Gionee Elife S8 spotted on Geekbench running the Helio P10 SoC

Last month it became clear that Gionee will follow-up MWC 2015 launch of the Elife S7 with at least one new device lined up for the event this year. By all accounts, that is going to be the Gionee Elife S8, which prior to the February 22 announcement made a quick stop at Geekbench (we are fairly certain GN9011 refers to it).

The listing reveals a MediaTek MT6755 SoC, also known as the eight core Helio P10. This falls in line with the legacy of the Elife line, which typically employs MediaTek chips. The benchmark also reported 4GB of RAM on the handset, as well as an Android 6.0 platform. The cited scores are also not bad at 4511 points on multi-core and 1079 on single, courtesy of the ARM Cortex-A53 cores. Sadly, the leak doesn’t offer any other information, but Gionee was kind enough to share some more insight on the Elife S8, a while back:

At MWC 2016, GIONEE will introduce a new member to its S series – the Elife S8, an innovative mobile device that comes with hassle-free photo-shooting features and a pressure-sensitive display.

While a pressure sensitive display is nothing really new, here’s to hoping Gionee manages to introduce even more exciting uses for the technology and possibly more compatible and optimized software to make it worthwhile.

Source |…

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Gionee Elife S8 spotted on Geekbench running the Helio P10 SoC

Searching for the next K-pop superstar at JJCC's Sydney auditions

K-pop, the music genre originating in South Korea, has been growing rapidly in popularity around the world. K-pop bands are increasingly selling out shows in countries outside Asia — and K-pop idols JJCC arrived in Sydney Thursday to play their first two shows in the country on Friday and Saturday nights.

JJCC, a band created by Chinese actor Jackie Chan and his company, Jackie Chan Group Korea, also had a special treat for their Australian fans: the chance to audition to become a K-pop star.

See also: ‘One meal a day’: JJCC on what it takes to reach K-pop stardom

JJCC were present at the closed auditions at a dance studio in downtown Sydney ThursdayMashable Australia went along and spoke with band member Prince Mak about the process, as well as some of the hopefuls searching for K-pop super stardom …

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Searching for the next K-pop superstar at JJCC's Sydney auditions

Hackers break into more than 20 million accounts on China's largest marketplace

One of China’s largest web companies suffered a massive hacking attack last year, its owner said Thursday. Hackers managed to gain access to 20.59 million user accounts on Taobao.

The attack on China’s largest marketplace happened in October last year, where criminals managed to obtain a database of 99 million usernames and passwords for Taobao, according to Reuters.

See also: Chinese hackers can bypass popular security measures

They then started putting in the names and passwords into the site, and discovered 20.59 million were active user accounts with matching passwords.

Taobao’s owner, world’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba, said Thursday the company caught the attack and blocked the majority of log-in attempts, then reported it to the police. It did not reveal what losses were suffered by affected users. …

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Hackers break into more than 20 million accounts on China's largest marketplace

Shakespearean actors perform Hamlet for refugees in Calais camp

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Shakespearean actors perform Hamlet for refugees in Calais camp

VAIO announces Windows 10-powered Phone Biz with 5.5-inch display, 3GB RAM

Nearly a year after foraying into the smartphone market, erstwhile Sony brand VAIO has unveiled its second smartphone. Dubbed Phone Biz, the device is powered by Windows 10 Mobile, and is apparently aimed at business users.

Specs-wise, the handset is powered by a Snapdragon 617 SoC with octa-core processor, and sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display. It comes with 3GB RAM and 16GB internal memory, which can be expanded via microSD slot.

In terms of camera, the Phone Biz features a 13MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. A 2,800mAh battery is there to keep the lights on.

The mid-range smartphone is launching next month in Japan carrying a price tag of around $430. There’s currently no information on if and when it’ll be landing outside the Asian country.

Source (Japanese) | Via 1…

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VAIO announces Windows 10-powered Phone Biz with 5.5-inch display, 3GB RAM

DNA shows New Zealand's little penguins are actually Aussie invaders

Hundreds of years ago, some little Australian penguins waddled onto a southern New Zealand beach and decided it was so nice they just had to stick around.

The story of how these Aussie invaders managed to get a foothold across the Tasman Sea has been revealed in a new study by researchers at the University of Otago, published in the science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

See also: Rare images of a remote sub-Antarctic volcano erupting

Jon Waters, the professor who led the study, told Mashable Australia the Australian little penguin, commonly known as the fairy penguin, was able to take over certain areas of New Zealand after the native penguin species was decimated by hunting around 500 years ago, leaving a gap in the ecosystem. …

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DNA shows New Zealand's little penguins are actually Aussie invaders

Bernie Sanders: 'I am Larry David'

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders revealed a secret Wednesday night at a CNN Democratic forum.

“I am Larry David,” Sanders told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who had asked Sanders to do his best impression of the curmudgeon-y comedian

See also: Bernie Sanders is the Larry David of presidential candidates

David’s impersonation of Sanders on Saturday Night Live has become this cycle’s version of Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin impersonation in the 2008 presidential race

David and Sanders share many similarities.

Both have messy white hair, were born in Brooklyn and speak with the same I’m-trying-not-to-yell-but-this-is-just-my-voice manner …

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Bernie Sanders: 'I am Larry David'

Businessman's viral post: 'Destruction of Sydney’s nightlife is near complete'

Sydney’s lockout laws have been a source of controversy since they were implemented in the Australian city in 2014, but an article being shared relentlessly online provides a brutal assessment of how destructive the laws have been.

CEO and founder of Freelancer.com, Matt Barrie, unleashed an 8,000-word article on Tuesday titled …

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Businessman's viral post: 'Destruction of Sydney’s nightlife is near complete'

Google search is about to get a lot smarter - CNET

The company’s go-to guy for artificial intelligence is taking over its biggest business as its current search boss retires.

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Google search is about to get a lot smarter - CNET

iPhone 7 Could Have A Flush Rear Camera

Chances are you hate this protruding camera module pictured above on your current iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s. According to a new rumor on the iPhone 7 design (via Mac Rumors), the next iPhone could have a flush rear camera. The antenna bands across the back would also disappear. Read More

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iPhone 7 Could Have A Flush Rear Camera

Alcatel OneTouch Pop 4 lineup leaks ahead of MWC - meet the Pop 4S, Pop 4 Plus, and Pop 4

TCL, the owner of the Alcatel OneTouch brand, is going to unveil a new Pop 4 lineup of smartphones at the MWC later this month. All of those leaked Pop 4 devices should be priced attractively low.

Alcatel OneTouch Pop 4S is the flagship smartphone of the Pop 4 series with a 5.5″ 1080p IPS display and Helio X10 chipset. The X10 SoC has been around for a while, and it turned out to be a favorite for the mid-range class. The particular chip in the Pop 4S will be offering an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor (4x 1.8GHz and 4x 1.0GHz), Mali-T860 GPU, and 2GB of RAM.

The rest of the specs include 16/32GB expandable storage, a 13MP main camera with phase-detection and dual-LED flash, and a 5/8MP selfie snapper. Finally, the Pop 4S is LTE-enabled (Cat.4/Cat.6), utilizes a 2,960 mAh battery, and runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Alcatel OneTouch Pop 4 Plus also has a 5.5″ IPS display, but with a lower 720p resolution. It is powered by the Snapdragon 210 chip with a quad-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7, Adreno 304 GPU, and 1.5GB RAM.

The Pop 4 Plus will offer 16GB expandable storage, LTE Cat.4 connectivity, an 8 or 13MP main camera with an LED flash, a 5 or 8MP selfie shooter, and a 2,500 mAh battery. Android Marshmallow is in charge of operations, too.

Finally, the Alcatel OneTouch Pop 4 is an entry-level offer with a 5″ 720p display and the same Snapdragon 210 chipset as the Pop 4 Plus. The Pop 4 will be available with 1GB or 1.5GB RAM, depending on the market. Also depending on the market are the main camera – 8 or 13 MP, as well as the selfie snapper – 5 or 8 MP.

The fixed specs available for all modes are the LTE Cat.4 connectivity, the 2,500 mAh battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS.

All these three droids will premiere at the MWC in Barcelona later this month. And if they are indeed at the MWC floors, we’ll deliver some shots and first-hand impressions to…

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Alcatel OneTouch Pop 4 lineup leaks ahead of MWC - meet the Pop 4S, Pop 4 Plus, and Pop 4