP 7 LTE tablet won’t get you many “oohs” or “ahhs” but it will get you an affordable tablet option that won’t break the bank. Such a tablet could be most suitable for a child or elderly person. Even for anyone who has never owned a smart device before.

You can get the Alcatel POP 7 LTE for just $5.42 per month for 24 months or you can buy it outright. If you already have a T-Mobile account, you can add a tablet line for $10 which includes 2GB of data for tablets. Note that this 2GB of data also includes BingeOn and Music Freedom. Meaning you can stream and watch all the internet video you want without running out of data. Now with YouTube being a part of BingeOn it’s become a really good deal.

The European Commission charges Google for abuse of dominant position

The European Commission has released a preliminary view that accuses Google of breaching EU antitrust rules by abusing its dominant position on the market. According to the Commission, Google has been imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators.

The State of Objectitions sent to Google say that the company has implemented a strategy on smartphones and tablets to preserve and strengthen its dominance in internet search. The reason behind this view is that Google Search is the preinstalled, set as the default, and in some cases exclusive search service in most Android devices in Europe.

The Commission considers that Google is dominant in the markets for general internet search services, licensable smart mobile operating systems and app stores for the Android mobile operating system.

There are also some remakrs regarding Google's attitude towards manufacturers. The company requires them to pre-install Google Search and Google Chrome browser, as well as settings Search as the default service on these devices, in order to have license to use proprietary Google software. Also Google doesn't allow manufacturers to sell smartphones or tablets running custom OS that's based on the Android open source code.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, says:

A competitive mobile internet sector is increasingly important for consumers and businesses in Europe. Based on our investigation thus far, we believe that Google's behaviour denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation by other players, in breach of EU antitrust rules. These rules apply to all companies active in Europe. Google now has the opportunity to reply to the Commission's concerns."

In a response to the preliminary view, Google's senior vice president and general counsel, Kent Walker, said:

Android has helped foster a remarkable and, importantly, sustainable ecosystem, based on open-source software and open innovation. We look forward to working with the European Commission.

Google has been given 12 weeks to respond. If found guilty, the company will face a salty fine and most likely be required to change its practices.

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) already available for purchase in Europe

When the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) and Galaxy J5 (2016) were made official last month, there was no word on whether or not they'll be available outside of China. There have been reports since that the new J5 will be launched in Europe soon and now we learn the J7 is already on sale in the region.

Samsung Spain currently has the device listed on its official website for €299, and it's in stock, too. Curiously though, the model listed on the Spanish website has a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 (HD) and 2GB RAM, compared to the full HD display and 3GB RAM that were revealed when the phone was unveiled. The OS, on the other hand, has been upgraded to Marshmallow.

After Spain, France could be the next launch country for the new J series smartphones as Samsung's official website there is already listing support pages for SM-J510FN - a Galaxy J5 (2016) model. The handsets should make their way to other European markets as well, although we'll have to wait for some sort of official confirmation from Samsung on this.