LG launches contest to win an LG G5 in the Philippines

LG quietly launched a contest being held in the Philippines. Using the hashtag #BestLGG5Friend, you can enter to win one of three LG G5 smartphones. All you need to do is post the image below on either Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and finish the following sentence:

“My #BestLGG5Friend is_______”.

You must choose from one of the accessories shown in the image and explain why it you think it’s the best “friend” to the LG G5. These accessories include:

• LG Rolling Bot
• LG 360 CAM
• LG 360 VR
• LG CAM Plus
• LG Action CAM
• LG Hi-Fi Plus
• B&O Play
• LG Tone Platinum

You are allowed to post multiple entries with different “friends” as long as they aren’t the same as another of your entries.

It doesn’t really matter what you say since winners will be chosen at random. Entries are being accepted since March 4 all the way through March 30 until 4:59PM to qualify for the promotion. Entries that are missing either the image, the hashtag, or lacking 3 tagged friends will be automatically disqualified from the contest.

The official winner will be announced via LG’s official Philippines Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Buy two Chromecast Audio units, save $15

Google is currently running a neat promotion for its Chromecast Audio dongle in its online store for hardware in the US. The Chromecast Audio is normally priced at $35, but now you can get it cheaper.

The only thing you need to do is buy two. Yes, Google will sell you a two-pack of Chromecast Audio devices for just $55. So you save $15. That's obviously not much, but then again the Chromecast Audio isn't an expensive gadget in the first place.

The discount is applied automatically as soon as you add two Chromecast Audio units to your cart, so you don't need to copy a promo code or anything like that. It's unclear how long this deal will last, though, so if you're interested you'd better act fast.

The Chromecast Audio exists in order to connect the non-smart speakers you already have lying around the house. It basically has the same capabilities as the 'video' Chromecast, but it's for speakers only. Hi-res playback and multi-room support are a go too, ever since an update hit it in December.

LG G5 lands in Canada on April 8

The LG G5 is going to become available for purchase in Canada in exactly one month from today, namely on April 8. This information has apparently been made official by the Korean company itself, so it's straight from the horse's mouth as they say.

The G5 will be offered by all the major Canadian carriers (Bell, Telus, and Rogers), but also smaller companies such as Eastlink, MTS, SaskTel, Videotron, and Wind Mobile. Rogers' Fido brand will get in on the action too. So you'll pretty much be able to grab a G5 regardless of what your carrier of choice happens to be. As for third-party retailers, expect to see the G5 in stock at Best Buy, The Source, Costco, and Wireless Wave.

If you pre-order a G5 from Rogers or Fido, you'll receive the Cam Plus camera grip accessory for free (while supplies last). Unfortunately pricing information hasn't yet been announced by any of the aforementioned carriers and retailers, but surely that's coming soon.

The LG G5 should be released globally in "early April", with April 8 and Canada being the first confirmed launch date and country. It might just be that April 8 will be the big G5 day in other places too, but we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, make sure you check out our detailed hands-on preview of the phone.

State of Android: Marshmallow and Lollipop keep growing market share

Last month Android 6.0 Marshmallow finally broke past the 1% mark in Google's market share report. It doubled its spread since December, but now its growth is finally picking up. In fact, at the beginning of March Android 6.0 was on 2.3% of devices out there, so it's grown by more than 100% in one month or so. Hopefully this means it will get its market share into the double digits soon.

Lollipop has finally become the most used version of the OS, taking KitKat's place with 36.1% of the market compared to 34.3%. While Lollipop has grown 2% from the previous report, KitKat has lost 1.2% of the pie. And it's bound to go down even more.

Jelly bean now has 22.3% market share, Ice Cream Sandwich is down to 2.3%, while Gingerbread is at 2.6% and Froyo's still holding on to 0.1% of the market.

In the coming months more and more devices should be graced with updates to Marshmallow, so that version will obviously keep on growing. So too should Lollipop, while every other Android release is basically on the way out now - if incredibly slowly.

HTC USA slashes the One A9 price by $100, get it only today for $399

HTC One A9 - the company's premium metal-clad mid-ranger - is now at a discounted price. HTC USA is selling the One A9 for $399 instead of the regular $499.

All One A9 models are available at the lower price - you can choose between the unlocked flavor, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint. The paint job options you can choose from are Carbon Gray, Opal Silver, Deep garnet, and Topaz Gold.

The $100 discount is valid only for today, and it's applied once you add the One A9 to your shopping basket.

LeEco Le 2 gets a round of leaked images, has specs outed too

You may have heard of LeEco (formerly LeTV) when it became the first company to sell a smartphone powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset. In the meantime, many more handsets have chosen to employ that particular chip, but LeEco is apparently hard at work on its next device.

This is allegedly going to be called Le 2, which might mean it's been created as the successor to the Le 1s. The pictures you can see below (click the thumbnails to look at the full-size versions) are said to be of the Le 2, covering a decent amount of angles.

The LeEco Le 2 will reportedly sport either the Snapdragon 820 or the MediaTek Helio X20 chipset (there will be two variants), along with 4GB of RAM and a 21 MP main camera. The fingerprint sensor on the back is of the ultrasonic variety, and a USB Type-C port is on board for connectivity purposes and charging. Those are unfortunately all the spec details we have for now.

Speaker grill holes can be seen on both sides of that port, which may mean the phone will have two speakers. Then again, many smartphones use similar designs but only actually ship with one speaker, with the holes on the other side being purely cosmetic. Anyway, the frame of the handset seems to be metal. Its back cover could be metal too, or maybe not - it's not easy to tell just from these shots.

If this is the real deal and it's being worked on by the Chinese smartphone maker, we expect to hear much more about the Le 2 in the coming weeks.

Verizon and T-Mobile HTC One (M8) units are now receiving Android Marshmallow

As originally promised, HTC will bring Android Marshmallow to all of its flagship handsets, going back to and including the One (M8). Today the OTA has started seeding for both the Verizon and T-Mobile carrier versions of the phone.

The former is receiving a software version 6.21.605.3 package, while the latter has the build 6.20.531.5. Both, however are based on Android 6.0 and bring about all the Marshmallow goodies Google's OS has to offer, like run time permissions, app Dozing, Google Now on Tap and many others. The software should also come with new volume controls for notifications, audio and alarms and simplified screen capture.

In other news, T-Mobile is also spreading some Marshmallow love to its more price-conscious clients, owners of the LG G Stylo. It has also started receiving an Android 6.0 OTA, already spotted in the wild with a version number of "H63120b" and weighing in at 767MB.

Bear in mind that both carriers are conducting a staged rollout of all the updates, so it might be a few days before your handset receives the payload. T-Mobile has even cited a rather lengthy update window, ranging from March 7 to March 21, so a bit more patience might still be required.

ZTE Blade V580 now official in Japan

ZTE seems to be on an announcement streak. Only hours ago, the Chinese manufacture run veiled the ZTE Blade D2 in Thailand and Vietnam and today it has a new mid-ranger to add to its lineup. It is called the Blade V580 and was made official on the company's Japanese website today. Coincidentally, however, it looks identical to the recent;y announced ZTE Blade V Plus Australia edition, so "new" is a bit of a stretch.

It is equipped with a 5.5-inch FullHD display and a 64bit MediaTek MT6753 SoC with a total of eight cores, clocked at 1.3 GHz. Memory is set at 2GB and 16GB of onboard storage. There is also a microSD card slot for up to 32GB more.

Other features on the handset include 4G LTE support and Dual SIM connectivity. There is also a fairly large 3,000 mAh battery on board, although it is not nearly as impressive as the 4,000 mAh one inside the Blade D2.

The ZTE Blade V580 has a rather modest camera setup, consisting of a 13MP main shooter and a 5MP selfie one. However, there is a fingerprint reader thrown in the mix, which is always a pleasant sight in a budget-friendly device. Other features include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS with A-GPS, the usual.

Pre-orders for the ZTE Blade V580 are going live in various online stores in Japan today and the handset will set you back JPY 27,800 ($246).

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge pre-orders now shipping in the US, UK and Europe

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge were supposed to ship to their new owners in the US, the UK and Europe this Friday, but you should expect delivery as soon as today.

This is if you have already pre-ordered, most UK retailers and carriers still show March 11 as the delivery date. Only the O2 lists "free next day delivery" if you order by 10pm.

By the way, some of you will be getting a Samsung Gear VR headset (if you ordered from Samsung, Carphone Warehouse or Vodafone).

Xiaomi's European rollout of the Mi 5 and Mi 4s will begin with Poland

The Xiaomi Mi 5 has been getting a lot of attention ever since its launch at MWC 2016 and quite justifiably so. The device is a true flagship offer with a slew of advanced features and little to no notable compromises all with a starting prices as low as $300.

Sadly, availability has outside eastern markets has always been a major problem for the Chinese OEM. However, this might change soon enough, as VP Hugo Barra seems to be making good on his long-standing promise to expand market reach of the brand to Europe.

The first step in this expansion was hinted during the unveiling of the Mi 5 and Mi 4s and now news has surfaced on the Polish version of the Xiaomi website, providing proof that the company is working on international availability.

The web page informs that the Xiaomi Mi 5 and Mi 4s will be coming to the Polish market soon. The memo also comes with a promise for additional info on timing and pricing shortly, as well as a list of the exact models that will be on offer. It appears all three variants of the flagship Mi 5 will be outed in Poland.

All three have a 5.15-inch FullHD display and a Snapdragon 820 SoC, but the entry-level one with a clock speed of 1.8 GHz, 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. The 64GB has the same amount of memory and a processor speed of 2.15GHz. The Pro simply adds another gig of RAM and a 3D ceramic back cover.

All the other impressive features of the Mi 5 are shared across the range, including the innovative 16MP camera with 4-axis OIS, 600 Mbps 4G+ connectivity, Full-featured NFC and many other goodies.

We will keep a close eye on the Polish website for any further details on pricing and availability. It is, however, clear that entering into new markets will bring the retail price of any handset up. Hopefully, it won't be too much of a premium.

Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro to have removable battery, FCC filing confirms

In one of the more unexpected turns of events, the yet-to-be-announced Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro will have a removable battery. This intriguing bit has been revealed by the US Federal Communications Commission, in one specific document, which details the certification label placement.

Often imprinted on the back itself, or an entry in the settings menu of the device (digital label), in the case of the Galaxy A9 Pro it's very much a physical paper label glued on the inside of the battery compartment.

This gives a hint as to the reason the Pro version is 10g heavier than the plain A9 (2016), needing some additional reinforcement otherwise provided by the rear panel itself. TheTENAA certification, which gave us a glimpse at the phone's looks, also said that it would be 0.5mm thicker so it all makes sense now.

What doesn't quite add up is the fact that the Chinese authority's photos do show a glass-looking back panel, and it will be interesting to see how Samsung has pulled that off. Or it could be glossy plastic, but then that wouldn't quite be up to the A-series standards.

Of course, there's the usual technical data in the papers, which you can sift through by following the Source link below.

Samsung announces the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge in India

Samsung just announced the flagship Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge in India, at an event in New Delhi.

The phones are being launched in 32GB dual SIM variant with the Exynos 8890 chipset. The Galaxy S7 is priced at INR 48,900 ($725) and the Galaxy S7 edge at INR 56,900 ($844).

Pre-bookings for both start today until March 17. Those who pre-book will get a free Gear VR with their purchase.