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According to recent announcements, Kodak could be coming out with their own cameraphones as soon as CES 2015. The camera maker announced that it will be collaborating with Bullit to make some Android devices that includes two phones, one tablet and a smart camera (a digital camera with WiFi or mobile connectivity) which in their own words includes:

"... a range of Android mobile devices offering best-in-class image management software and features, along with great design and user experience".

"... bespoke image capture, management, and sharing features ..."  

"... advanced remote management software"

"... the latest Android OS and features found on high-end smartphones"

Still no Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but we expect more information will be available in the next few weeks.

Pictures and a release date for the Huawei Ascend P8 smartphone have reportedly appeared. The pictures show the metal frame of the Ascend P8 and from a comparison with the Ascend P7, the P8 looks to be slightly thinner. Considering that the Ascend P7 was already quite thin at 6.5mm we're guessing that the Ascend P8 will probably shave it down to 6.3 or 6.1mm thin. While there are no details on actual tech specs, we expect it to use the latest HiSilicon Kirin processor from Huawei, perhaps the 925 or better and it would be great if they could manage to fit a one-touch fingerprint scanner like on the Huawei Ascend Mate 7. There are still no details on Malaysia release dates but the Ascend P8 is expected to get announced in March 2015 with a probable Malaysia release date happening sometime in June 2015 (about the same time as the Ascend P7).

We've seen quite a few unique devices get announced by KDDI from Japan and from it's looks alone, the newly announced LG Fx0 is definitely one of them. While tech specs and features are rather entry-level to midrange, the main unique features includes a transparent casing and Firefox logo round home button. Other tech specs include a rather outdated 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5GB Ram, 16GB storage, 4.7-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera and 2370 mAh battery. The phone will run Firefox OS and according to Mozilla, the Fx0 is the most powerful Firefox OS smartphone to date (which is true, but a bit underwhelming). Priced at 50000 yen (RM1446) the Fx0 measures in at 139 x 70 x 10.5mm and 148g with support for 4G LTE. No news on Malaysia release dates or pricing yet but considering that LG is making a comeback to Malaysia, we could eventually see the LG Fx0 make an appearance here.

The leaked tech specs of the HTC A12 have appeared, courtesy of new serial leaker @upleaks. Appearing to be an entry-level to midranger smartphone, the HTC A12 may have tech specs that include a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.7-inch 720p display, 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera and 2100 mAh battery. It is rumoured to measure in around 139.8 x 69.5 x 9.5mm making it rather chunky all things considered. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details were available but it is expected to arrive in the US for February 2015. As usual of such rumours, do take this with a pinch of salt but with such detailed tech specs we expect that this is probably true.

After making an appearance at Tenaa just yesterday, Huawei has announced the Huawei Ascend GX1 officially at just CNY 1590 (RM893). Bearing a design very similar to the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, the thin bezel GX1 features a large 6-inch IPS display with 720p pixel resolution. Other tech specs include a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB RAM 8GB storage and 3500 mAh battery with support for 4G LTE, NFC, dual SIM and an 8MP rear camera with a 2MP front camera. The Ascend GX1 measures in at 161 x 84.5 x 9.2mm and 173g which could mean it is the lower-end version of the Ascend Mate 7. No Malaysia release dates or pricing yet, but we expect this to come to Malaysia in early 2015 as it is already selling in the China VMALL site.

ASUS has announced the ASUS Pegasus X002 for China retailing at around $130 (RM454) but packing in a 64-bit processor. Looking a lot like an ASUS ZenFone, the Pegasus X002 shares tech specs on par with the ASUS ZenFone 5 apart from the 64-bit processor, which in the Pegasus X002 is actually a quad-core MediaTek MT6732 processor. Other tech specs include 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, a 5-inch display with 720p pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera and 2500 mAh battery. It does have one feature over the standard ZenFone 5 in that it supports 4G LTE. Considering that there is already the ASUS ZenFone 5 LTE here in Malaysia we expect the ASUS Pegasus X002 to be China exclusive or at least there won't be any Malaysia release dates or pricing for the Pegasus X002 in Malaysia just yet.

Can you imagine a full HD 1080p display smartphone for below RM600? Apparently Meizu can as they recently announced the Meizu M1 Note smartphone with the most notable tech specs and features being a 5.5-inch full HD 1080p display at just CNY999 (RM561). It will be the first smartphone in their new Blue Charm smartphone range and offer a 64-bit 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage. The aforementioned 5.5-inch display will use an IGZO display with full HD 1080p pixel resolution for a pixel density of 403ppi. Considering that IGZO is supposed to be thinner and lighter, we suppose this does contribute somewhat to the 145g and 75.2 x 150.7 x 8.9mm measurements the smartphone comes with. Other tech specs include a 13MP rear camera using a Samsung sensor, 5MP front camera with 4-element lens, dual SIM support and a 3140 mAh battery. While the M1 Note has a unibody chassis on the outside it uses a mostly polycarbonate (plastic) body that comes in blue, green, pink, yellow and white. Still no news on Malaysia release dates or pricing but hopefully Meizu Malaysia might bring it in soon.

The modular smartphone known as Project Ara is coming along well apparently as they have confirmed quite a few things, including the board design and some tech specs. For the basic board design, a Project Ara smartphone will use a remodeled Spiral 2 circuit board while the processors will include those from Marvell and NVIDIA. This means we could see a Marvell PXA1928 or an NVIDIA Tegra K1 in upcoming Project Ara smartphones. Functioning prototypes have already been created and are expected to be announced or at least shown off at the Google Developer Conference come January 2015. The team expect that the Spiral 2 basic board will soon get upgraded to Spiral 3 courtesy of Toshiba as well. Still no news yet on other tech specs and features like cameras and displays, much less Malaysia release dates or pricing but more details could come later in 2015.

ASUS announced its ASUS ZenFone 5 LTE (A500KL) model back in June 2014. The device made it to Malaysian markets through third party resellers but up till now it was not available for purchase officially on the ASUS Malaysia online store from just RM709. It is now officially available online through the ASUS Store. Apart from the high speed 4G LTE support, the ZenFone 5 LTE does have some minor upgrades as compared to the non-LTE variant (A501CG).  The ZenFone 5 LTE packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz instead of the Intel Atom Z2560 dual-core chipset. Other tech specs include 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage, 5-inch 720p display (294 ppi), 8MP primary camera with autofocus and LED flash, 2MP secondary camera and 2110 mAh battery. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. The ASUS ZenFone 5 LTE version is available for sale in four different colors – red, white, purple and gold. The non-LTE version is also available on the website too for RM519 with a free Bumper case (for the first 100 customers per day). 

ASUS had already confirmed that it would release a number of new ZenFone smartphones at the upcoming CES 2015 event to be held in Las Vegas from 5 January 2015. Now, the company has released a teaser video which shows off one of the devices that will be announced at the event. The teaser is pretty short and does not reveal much about the upcoming device which could be the ASUS ZenFone II range of smartphones. However, it does give us a glimpse of what appears to be a brushed metal backside, circular metallic button and a rear camera setup which includes dual LED flash and rear controls. ASUS is expected to announce the device at CES next year at an event which they have titled Experience 2Morrow, which isn't too far off. Expect more details like Malaysia release dates and pricing after the event. Check out the video below for yourself: