New HTC One X9 renders leak online

The HTC One X9 has not only been the subject of a couple of leaks until now, but has also cleared the TENAA hurdle. Now, a new set of leaked renders of the handset has surfaced online, showing it from several angles and hence offering more detailed look at the device.

Here are the renders in question:

As for the specs, the TENAA listing suggests the smartphone is powered by a 2.2 GHz octa-core processor, and sports a 5.5-inch (1920 × 1080 pixel resolution) IPS display. Memory configuration is 2GB/16GB, while camera configuration is 13MP/5MP.

Measuring 153.2×75.9×7.99 mm and weighing in at 174g, the One X9 runs Android 5.0.2 out-of-the-box and packs in a 3,000mAh battery.

For more information about this click here.

I started using Microsoft's mobile devices 15 years ago and earlier this summer wrote that I was finally giving up my long time optimism. After a week with the newest Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL, Microsoft hasn't yet changed my opinion.

A couple of weeks ago ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley posted her initial impressions of the Lumia 950. Since Mary-Jo is a Verizon customer, there is not an opportunity for her to test the device out as her primary daily driver. That was the case for me as well when I was handed an AT&T Microsoft Lumia 950 to evaluate last week.

After using the AT&T model for a couple of days, I realized I needed to jump in with both feet and try a new Windows 10 Mobile device as a daily driver. I found a black Microsoft Lumia 950 XL at my local Microsoft Store and have spent a couple days with it serving as my primary phone on T-Mobile.


The Lumia 950 XL is larger than the 950, but has the same look and feel. The buttons on mine are not loose like they are on the 950 so it might just be a manufacturing issue with the one AT&T device I am testing.

At first I thought the removable back plastic felt a bit cheap, but after a couple of days I came to actually like the matte finish and feel. It's very different than the glass, aluminum, and rubber backs I am used to on the latest iPhone and Android smartphones, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily worse. The nice thing about a plastic back is that the phone usually survives slips and drops better, especially compared to glass backs. I also don't see any fingerprints on the black plastic back while the glass on my Note 5 is terrible.

The display is fantastic. It's bright and crisp so there are no concerns there. It's very nice to see a removable battery and microSD card slot, which is rare on most of today's modern smartphones.

I've only had the chance to take a few photos so far, but they look great. The competition is stiff with the latest Android smartphones though. I plan to take lots of comparison shots this weekend in preparation for my full review going live next week.

Wireless charging is very convenient and I appreciate having it on the Lumia 950/950 XL The phone charges quickly via USB Type-C. It's too early to judge battery life, but another week of use should give me some good indications of its performance.

IT'S NOT THE APP GAP, IT'S THE APP CRAP
Even the die hard Microsoft smartphone fans acknowledge that there is an app gap between iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. I notice some missing apps, but to be honest all of the critical apps that I use daily are either built into the operating system or available for Windows 10 Mobile.

I can make and receive calls, send and receive text and email communications, interact on social networks, perform calculations in Excel, review documents in Word, and complete 90 percent of what I deem essential with Windows 10 Mobile.

I can't find the Great Clips app I use once a month to reserve my spot in line for a haircut, the silly Snapchat app I use once a week to reply to my daughters' funny pics, or the Xfinity TV app to watch missed TV shows on my train commute. None of these are critical, but when they are available on the other platforms it's tougher to justify going with a platform that doesn't give you everything you want.

However, looking beyond missing apps, my primary issue is the stark contrast in quality, features, and performance in using the same apps across iOS, Android, and Windows 10 Mobile.

You know it's bad for Microsoft when Microsoft's own apps on Windows 10 Mobile lag behind those same apps found on iOS and Android. Outlook Mail is a prime example here. Let's take a closer look at my setup and the differences. I have Live.com, Exchange, and Gmail accounts setup in Outlook on all my devices.

Live.com and Gmail have good spam filters so my inbox stays fairly clean. However, there are also a ton of other emails that are not critical that end up in Gmail tabs like social, promotions, forums, etc. On the Lumia 950 XL all of these emails end up in the Inbox. On iOS and Android, the inbox is divided into focused and other tabs. This simple division significantly improves the efficiency of handling email on a smartphone.

There is also a simple filter for unread, flagged, and attachments on iOS and Android. Windows 10 Mobile has unread or flagged options. The attachments filter is almost as important to me as the unread filter.

In addition to this inbox filtering, you can view one centralized inbox showing all of your accounts on iOS and Android. There is still the option to quickly switch and show just a single inbox as well. On Windows 10 Mobile you have to switch between each account, which is a serious time waster. I understand Microsoft may be working to bring back this unified inbox, but it better also have the focused and other separation or there is no reason for me to use a Windows 10 Mobile device for email.

How does Microsoft launch a new phone and OS with such key limitations and expect people to not be concerned?

For more updates here.

Huawei Mate 8 to go on sale this week

As for the price, the handset will carry a tag of CNY 2,999 ($470) for the 3GB/32GB model, CNY 3699 ($580) for the 4GB/64GB model, CNY 4399 ($690) for the 4GB/128GB model, and CNY 6888 ($1075) for the exclusive champagne edition. Gang also said that the company has high expectations from the device, and is planning to manufacture a whopping one million units per month.

The Huawei Mate 8 is powered by Huawei's latest Kirin 950 SoC with octa-core CPU and Mali T880MP4 GPU, and sports a 6-inch FHD IPS display. It packs a large 4,000mAh battery, a 16MP main cameraand an 8MP shooter on the front. It runs the company's next-generation EMUI 4.0 OS based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

The Mate 8's international availability details will be announced at CES 2016.

More updates here.