Lenovo’s A3800-D Costs Just 400 Yuan and Offers Quad-Core Performance
There are a lot of low-end devices available these days, but Lenovo is a name that certainly carries a little more weight than others in the segment. The A3800-D is a quad-core device powered by MediaTek’s MT6582 at 1.3 Ghz and and 512MB of RAM with 4GB of expandable storage. There’s a 4.5-inch display with a 854 x 480 display resolution here as well, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. For 400 Yuan, this is a really good price, and importers throughout Europe could look to pick this up for anywhere from €58 to €70.
Google’s Flight Search Now Available in Switzerland
Flight Search has been steadily rolling out to more and more nations throughout the world over the past few weeks, and now it’s heading to Switzerland as well. A big piece of the Google Now puzzle, Flight Search helps people plan trips using Google Calendar, find good prices on flights and generally make it a heck of a lot easier to figure out which flight is the best one to get. It’s a great way of making sure you get a good deal on your flight and helps to take the stress out of flying. For more info, the Google Travel blog has the announcement.
Vodafone Asks for Banking Permit in India
Vodafone India has asked the Reserve Bank of India to be allowed to accept deposits, but not lend customers any money. This comes as the RBI has received 41 applications similar, as well as 72 applications for what are being called “small finance banks”. If Vodafone is granted a Banking Permit, then it would allow them to launch basic services for their millions of customers, and presumably help them put together a payments service, offering one more service to their customers. Mobile payments are set to take off in India as phones get cheaper and cheaper, and networks are steadily rolling out better data coverage.
Xiaomi to Launch MiPad in Malaysia Starting February 10th
The MiPad is an interesting product of Xiaomi’s, it doesn’t seem to be all that popular, but it’s put together using some amazing components. Like the NVIDIA Tegra K1 and a Full HD 7.9-inch IPS display from Sharp. Not only that, but it’s available in a range of fun colors and it’s portable enough to take with you wherever you want to go. Now, it’s heading to Malaysia starting February 10th, and will cost RM 799. Those interested should keep an eye on the Mi Malaysia launch page.
Motorola’s Nexus 6 Now Ships with the Turbo Charger in Australia
When Motorola launched the Nexus 6 in Australia, customers were understandably quite excited, but they were arriving without that killer Turbo Charger. Instead, there was a slip of paper explaining to customers that the Turbo Charger isn’t ready for the Australian market and they will be able to redeem a code for one at a later date. Those chargers have yet to ship, but as AusDroid is reporting, new customers are apparently seeing a Turbo Charger in the box. Never mind our yanky version pictured above, the Australian version has now been tweaked to meet Australian regulations. This is nice to see, as the Turbo Charger is arguably one of the best chargers available (if your device supports it of course).
Nexian Journey One Launches With Android 5.1 Lollipop in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia
Earlier in the week, we reported that Android One is launching in Indonesia with Android 5.1 Lollipop onboard. While we’ve heard nothing official from Google yet, it seems that Android 5.1 is the next version of Lollipop. The Nexian Journey One is one of those devices recently launched as part of Android One, and it’s essentially a rebranded Spice device, which will also be on sale in Sri Lanka as well Nepal. Specs wise, this is a quad-core device with a 4.5-inch 854 x 480 display with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of expandable storage and a 5-megapixel camera.
Huawei Opens R&D Facility in Bangalore
Huawei is a big name throughout Asia, and they’ve been active in India for quite some time, with a research facility in Bangalore since 1999. Now, they’ve just moved into a new, larger campus in Whitefield, Bangalore. This new facility takes up 20 acres land and measures one million square feet. It’ll accommodate up to 5,000 engineers and of course includes and R&D division as well as a customer experience center and residential areas, too. This new campus has apparently cost Huawei a sizable $170 Million US investment in the nation. It’s Huawei’s largest research facility outside of China, and should help Huawei become a bigger brand in India over the next decade.
Oppo’s N3 and super-thin R5 Now Available to Order in Australia
Oppo has been promising that they’ll be bringing devices to Australia for a while now, and the R5 and N3 are now available to order. Those looking for a stylish phone above all should take a look at the R5 which is super-thin and features a Full HD display and compatibility with some of Australia’s 4G networks. You can read more on the R5 here. As for the N3, this has a party trick of its own with a motorised camera that can swap from being a front-facing camera to being a rear-facing camera whenever you want. It’s also the larger phone as well as the more powerful device with a Snapdragon 801 and 2GB of RAM, for more on the N3 you can read here. Australians interested in these two can take a look at the Oppo site for the N3 here, and the R5 here.