Oppo Find 7′s VOOC fast charging system featured in an ad

The Oppo Find 7 was recently announced and while its Li-Po 3000mAh battery isn’t exactly small, its 5.5″ QHD display and Snapdragon 801 chipset are quite the battery drainers. To battle this and give users some peace of mind, the Find 7′s charger is capable of charging the phone’s battery to 75% in only 30 minutes.

The company has aired an ad to showcase all the capabilities of the Find 7 charger in a rather dramatic way. The Find 7′s battery needs just five minutes of charging to support a two-hour call, while a little over an hour will give you a full charge. The same applies for the Oppo Find 7a, too.

Now, the 4.5 Amp charger isn’t the only one to thank, as in fact, a large portion of the fast-charging skills of the Find 7 lie in its battery. The charger has been slightly altered to provide enough power to the phone. If you were to plug a regular battery, chances are it’s going to end badly.

Here’s what Oppo says on its website regarding the tech, “Specially designed for the most comfortable experience, the Find 7 contains five layers of thermal protective coating to prevent the device from overheating while charging.“

Anyway, now that you’re filled with the gist of it, check out the VOOC fast charging system ad below.

 

The Find 7 is going to take another few weeks to go on sale, so for now you have to make do with our comprehensive Find 7a hands-on. The more modestly spec’d brother of the Find 7 is also in for a full review treatment, so stay tuned for this one as well.

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Microsoft ships 1.2 million Xbox One in the first quarter

Microsoft has confirmed that it has shipped 2 million consoles in the first quarter of 2014, with 1.2 million of them being the new Xbox One and the rest being the previous generation Xbox 360 consoles.

The 2 million figure is the number of consoles Microsoft sold to retailers and not actual consoles sold to customers. Recently, we saw both Sony and Microsoft announcing their console sales figure since launch, with Microsoft boasting 5 million sales for the Xbox One and Sony counting 7 million actual customers.

Sony has so far had a lead ahead of Microsoft in terms of sales so it’s likely when the time comes for Sony to announce it’s own sales figure we’ll see a number higher than 1.2 million or the last quarter.

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Apple to make its iWatch in collaboration with Nike

According to sources close to Apple that got in touch with Techmaniacs.gr the Apple smartwatch (dubbed iWatch) may be conceived in collaboration with long-time fitness band maker Nike.

Apple has a long relationship with Nike involving fitness tracking accessories and iPhones have carried the Nike+ app out of box before. According to said sources Apple and Nike will be making the iWatch with focus on tracking more than just fitness but also the user’s constant movement.

Nike recently fired the majority of the team working on its FuelBand product and will likely stop making it. In light of this the company is said to focus it’s fitness-tracking efforts into software, thinking of ways to expand its Nike+ suite and releasing a public API for developers. Apple is reportedly aiming to incorporate that same API into its iWatch for which the company allegedly recently secured the trademark through another firm. Furthermore Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has been seen wearing Nike’s FuelBand and has being sitting on Nike’s board for almost a decade now – strong corporate ties that add credibility to the rumors.

An iWatch concept

But Apple’s smartband device will do more than just follow your fitness routines. According to the sources it will be able to make electronic payments using an iBeacon technology (see this for reference) or possibly the AirDrop Wi-Fi-enabled sharing method introduced with iOS 7. Additionally the smartwatch will be able to use Apple services like CarPlay.

The iWatch is expected to arrive in Q3 of this year. As for the rumor that it will be made by LG exclusively we’re not sure. Perhaps Nike will be just a software partner, perhaps something more. Another theory could be that Apple will release a smartwatch and smartband, similarly to competitors like Samsung.

Thanks for the tip!

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Amazon revenue goes up in Q1, but expects a loss in Q2

Amazon just announced its financial results for the January-Mach quarter and it beat analysts’ expectations with $19.74 billion in revenue, up 23% compared to the first quarter of last year.

The retailer has been making big moves recently – it released a set top box (Fire TV), a tool to make shopping easier (Dash) and made some HBO shows available on its streaming services. It’s rumored to be working on a phone too.

Anyway, Amazon continues to operate on razor-thin margins with $108 million in net income, up from $82 million in the year-ago quarter. Basic earnings per share were $0.23, up from $0.18. Cash and cash equivalents went down to $5 billion from $8.7 billion.

In case you’re wondering where the money is going, aside from developing the Fire TV streaming box and signing content deals, Amazon Game Studios started on a game (Sev Zero), while Amazon Studios greenlit six pilots for full-season developments.

North America once again makes up the bulk of the revenue for the quarter of $11.9 billion in revenue (up from $9.4 billion last year), compared to international revenue of $7.8 billion (up from $6.7 billion).

The guidance for the next quarter is revenue of $18.1-$19.8 billion, growing between 15% and 26% from the second quarter of next year. However, Amazon expects to post an operating loss anywhere between $55 million and $455 million (compared to a small profit of $79 million in Q2 2013).

Amazon stock was up 3.87% yesterday, though in pre-market trading today it has fallen by 1.26%.

Check out the press release for more detailed numbers.

On the move – Microsoft logo replaces Nokia logo

It’s been a long time coming but the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft was expected and was finalized today. And Microsoft isn’t wasting any time with publicly showing the change.

Images from Harri Kiljander (Director of F-Secure Lokki) show what appears to be Nokia House in Finland with a crane truck up front, preparing to take down Nokia’s logo and another photo showing the S and F from Microsoft’s logo, reportedly being prepared for mounting. The “On The Move” sign under the Nokia logo adds an air of irony to the otherwise saddening image.

In the aftermath of the deal Microsoft will acquire around 32 thousand employees (around 4 thousand of which in Finland and around 18 thousand directly connected to manufacturing), a 10-year non-exclusive license of Nokia’s patent portfolio and a robust devices business while Nokia walks away with the ripe sum of €5.44 billion.

Hopefully Microsoft, as biggest manufacturer of Windows Phones starting today, will not let down the millions of Nokia owners and fans and will continue to innovate as Nokia did.