Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Sony X Series: Specifications, release date, price and availability

Sony's X Series of smartphones and the Xiaomi Mi 5 compare closely when their hardware is taken into consideration. Announced at the MWC, both phones are expected to hit stores in April.

The Sony X Series bought three variants of the phone, the XA, the X, and the X Performance. All variants sport a standard 5.0-inch display screen but differ in weight depending on their hardware. The line-up has the Sony Xperia XA at the base, with a MediaTek MT6755 chipset, 16GB of internal storage and a 2GB RAM. One drawback is that it doesn't have a fingerprint scanner like the other two variants in the X Series line-up.

The smartphone houses a 13MP camera at the back and an 8MP camera on the front. Powered by a 2,300mAh battery, the Xperia XA will ship with Android's Marshmallow 6.0.1 loaded on it. The other two variants in the Sony X Series' lineup, the Xperia X and Xperia X Performance come with a Snapdragon 650 chipset and a Snapdragon 820 chipset respectively.

Both handsets come with a 3GB RAM, offer 32GB of internal storage which you can expand with a micro-SD card, and are powered by a 2,620mAh battery which is smaller than the 3,000mAh one the Mi 5 has.

What's interesting is that Sony has included a 23MP rear camera in both the higher-spec variants that uses 'Predictive Hybrid Autofocus', a technology that lets you find and follow moving objects for a crisp image. The front camera on both variants is a 13MP camera, and both the Xperia X and Xperia X Performance have a fingerprint scanner on the front face on the bottom.

Also See: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs LG G5: Specifications, features and price details you must know

The two higher variants also offer stereo loudspeakers for better playback and will ship with Android's Marshmallow 6.0.1 loaded onto them.

The Sony X Series phones will be available to choose from the colors of Graphite Black, White, Lime Gold and Rose Gold and its price remains undisclosed until its official launch.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 is currently available for purchase in China and will be available for purchase in April for around $606. Its specifications are very similar to Sony's 'X Performance' variant, except for the camera of course.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 has a slightly larger screen than Sony's X Series phones at 5.15-inch. The phone is lighter than all three variants of the 'X Series' line-up, weighing 119 grams, that's 8 grams lighter than the base model Xperia XA, which is 137 grams. The Mi5 is also 0.6 mm thinner than the Sony phones.

Xiaomi launched the Mi 5 in three variants just like the Sony X Series, the Mi 5 Standard version, the Mi 5 High-end version and the Mi 5 Pro version. All versions come with a Snapdragon 820 chipset but offer different storage, processors, and speeds.

The Standard version offers 32GB storage, a 3GB RAM, and two dual core Kyro processors that clock speeds of 1.8GHz and 1.6GHz each. The High-end version comes with 64GB storage, a 3GB RAM, and two dual-core Kyro processors that offer better speeds of 2.5GHz and 1.6GHz each.

The Pro version comes with 128GB storage and the same processor speeds as the High-end version and offers a 4GB RAM, better than both the others.

All Mi 5 phones come along with an Adreno 530 GPU and support dual-SIM usage. The phones come with a 16MP camera at the back and a 4MP camera on the front. The back housing of the Standard and High-end versions of the Mi 5 are made from 3D glass while the 'Pro version' has a ceramic housing.

All versions come with a fingerprint scanner and a 3,000mAh battery. The phones will be available for purchase in the colors of Black, White, Gold, and Ceramic.

We expect the Sony Xperia X series phones to be a little more expensive than the Xiaomi Mi 5, if you compare the highest-spec model of both, that is the Xperia X Performace and the Mi 5 Pro version. If you think you would do justice to a 23MP camera on the phone, the X Series would be an obvious pick. Although, the Mi 5 does offer high specifications and looks which may make it a widely picked choice between the two.

Source: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs Sony X Series: Specifications, release date, price and availability

Quick S7 release earns Samsung surprise profit

by Jungah Lee, 2016-04-08 05:57:03.0

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit after the early release of Galaxy S7 smartphones gave it a head-start on Apple and Chinese rivals and helped counter an industry downturn.

Operating income rose to 6.6-trillion won ($5.7bn) in the quarter ended-March, the world's largest maker of phones and memory chips said in preliminary results released on Thursday. That compares with the 5.5-trillion won average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Samsung debuted its high-end smartphones in March, about a month earlier than last year, with sales of the S7 line-up estimated to have hit 9-million units during their first month — triple those of the S6 in the same time frame. "The biggest reason for the sharply improved profitability is largely due to much lower marketing spending for the mobile business," said Yoo Eui Hyung, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. "The big disparity between the earlier profit estimates and the latest revisions stems entirely from the mobile business.

"The faster release surely helped, but it's dubious whether the S7 can continue to surprise the market in the longer run."

The shares finished 1.3% lower at 1,269,000 won in Seoul. The stock fell for a third straight year last year. Sales were 49-trillion won in the quarter, Samsung said, compared with the 48.8-trillion won analysts expected.

Most of Samsung's revenue is in phones, a decelerating market in which it also competes with Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. Smartphone sales this year are expected to rise by a single-digit percentage for the first time, according to Gartner.

"The first-quarter earnings have already reached its peak for this year and it will only go lower from here," Greg Roh, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities in Seoul, said, citing depressed industry demand.

Operating profit at the mobile unit probably rose 19% to 3.25-trillion won in the first quarter, according to the median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The popularity of the S7 and a refreshed portfolio of cheaper Galaxy models, such as the A and J series, have given the division's earnings a shot in the arm.

Samsung is continuing to reduce the number of phones in its line-up as it tries to cut spending and focus on competitive devices. Total smartphone shipments for the first three months were estimated at 78-million, compared with 82-million units during the peak holiday quarter, according to four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

"We expect Samsung's Galaxy S7 to be the world's best-selling Android smartphone in 2016,"said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. "Samsung's range of lower-cost models, like the J series, is also selling well." Operating income at the semiconductor business probably fell about 15% to 2.5-trillion won in the first quarter on sales of 11.5-trillion won, according to the analyst survey. The S7's introduction did little to boost earnings at that unit because it came with few significant chip upgrades.

The unit had been Samsung's main driver of profit since 2014,when it began shifting its focus towards chips and displays to offset declining phones and TVs.

To revive its margins, the Galaxy maker started the mass production of more advanced dynamic-random-access-memory from February. Its new process shrinks circuit widths, which reduces the size of the chip, to produce more from each slice of silicon wafer and boost profit.

The company's display division, which also makes screens using organic light-emitting diodes for Samsung's high-end smartphones and Chinese clients, probably posted an operating loss of 160-billion won, according to the Bloomberg survey.

The slower-than-expected pace at which Samsung's moving to advanced LCD production technology is also hurting the business.

Bloomberg

EARLY BIRD: Samsung Electronics posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit after the early release of Galaxy S7 smartphones. Picture: REUTERS/KIM HONG

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit after the early release of Galaxy S7 smartphones gave it a head-start on Apple and Chinese rivals and helped counter an industry downturn.

Operating income rose to 6.6-trillion won ($5.7bn) in the quarter ended-March, the world's largest maker of phones and memory chips said in preliminary results released on Thursday. That compares with the 5.5-trillion won average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Samsung debuted its high-end smartphones in March, about a month earlier than last year, with sales of the S7 line-up estimated to have hit 9-million units during their first month — triple those of the S6 in the same time frame. "The biggest reason for the sharply improved profitability is largely due to much lower marketing spending for the mobile business," said Yoo Eui Hyung, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. "The big disparity between the earlier profit estimates and the latest revisions stems entirely from the mobile business.

"The faster release surely helped, but it's dubious whether the S7 can continue to surprise the market in the longer run."

The shares finished 1.3% lower at 1,269,000 won in Seoul. The stock fell for a third straight year last year. Sales were 49-trillion won in the quarter, Samsung said, compared with the 48.8-trillion won analysts expected.

Most of Samsung's revenue is in phones, a decelerating market in which it also competes with Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. Smartphone sales this year are expected to rise by a single-digit percentage for the first time, according to Gartner.

"The first-quarter earnings have already reached its peak for this year and it will only go lower from here," Greg Roh, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities in Seoul, said, citing depressed industry demand.

Operating profit at the mobile unit probably rose 19% to 3.25-trillion won in the first quarter, according to the median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The popularity of the S7 and a refreshed portfolio of cheaper Galaxy models, such as the A and J series, have given the division's earnings a shot in the arm.

Samsung is continuing to reduce the number of phones in its line-up as it tries to cut spending and focus on competitive devices. Total smartphone shipments for the first three months were estimated at 78-million, compared with 82-million units during the peak holiday quarter, according to four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

"We expect Samsung's Galaxy S7 to be the world's best-selling Android smartphone in 2016,"said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. "Samsung's range of lower-cost models, like the J series, is also selling well." Operating income at the semiconductor business probably fell about 15% to 2.5-trillion won in the first quarter on sales of 11.5-trillion won, according to the analyst survey. The S7's introduction did little to boost earnings at that unit because it came with few significant chip upgrades.

The unit had been Samsung's main driver of profit since 2014,when it began shifting its focus towards chips and displays to offset declining phones and TVs.

To revive its margins, the Galaxy maker started the mass production of more advanced dynamic-random-access-memory from February. Its new process shrinks circuit widths, which reduces the size of the chip, to produce more from each slice of silicon wafer and boost profit.

The company's display division, which also makes screens using organic light-emitting diodes for Samsung's high-end smartphones and Chinese clients, probably posted an operating loss of 160-billion won, according to the Bloomberg survey.

The slower-than-expected pace at which Samsung's moving to advanced LCD production technology is also hurting the business.

Bloomberg

Source: Quick S7 release earns Samsung surprise profit

Have you got it yet? Android Marshmallow doubles its share on smartphones

Android Marshmallow hits 4.6 percent adoption.

Google

Android 6.0 Marshmallow adoption is finally ramping up with April delivering the largest rise in adoption since its release in October.

Marshmallow has exactly doubled its share of the billion Android phones connecting to Google Play, up from 2.3 percent in March to 4.6 percent in April.

As always on Android, the shift to a new version of Android a slow process. The story was similar for Lollipop, which reached 5.4 percent in April last year.

Android upgrades are an unwieldy and sluggish process. After Google releases a new version, it goes to handset makers, which then spend several months customising, testing and coordinating with carriers, before the phone companies serve it up to a subset of devices. The exception is Android One devices, though they're a minor part of the overall Android footprint.

It means that seven months after Google released Marshmallow, only a limited set of device owners have experienced features such as Now on Tap, and the new per-app permission controls.

For now, Android Lollipop 5.0/5.1 is the most widely used version of Android, followed by KitKat 4.4 at 33.4 percent, and Jelly Bean at 21.3 percent. The only version to change by more than one percent in either direction was Marshmallow.

Google's three most recent versions of Android account for 73.8 percent of Android smartphones. The figures are based on devices that connected to Google Play in the seven days to April 4.

The bumper month is the result of new flagships arriving, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7, as well as several major Android OEMs and US carriers kicking off Marshmallow updates to last year's flagships in March.

Samsung, which has the largest number of Android users, began the Marshmallow update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge in February, and plans to update earlier Galaxy models too at some point this year. These updates, and the recent arrival of LG's G5 and forthcoming availability of Huawei's P9, should see Marshmallow adoption pick up pace in coming months.

More on Android
Source: Have you got it yet? Android Marshmallow doubles its share on smartphones

Roundup: Samsung's Q1 earnings beat estimates on early release of S7 smartphones

Samsung Electronics on Thursday announced better-than-expected first-quarter earnings thanks to an early release of its high-end Galaxy smartphones that gained great popularity worldwide.

Operating profit was 6.6 trillion won (5.7 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-March period, up 10.37 percent from the same period of last year, the company said in a statement for preliminary earnings results. The revised figure will be announced later this month after auditing and approval by board of directors.

The first-quarter profit beat a market consensus of about 5.6 trillion won. Market expectations for Samsung profit had been recently revised up from 5.2 trillion won.

The better-than-expected earnings came as Samsung released Galaxy S7 smartphones in March, around a month earlier than last year's debut of S6 smartphones.

No delay was found in production of curved displays for S7 Edge this year. Delayed production last year of wrap-around screens for its previous version helped cause a sales slowdown.

Global sales of Galaxy S7 smartphones are reportedly estimated to have surpassed 10 million units since its debut on March 11, more than triple those of the S6-version phones during the first month.

Preliminary figure for revenue was estimated at 49 trillion won in the first quarter, up 3.99 percent from a year earlier. The preliminary figures don't include net income and breakdown on earnings of each division.

The first-quarter revenue, however, was down 8.10 percent from the previous quarter, missing market expectations of at least 50 trillion won. It led to pessimistic views over whether Samsung can maintain a trend of improved earnings in the next quarter.

The mobile phone business, on which Samsung heavily depends for most of its revenue, has slumped amid the industry-wide downturn in the saturated market. Competition became fiercer due to challenges from Chinese rivals such as Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Corp.

Samsung's archrival Apple is expected to release its new iPhone series in the second half, raising possibility for Samsung's fall in smartphone sales later this year.

Apple's cheaper model iPhone SE will go on sale in the second quarter, which is expected to do damage to Samsung's low-end smartphone sales such as the A and J series.

Meanwhile, the better-than-expected operating profit for Samsung was partly attributable to the foreign exchange market effect during the first quarter when South Korea's currency depreciated versus the U.S. dollar.

The won/dollar exchange rate jumped from 1,172.5 per dollar at the beginning of this year to 1,241 won on late February. It fell again to 1,140.5 won on March 31.

The upward trend for the first two months of this year may have helped Samsung boost its operating profit, a temporary effect that can disappear at any time according to the foreign exchange market moves.

Samsung's operating profit at its mobile unit was estimated at about 3.5 trillion won in the first quarter, which would be the first mark above 3 trillion won in seven quarters.

The semiconductor business, however, was estimated to have seen a fall in its first-quarter operating profit due to falling chip prices, while the display panel unit was estimated to have posted an operating loss. Endit

Source: Roundup: Samsung's Q1 earnings beat estimates on early release of S7 smartphones

Samsung is Reportedly Planning to Release a Foldable Smartphone/Tablet Next Year

According to GSM Arena, citing past rumors noted that the Samsung's foldable device would be a 5-inch smartphone in folded form, which would become a 7-inch tablet when un-folded or opened.

If it does come, it could be very expensive though given the innovative tech which we haven't seen before. A new foldable phone is about to get released in 2017. Presently, it would appear that the gadget won't be coming this year. "We are discussing with our partners about the mass production and release of this product", said Lee Chang-Hoon, Director of Samsung display.

Past rumors with regard to the specs stated that Samsung was testing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 and 820 processors and will be using a 3GB RAM.

According to ETNews - whom we don't believe participates in April Fools jokes - Samsung is looking to being producing this folding smartphone design by the end of this year, with a launch sometime in 2017.

Curved displays are just starting to go mainstream, led by companies like Samsung and LG with the Galaxy edge and G Flex. There is some speculation that the bendable OLED would enable the device to be folded in half like a wallet.

And while the idea of foldable smartphones or tablets has been ventured into by various tech companies such as Sony, Kyocera and Japanese maker NEC, all of the foldable devices (either tablet or smartphone) released had two touchscreens or displays.

We haven't heard of a clamor for foldable devices yet, but if and when they actually announce something, a lot of people will probably find it interesting, as most are always on the lookout for something new.

At this stage no one else has made a smartphone with a foldable OLED screen, and Samsung can demonstrate its continued commitment to innovation if it is the first to do so.

Source: Samsung is Reportedly Planning to Release a Foldable Smartphone/Tablet Next Year

Bollywood Studios Eye Profits at Last as India Goes Smartphone Mad

India's all-singing, all-dancing movie hits capture the attention of hundreds of millions of fans - but they generate precious little in box office profits for the world's largest cinema industry.

Now, with smartphone sales booming and India preparing for nationwide 4G Internet access, India's film and TV industry hopes the ease of tapping your phone for the latest release will generate profits at last, overcoming the problems of woefully few cinemas and rampant piracy.

India has about 10,000 cinema screens across a country of 1.3 billion - 8 for every million people, compared with 120 in the United States and 30 in China, according to digital film distribution network UFO Moviez.

That low density means that for most Indians, pirated content is the only way to see movies, costing the industry some 30 percent of potential annual gross collections.

"Even if we can manage to get a small fraction of the people to pay on their phones, you are looking at a market that can potentially become bigger than the box office," said Girish Johar, head of revenue at Essel Vision Production, part of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, one of India's largest media groups.

The profit boost for studios will in large part be driven by the rush for local-language content from platforms like Netflix Inc, which launched in India this year and is aggressively adding to its Hindi-language catalogue.

Homegrown rivals, though keen to forge partnerships with online streaming companies, are introducing their own platforms, a new revenue stream for production firms that earn little from either cinemas or DVD sales.

And the numbers add up.

Seven out of 10 Indians watch at least one online video a month, and in the next three years nearly 90 percent of all Internet data in India is expected to be used towards streaming movies and television.

Paying upKey to the boom is cheap, fast, mobile broadband nationwide, which this year promises to bring millions online, even outside big cities.

That means better viewing - and easier payment.

India's cash-rich Reliance Industries is expected to roll out one of the world's largest 4G networks this year when it launches its Jio mobile network.

To keep up, incumbent players Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular are cutting Internet charges and building out their own high-speed data networks.

The results are good already for providers like YouTube, which says Indian usage has soared, outpacing global peers, thanks to mobile traffic which more than doubled last year.

"Traditional film and TV content still continues to drive massive watch time ... while studio-made songs, movies and clips continue to be some of the most popular content nationwide," said Gautam Anand, YouTube's Asia Pacific director of operations.

Lights, camera ... cash!The hope is that cheap, convenient content, perhaps 25 rupees (37 U.S. cents) for a movie streamed to your phone, will make piracy redundant.

Of course, getting cash out of the consumer remains a challenge, and subscription is an untested model.

"In the US, everybody has been paying for content but in India people don't pay as easily," said Gaurav Gandhi, chief operating officer of Viacom18, a venture between U.S. group Viacom and Reliance. Indians feel they pay for data, so the content should be free, he says.

But the growing use of phones as credit cards, to pay for small purchases, will help.

So too, say industry insiders, will unique content.

"We have to come up with our own model and a large part of that would rest in creating unique content for online," said Radhika Kapoor, head of content Fox Star studios India that runs the Hotstar streaming platform.

Others argue the secret will be ad-driven content, that can be provided free. Indeed, getting users to stay loyal to one platform to leverage subscription revenue might be challenging, but getting advertisers interested is not.

Global advertising spends on digital media is likely to grow to 36 percent by 2020 compared with 21 percent in 2010, and consultancy Deloitte's Hemant Joshi says India will lead the trend with digital ad spending likely to grow more than 400 percent to 354 billion rupees ($5.3 billion) in the next five years.

"We have seen that advertisers get better reach through mobiles in India simply because there are more phones than TV screens," Joshi says. "That will only multiply."

© Thomson Reuters 2016

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Source: Bollywood Studios Eye Profits at Last as India Goes Smartphone Mad

Walmart Smartphone Deals: Buy 1 iPhone and another for 50% Discount

The deal also applies to Samsung smartphones. The smartphone users can avail the discount only through a prepaid MasterCard card.

This promotion means interested buyers should line up at Walmart stores because the discounted iPhones will not be available for purchase online. Many latest devices like Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and all the latest models of Apple are available with an offer useful to save your money. The customer will have to go all the way down to the nearest Walmart retail outlet in order to grab the deal.

"The discount is factored into user's monthly installment plan", reported Australia Networks.

Could it be that Apple will advance its iPhone 7 release date plans as giant retailer Walmart begins offering generous price cutbacks for all existing iPhone models, the 6S and SE including? Walmart is a promotional campaign for Samsung phones with a huge US$150 discount. But for Apple fans, holding out for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus could prove unnecessary as Walmart's $100 price off is in effect across the board - all iPhones on the store shelves will see the discount. Audio was "permanently muffled and distorted" after the dunking, but the Samsung phones still outlasted Apple's iPhones in SquareTrade's water tests.

On the other hand, T-Mobile will not be included because it already launched another promo of its own where consumers can buy particular Apple iPhone models for only half their prices.

Meanwhile, a patent application filed by Samsung and first spotted by Patently Mobile, shows an all-new dual OS hybrid device with an internal powering dock. So if you have not purchased iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus or iPhone SE then it can be the right time. Both the models come in native storage versions of 32 GB and 64 GB.

The mentioned smartphone deals from Walmart would be available for around three months through the end of June.

Source: Walmart Smartphone Deals: Buy 1 iPhone and another for 50% Discount