Sony Xperia Z2a Now Official in Taiwan at NT$18,900 ($632/€464)

When it comes to considering the purchase of a new Android-based Sony smartphone this year, the Xperia Z3 appears to be the device to keep an eye on, yet the handset isn’t official as of now, and other phones in the company’s lineup are currently seeing expanded availability out there.

The Xperia Z2a (D6563) is one of them, and the device is now official in Taiwan, after being released in Japan earlier this year under the name of Xperia ZL2. The new device was announced there with support for the country’s full-band 4G LTE (700MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz) network, which makes it the first handset from Sony Mobile to include the functionality. According to a recent post on XperiaBlog, the new mobile phone was made public with a price tag of NT$18,900 (£369, €464, $632) attached to it, though carriers and retailers there might launch it cheaper. Apparently, wireless carriers such as Chunghwa Telecom, FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile are set to add it to their offerings, and users will be able to choose between three different color flavors when purchasing it, including Black, White and Turquoise.

The Sony Xperia Z2a was announced in Taiwan with a 5-inch touchscreen display capable of delivering a full HD resolution, while being powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) processor. Additionally, the mobile phone arrives on shelves with 3GB of RAM, as well as with 16GB of internal memory, and with a microSD memory card slot for expansion purposes. On the back, the handset features a 20.7-megapixel camera with Exmor RS sensor, capable of recording videos in full HD resolution. Apparently, Sony packed the mobile phone only with a VGA front camera. As you would expect from such a phone, the usual 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Hotspot, and GPS receiver capabilities are also included in the package, along with the entire set of common sensors.

The same as other phones in the Xperia Z series, the Xperia Z2a too sports dust- and water-resistant capabilities, being IP55 and IP58 certified. The smartphone runs under the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, but it also boasts a variety of customizations and exclusive features coming from Sony itself. Unfortunately, Sony hasn’t provided specific details on its plans for the release of Xperia Z2a on other markets out there as well, and it remains to be seen whether the company will make such a move at all. Keep an eye on this space for more on the matter.

Sony Xperia Z2a
Image credits to XperiaBlog

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4.7" iPhone 6 Body, Shown in Hi-res Photos and On Video

A Russian-based company got their hands on a real iPhone 6 casing. The back of the device has been photographed and filmed to show all the little details of the new design.

Feld & Volk is a company that mods iPhone and iPad and occasionally turns the iDevices into luxury items. They say they worked with a Chinese supplier, who managed to smuggle a real iPhone 6 rear shell out of the factory and now they are showing it to the public. This is certainly not the first iPhone 6 part to come out of the Chinese manufacturer's plants, but it is the first one to be shown in great detail. According to Macrumors, Feld and Volk says it has been working with the same factories that make spare parts for Apple products for more than six years, enabling it to get a head start on modifying the device for its customers. Feld & Volk has been using sapphire crystal on its high-end modified iPhones for several years, and says that its sapphire suppliers are the same ones Apple has begun working with more recently. The rear shell of the 4.7" iPhone 6 is handled on video as well. However, the part is not a complete one. The camera, buttons, and connectors are missing.

Also, one interesting detail is that the Apple logo is cut out of the shell. That may indicate that Apple will install a similar logo to the one on their computers, or it may have a more durable, non-metal embedded logo just like the one on the iPad. The Russian company that released these images speculates that the logo may be the housing for a NFC like antenna. This possibility was often mentioned in the past, but so far Apple has ignored the idea of expanding their devices to work with the NFC standards and pursued technologies like Bluetooth and iBeacon. iPhone 6 is expected to be released this fall. Reports by Chinese media suggested that the new devices will be presented by Apple on September 19th and launched in stores around the world just a week later, on September the 25th, 2014.

iPhone 6 is expected to come out in two different sizes: a 4.7 inch diagonal display and a 5.5 inch one. So far there have been only leaks related to the smaller size iPhone, including a sapphire display.

iPhone 6 body
Image credits to Feld & Folk

So it finally happens. We got this real iPhone 6 body. We will show it to you with the most popular news website about Apple-tech. Check us for upd. 
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Video credits to Feld & Folk

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Dell Venue 7 and 8 with Intel Merrifield Available in the US, Starting at $160 / €116

Earlier this month, the new Dell Venue 7 and 8 tablets were spotted making a stop at the FCC, so it was pretty clear to us they were going to be making it into retail soon enough.

Well, this day has come and now Dell has announced both slates have been made available in the US. The original Venue tablets were introduced back in 2013 and now Dell is taking an opportunity to refresh the lineup by bumping their speech sheet a little bit. First off, the two tablets now enjoy the services of the Intel Merrifield platform. The 8-inch model delivers FHD resolution (1920 x 1200 pixels) while relying on a 2.1GHz Intel Atom CPU Z3480. The tablets are fitted with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD card).

The 7-incher doesn’t offer the same advanced resolution, limiting itself to bringing just 1280 x 800 res to the tablet. The CPU under the hood is an Intel Atom Z3460. Both slates run Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, so you won’t have to wait for any soft updates if you purchase this bunch. The 7-inch will take you back with $159 / €116, while the 8-incher will sell for $199 / €146. You can pick up both from the Dell website.

New Dell Venue 7 and 8 show up in the US
Image credits to Dell

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Xiaomi Planning to Offer FitBit Competitor, Could Sell for $32 / €24

Well, this is certainly no surprise. Popular Chinese smartphone marker Xiaomi is looking to take up another product category, after it successfully entered the tablet ecosystem.

Why do we say successful? Following the MiPad’s launch in China, Xiaomi managed to sell the initial 50K tablet batch in just under 4 minutes. So given the fact the company has already conquered the smartphone ecosystem (at least in China) and is on its way to making a splash in the tablet world too, Xiaomi is looking for challenges somewhere else. And since wearables are the topic du-jour, it’s no wonder that Xiaomi wants to conquer this space, as well. According to the folks at GizChina, the company will soon be offering some fierce competition to the likes of FitBit, Jawbone and others. For the time being, it appears Xiaomi is looking to go into the smart band business and not the smartwatch one. How do we know this?

Well, it turns out that company’s CEO has been spotted wearing a mystery smart band, which it is believed to be Xiaomi’s first wearable devices. The rumor goes on to say that, like the company’s many products, this too will be a super affordable device that could be marketed for as little as $32 / €24 in China. On top of that, Xiaomi is said to be prepping the software that will be used to analyze and collect the data and communicate with the smartband, on top of everything. The report even mentions a name for the wearable. In league with different products coming from the company, the fitness band will probably be baptized the MiBand. At the moment, we’re not exactly sure what functionalities, sensors and apps we’ll see arrive with the wearable, but more information will probably leak out soon.

Since Xiaomi has been said to be looking to enter the competitive US market with some smartphone products, we can assume the MiBand will be brought along, especially since American customers are slowly starting to develop a taste for wearables. But that’s just a theory, at the moment. Xiaomi has just successfully released its first tablet product, the MiPad tablet, and it appears the company is ready to take up some new challenges. It would be interesting to see whether the company will eventually come up with a smartwatch product, one that will be disruptive enough price-wise to tear into the competition and their excessively expensive products.

Xiaomi presumambly wants to launch a wearable of its own
Image credits to GizChina

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D-Link DAP-2660 Wireless Access Point Reaches 1,167 Mbps Transfer Speed

Wireless access points are quite important, as they allow anyone with a tablet, phone, or other Wi-Fi devices to use an Internet connection that would otherwise be accessible to a single device.

D-Link has just launched a wireless access point that has support for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, with speeds of 300 Mbps through the former and 876 Mbps over the latter. Thus, the D-Link DAP-2660 is, essentially, a 1,176 Mbps device. It should allow several different users to surf the net without lag. Also, the DAP-2660 has internal antennas, which means that nothing disturbs its vaguely square shape with rounded edges. Built-in Authentication and Billing Options are supported, along with multiple operation modes: Access Point, Wireless Distribution System (WDS) with Access Point, WDS/Bridge, or Wireless Client role.

Moreover, you can control the settings of the access point over the web (HTTP), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Secure Shell (SSH), and even via D-Link Central WiFiManager when it comes to advanced network management. All in all, the D-Link DAP-2660 access point is above average in terms of performance, even among other dual-band Wi-Fi devices. Its price is $229.99 / €170. An AC to DC adapter is used to power it, though Power over Ethernet can be used as well, if you have a switch or midspan injector that supports IEEE 802.3af.

D-Link DAP-2660
Image credits to D-Link

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