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In a recent report, it was proved that the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have the ability to record videos in ultra-high definition 4K pixel resolution. Now, there's an app which claims to unlock this hidden feature inside the Apple's latest devices. The Cupertino giant decided to disable this feature in the new iPhones saying that it was not market ready and 4K videos do take up a lot of storage space and put undue strain on the phone's processor. Causing overheating and taking up space on a device that doesn't have expandable memory. For those who don't mind these little issues, ProCam 2 can be a great app to unlock this 4K video recording capability. The app, now available on the iTunes store, brings 4K recording to both new iPhone models. The video shown below is captured in 4K resolution at 30fps using the app. The user pans it very slowly to avoid any hiccups caused due to the low frame rate in such a high resolution video. One thing to note here is that the app does not essentially capture the video in true 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), instead it captures it in 3264 x 1836 resolution and upscales to 4K. The ProCam 2 can be bought from the Apple store for $1.99 (RM7), but to unlock 4K, you need to make an additional in-app purchase worth $4.99 (RM17.5).

Xiaomi, once a small Chinese manufacturer has now emerged as the world's fourth largest smartphone maker. The company has managed this feat just by operating online, through exclusive tie-ups with a number of online retailers worldwide. Looks like Lenovo is taking some pointers from Xiaomi as the company Senior Vice President, Chen Xudong announced last Thursday that it would soon launch a new brand called the 'Fancy Maker' which will operate via online channels only. The name sounds unlike any other smartphone brand that we have heard recently. It could offer features like the Motorola's Moto Maker which allows users to customize a number of aspects of a smartphone like the final finish, color accents and so forth. Lenovo has been trying to compete with Xiaomi through budget models like the Lenovo K3. But so far, its smartphones have failed to create a buzz like Xiaomi's Redmi 1S and Mi-3 models. This new Fancy Maker brand could be Lenovo's new strategy to compete with Xiaomi. The company will reportedly debut the brand on 1 April 2015. Apart from the name 'Fancy Maker', Lenovo has not officially revealed any other details like Malaysia release dates or pricing about its upcoming smartphone brand but it could come to Malaysia eventually.

Christmas holidays have already started and Samsung plans to put everyone in the holiday mood with its latest video. The company recently released a new dreamscape movie on its official YouTube channel called the 'Holiday Dreams'. The video is quite different than any other advertisements released by the company recently and features 74 Samsung devices which include flagship smartphones, tablets and even large screen Samsung HDTVs. From the video, we could make out some of the Galaxy devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge and even some Samsung smartwatches. All these devices are built on a rig. This rig can be moved, twisted or even bended to portray the entire story in one video. The story revolves around a small girl who chases her favorite stocking in a dream. She jumps, falls and even swims across a number of Samsung devices to finally get her stocking. Samsung also points out that the story video required a lot of effort.  The transition from one device to another is not animated but captured live. The video had to be played on each device at the appropriate time to make it look like the girl seamlessly jumped across a number of devices. Below, we have added the 'Behind the scenes' video as well which shows the amount of effort required for making the whole 'Holiday Dreams' video.

Last week, LG Malaysia teased its current flagship, the LG G3 on its official Facebook page. The South Korean giant was expected to announce two new handsets in the country, the LG G3 and the LG G3 Stylus in the coming days. Now, LG has officially confirmed the release of the two handsets and they will be available for sale starting today from a number of LG Mobile dealers in Malaysia. The LG G3 is almost 7 months old, but it still has enough hardware to threaten the recent releases like the Motorola Moto X (2014), Nexus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Tech specs include a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. On the outside there is a large 5.5-inch quad HD 2K pixel resolution display. The 13MP rear camera comes with OIS and Laser Autofocus, while the 2.1MP front camera can record up to 1080p videos. A 3000 mAh battery onboard to power all these specs. The G3 comes with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, but LG has announced an Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the device which should also make it to the G3 smartphones sold in Malaysia. The LG G3 Stylus will be a mid-range affordable smartphone with tech specs that include a quad-core Mediatek MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM and 13MP primary camera. The LG G3 and G3 Stylus will retail for a Malaysia price of RM1699 and RM799 respectively.

Gresso, the Swiss luxury smartphone and accessory maker has announced a new luxury smartphone in the market, called the Gresso Regal Black. The phone is made of grade 5 titanium, the same material used in sports cars and aeroplanes. The company also gives an option of 18 karat gold finish while the phone undergoes over 8 hours of machining and is assembled by hand. Like the recently announced Lamborghini Tauri 88 luxury smartphone, the Regal Black too comes with top-end tech specs. Inside, there is a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, and 32GB internal storage. On the front, there is a 5-inch Full HD 1080p display and a 5MP front camera. At the back, there is a 13MP camera sensor. The phone runs on Android and comes with standard connectivity features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but lacks high speed 4G LTE support. The Gresso Regal Black luxury smartphone will be available in three different versions; namely the R1 costing $3000 (RM10427) and made entirely out of titanium, the R2 costing $5000 (RM17380) with 18K white gold finish and PVD coating and finally the R3 costing the same as the R2 but with 18K yellow gold and PVD coating. Gresso will release only 999 marked Regal Blacks in the market each with its own certificate of authenticity. We don't expect a Malaysia release of the phone but those interested can check out the company's website for more details.

Huawei has recently released a number of smartphones for their Honor range of smartphones aimed at the young and young at heart. However, it seems that these Huawei Honor smartphones like the Huawei Honor 6, Huawei Honor 6 Plus and Huawei Honor 3C Lite are now going to become known as just the Honor 6, Honor 6 Plus and Honor 3C Lite. This news comes direct from a source in Huawei itself saying that the Honor range of smartphones have evolved enough to warrant them following an entirely new and different direction than Huawei's usual range of devices. This also includes a new UI all targeted along their Honor tagling "For the Brave". It also explains why most of the newer Honor smartphones don't have any Huawei logos or branding at all. According to our sources, this will also mean more new Honor smartphones in 2015, one of which we're hoping will be the Honor 4x so stay tuned for more developments. Huawei will continue making smartphones and mobile devices but target the higher-end market. Rumours also indicate that Huawei and Honor smartphone users could get the Emotion UI 3.0 update in Q2 of 2015.

Despite already being available for pre-order at VMALL.my, Huawei Malaysia have officially launched their Honor 3C Lite smartphone recently in tandem with the FISE (Festival International Sports Extreme) world championship in Langkawi, Malaysia. For those not in the know, the FISE meet covers extreme sports including BMX bike riding, skateboarding, inline skates and other extreme sports with the world championships held in Langkawi recently. Sponsored by Huawei and spearheaded by Zach Catfish (who is himself a well-known BMX and extreme sportsman himself) the event saw usage of Huawei products like the TalkBand B1, Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the aforementioned Honor 3C Lite. The Honor 3C Lite brings a number of tech specs and features to the Malaysian market including:

• 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB storage + up to 32GB microSD
• 5-inch IPS display (1280 x 720 pixel resolution, 294 ppi)
• 8MP rear camera (LED flash, autofocus, f/2.0 wide aperture, 5P optical lens) + 2MP front camera
• 72.3 x 142.2 x 9.4mm | 156g
• supports Dual SIM (3G + 2G), WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
• features AirSharing,
• 2000 mAh battery
• Android 4.4.2 + Huawei Emotion UI 2.0
• Available in black and white

The recent release of the Huawei Honor 3C Lite and Honor 4x smartphones have brought out another rumour regarding the Huawei Honor 3C. According to rumours from an anonymous source, the RM499 priced Huawei Honor 3C could get a successor next year by a device with some refreshed tech specs. These features and tech specs include a 5.5-inch display, 64-bit processor, 13MP rear camera and 4G LTE connectivity. What is even more interesting is that all of these mid-range features would be available around the same Malaysia pricing as the Honor 3C which was priced at RM499. Rumours also say that it could be priced even lower, which would make it a direct contender for the recently released Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G which retails for RM589 with similar tech specs. No details yet on Malaysia release dates but we expect it to arrive sometime in early 2015.

Big thanks to Mr. Anonymous!

Huawei announced the Huawei Honor 6 Plus smartphone with a dual rear camera setup on 16 December 2014. This is the world's first variable aperture smartphone without any add-on lenses and works quite differently from the HTC One M8 which also features a duo-camera. For the Honor 6 Plus there are two symmetrical 8MP camera sensors at the back which work together with a dedicated SLR-grade image signal processor (ISP) to achieve this. This unique setup also allows the phone to capture images in resolutions of up to 13MP. Huawei claims that the two 8MP cameras at the back works just like the human eye. The two lenses can focus on an object in just 0.1 seconds. The advanced 3IE algorithm in the device allows users to achieve a range of depths, from F0.95 to F16. Images captured especially at night benefit from the given two cameras. This is because, the amount of light reaching the lens and the sensors is twice than that of a single sensor, which contributes to better low light images. Huawei has released a number of samples taken from these dual rear cameras and they look very good, especially those taken in low light. We have added a few samples from the device down below. The company has not yet revealed details like Malaysia release dates or pricing for the Honor 6 Plus but the existing Honor 6 retails for around RM999 in Malaysia. 

GFXBench seems to have confirmed the existence of a new Galaxy device called the Samsung Galaxy E7. The device is expected to be one of the two models in the new E-Series from the company, the other being the Galaxy E5 which was leaked earlier. This comes at a time when Samsung is reportedly planning to narrow down its portfolio of devices. In this regard, the company has already stopped the development of the rumored U-series. According to the tech specs leaked by GFXBench, the Galaxy E7, code named SM-E700 will be a mid-range device. The phone is powered by a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. It will come with a 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel resolution display. At the back, there is a 12MP camera and on the front; there is a 5MP shooter. Both the sensors are capable of recording videos at Full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution. It comes with a single SIM card slot and supports connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC. The E7 runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS out of the box. No tech specs about the expandable storage availability or battery capacity on the device or Malaysia release dates and pricing details  are available as of yet. As always with such rumours, do take this with a pinch of salt as it could be another model smartphone altogether.