Today we have plenty of news coming from China. Below you will find details on the OnePlus Two, a Xiaomi laptop and China’s Gmail ban.
OnePlus Two listed by Chinese retailer
Details on the OnePlus Two have been filtering and we even have an expected release window, but the latest evidence seems to suggest the device may be coming sooner than expected. Retailer GeekBuying.com has listed the upcoming device already, pre-selling it for $538.19. Shipping date is also set for February 10th.
The listing even uncovers some specs, which are said to include a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, 3 GB of RAM, 64 GB of ROM and 16MP/5MP cameras, all powered by Android 4.4. There’s even an image included, but it just looks like a OnePlus One with a thinner bezel.
Opinion: This listing is a bit odd, so I will advice that you take it all with a grain of salt. The image doesn’t seem too legit, the price is a bit higher than expected and the release date is a bit off.
Xiaomi laptop leaked
Xiaomi is entering every market it can, and the latest leak revolves around what could be the least expected device we could see from Xiaomi – a laptop. The Xiaomi Netbook looks just like a Macbook Air and comes with a very enticing 2999 Yuan (or about $481 USD) price point.
As always, specs are much more awesome than we would ask for with such price point. The laptop packs an Intel Haswell i7 processor, 2 x 8 GB (16 GB) of RAM and a 15-inch 1080p display. It’s expected to launch sometime in 2015.
Opinion: To be honest, that price point is simply unbelievable for the specs you are getting. What is the catch? Well, the device will run a customized version of Linux. This could be awesome or horrible, depending on your preferences. But do remember Mac OSX is also based on Linux, maybe Xiaomi can do a good job with it.
Gmail blocked in China
Google and China haven’t had the best of relationships. The mentioned country continues trying to lower their dependency on Google’s services, with their latest venture showing a block on Gmail altogether.
This is followed by about 6 months of service interruptions and access issues, but the country saw a massive decline in usage on December 25th. And while China hasn’t made a statement on the matter, a Singapore-based Google spokesperson said there was nothing wrong on their end.
Opinion: VPN seems to be a working solution for this Gmail blackout, so at least there is a way to access your email. Those who need to stay in China for a good amount of time may want to use another service, though. At least until further notice.
