Life Hack to Replace Wrench

You must have seen situations, where a nut is stuck, and your wrench is either too big or too small for that particular nut. But as a DIYer said every problem has a solution we should be willing to think out of the box.

If your wrench is small, don’t stress about it and waste time, rather follow this instructor to make your wrench that will unscrew bolt of any size quickly every time. Watching such life hacks time to time will help you be mentally prepared for such situations when you have to think on your feet to battle the problem and not let it halt your project.

Mr. Gear has shared many nifty tricks with us, enabling us to become smart and resourceful.

Source: techintrend

Meet the Tesla Killer a 1000 Horsepower Electric Car

Tesla is the pioneer in revolutionizing car industry but it has inspired competition. We are glad that it did. Faraday Future is a California based company. It is not a traditional automotive company. Faraday Future is tech startup with a vision to bring futuristic technologies to today’s cars. Earlier in January they showcased a concept car, code named FF01. It had unique look and some exciting features but it was merely a concept. Many critiques were skeptical on the Future of Faraday Future. At CES 2017 they shut up everyone with FF91 it is an actual working car with jaw dropping specs. It is powered by cells, that are most concentrated power bank there is in the industry, allowing FF91 to drive for 378 miles on a single charge. It can produce whooping 1050 Horsepower and you will see it can easily beat Tesla Model S in a drag race. It is faster than a Ferrari and the luxury Bentley SUV. FF91’s futuristic design is the right direction for the future development of cars.

Exterior of FF91 has many round design cues. It is designed to be easy on eyes and still allow its futuristic functionality like auto parking and high speed mobility.

Even its tires are completely redesigned. Aerodynamics of these tires are automatically adjusted as car feels the need based on the data collected by the sensors.

Source: techintrend

Moorfields Eye Hospital on track to have a working deep learning algorithm for diagnosis by the end of the year

The London eye hospital has been working with Google's DeepMind for nearly nine months, and is planning to go live with an AI-driven algorithm that can make diagnoses from eye scans by the end of 2017

Moorfields Eye Hospital in London is nearly nine months into a collaboration protect with the deep learning specialists DeepMind, and is aiming to have a working algorithm in production that can make diagnoses from eye scans by the end of the year.

   iStock Photo: Rocky89

Speaking at the Re:Work Deep Learning in Healthcare Summit yesterday, just around the corner from the hospital in Old Street, London, Pearse Keane — consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) clinician scientist at University College London, Institute of Ophthalmology — explained how the collaboration with Alphabet's DeepMind took 12 months to get off the ground and why AI is so well suited to the field of ophthalmology.

Specifically, Moorfields is working with DeepMind to create a "general purpose algorithm which can look at Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scans and diagnose anything that you would expect a retinal specialist". This could be used to spot conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease, and according to Keane it should be ready by the end of 2017. This will help cut down on the amount of unnecessary referrals being made to the NHS off the back of OCT scans, freeing up clinicians to focus on urgent cases.

Applying AI to healthcare

Ophthalmology is a medical field focused on diagnosing and treating any disorders to the eye, and Keane believes it to be the best "test bed" for AI techniques like machine and deep learning within the healthcare space.

Why? Firstly, there is the sheer amount of data generated by ophthalmology. Moorfields alone sees 600,000 patients per year and conducts more than 3,000 OCT scans a week, a figure Keane says is likely "an underestimate". OCT scans use light waves to take a cross-section of images of the retina and are useful in spotting glaucoma and retinal diseases.

Keane added that it is "likely within the next few years that every patient will have a scan as matter of recourse. So this will only increase, so we were buried beneath the data we collected."

The rise of the OCT scan, especially at high street opticians, has created a deluge of outpatients for the NHS eye service, as any scan that deviates from the norm is deemed an urgent referral. Keane says this issue motivated him to seek out a solution using artificial intelligence.

Data preparation and governance

The announcement of the collaboration between DeepMind — the AI startup acquired by Google for £400 million in 2014 — and Moorfields Eye Hospital made national headlines last year. What wasn’t reported at the time was the amount of time-consuming data preparation work that was required in the background to get a complex project like this off the ground.

Keane said that the hospital "approached DeepMind and said we should apply deep learning to the interpretation and triage of OCT scans" in July 2015. During his first meeting with DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman he was asked how many scans they had in total, a figure Keane didn’t have to hand, and then, crucially, how many were labelled, again a figure he didn’t have to hand.

So hospital staff had to manually convert the files to an open source format and anonymise the data robustly before any processing could be done. As Keane said: "In that 12 month period it required a huge amount of work and man hours and effort to curate a data set that would be tractable for machine learning."

Keane said that initially he had lots of volunteers for the project, "who kind of get excited initially when they hear Google or a big AI project and are enthusiastic for a week."

"But then they realise that it is incredibly tedious work and their contribution tails off," Keane said. So even for an organisation the size of Moorfields it was a challenge to find the man power to do this task, and particularly with healthcare data where you "can’t just allow anyone to come in.

"Then we have all of the issues related to ethics, consent, information governance and contractual governance," he added. "I had no clue how time consuming and how much hard work would be required to do this."

Only once all of this data cleansing work was completed could a data sharing agreement be put in place, allowing Moorfields to share 1.2 million 3D OCT scans with paired retinal photographs, all anonymised, with DeepMind.

In practice this data is walled off from DeepMind, bundled together and wiped of any patient-identifiable information and it even gets a final check from an information governance department at the hospital to ensure the data set is completely anonymised before it is sent to the external partner.

What next?

Longer term Keane wants to apply machine learning algorithms "to derive new clinical and scientific insight from the data".

As OCT scans are taken often, Keane believes that they can start to use "novel deep learning approaches to try and figure out information about the path of physiology, the natural history and prognosis of these conditions."

It doesn’t end with OCT scan images either, as Keane sees the long-term vision of the relationship with DeepMind as picking up other data sets, like those taken from glaucoma patients and adding them to the AI pipeline. "But what we are still thinking about is," he said, "what's the best way to do that?"

Source: techworld.com

New Nokia 3310 (2017)

OUR EARLY VERDICT

For those who fondly remember the Nokia 3310 the new model will almost be a no-brainer of a purchase. Its low price, pleasing feature set and long battery life make it appealing for anyone looking for a back-up handset, festival phone or just a simple retro buy.

If any phone can sell itself on nostalgia alone, that phone is the Nokia 3310.  

It’s one of the most popular mobiles of all time, remembered for its near-indestructible build, long-lasting battery and legendary Snake (well Snake II if we’re being accurate) game, and the team licensing the Nokia phone name has jumped at the chance to reignite the love for a phone which was once the leader in the mobile market. 

Enter the new Nokia 3310, a lovingly crafted homage to the iconic handset with a helping of modern-day upgrades. If you were a fan of the 3310, the likelihood is you’ll want to pick this up.

If you're less familiar with the original though, this is just another feature phone which won't satisfy your smartphone sensibilities.

New Nokia 3310 design and display

Looking at the new Nokia 3310 front-on and there’s no mistaking the phone it is paying homage to. 

The distinctive border around the screen and the layout of the 'num' keys give you the retro throwback, but Nokia has majorly slimmed down and modernized the design making the new 3310 supremely pocketable. 

It tips the scales at just 79.6g, making it comfortably lighter than the 137g original, and once you slipped it into your pocket you’ll forget it’s even there. 

The plastic construction feels solid, but only time will tell if it will withstand the kind of beatings the first generation Nokia 3310 survived time and again.

You’ll be able to pick up the new Nokia 3310 in the traditional dark blue and grey of the original, but also in the new, psychedelic yellow and ‘warm red’. We managed to check out all four colors during our hands on time, and our favorite was the good old dark blue. 

The design is solid, but we can't help but wish Nokia had stuck a little closer to the original 3310 look and feel. We could accept thicker device, and a rear which somewhat resembles the original would have been nice.

Meanwhile the display feels like a real blast from the past, but it’s a significant upgrade over the old 3310. The new Nokia 3310 has a 2.4-inch, 240 x 320 full color display which is bright, but hardly crisp. 

Of course you’re paying very little for the phone so it’s not an issue, but don’t go trying to tap the menu items. Touchscreen this ain’t. 

Text is perfectly readable though, and the new version of Snake is playable. They’re not blockbuster graphics, but if they were it would ruin the appeal of this phone.

New Nokia 3310 interface and performance

What’s waiting for you on screen then? Android? Nope. Windows 10 Mobile? Absolutely not.  

Nokia’s stuck with its feature phone operating system, with the new 3310 running Nokia Series 30+. 

That gives you a number of menu options with classics like Call Logs, Contacts, Calculator and Messages joined by a calendar, a basic web browser, photos, radio, music player, voice recorder, a camera application and more.  

For a feature phone there's a surprising number of options in the menu of the Nokia 3310, giving it abilities above the basic text messaging and calls.

Oh, and did we mention, SNAKE IS BACK! It's an updated version which uses just the '4' and '6' keys for left and right, resulting in gameplay which is more akin to slither.io rather than the original game.

The four-way direction pad below the display provides an easy way to navigate round the various options, and we found performance to be generally good. Apps do take a split second to load, but considering this is a feature phone it’s hard to really complain.

One disappointing point is the fact the new Nokia 3310 is only 2.5G compatible. That means no 3G or 4G data speeds, resulting in a very basic browsing experience. 

Certain markets will also be able to download simplified Twitter and Facebook apps, but these weren’t available to use during our hands on. 

It also lacks Wi-Fi, so you won’t be able to connect to a home or office network for a faster connection either. There is Bluetooth though, along with a music player and a 3.5mm headphone jack which allows you to listen to any tracks you put on a microSD card and slide inside the handset.

See how the new Nokia 3310 shapes up against the original 3310 in our versus video below

New Nokia 3310 battery and camera

The original Nokia 3310 was also known for its long battery life, and there’s good news for those eyeing up the new 3310. 

A removable 1,200mAh power pack is an instant upgrade over the 900mAh of the original, and thanks to the improvements in phone efficiency the new Nokia 3310 boasts 22 hours of talk time and up to 31 days of standby. 

That’s a huge upgrade over the 2.5 hours of talktime and 260 hours (around 11 days) of standby on the original Nokia 3310. You can charge the new 3310 with a standard microUSB cable too, so you won’t need to trawl eBay for the old-school charger.  

The first 3310 arrived before manufacturers started putting cameras in phones, but this is 2017 and it makes sense for the new Nokia 3310 to sport a snapper – even if it is rather understated. 

What you get is a 2MP camera on the rear of the phone. There’s no flash, HDR, panorama mode or anything fancier than a simple point and shoot app with a digital zoom. It’s not going to dazzle you then, but we can see it being a handy feature on a secondary smartphone. 

We snapped a few quick pics during our hands on time with the new 3310 and image quality is as acceptable as you'd expect from a low-res camera.

Early verdict

For those who fondly remember the Nokia 3310 the new model will almost be a no-brainer of a purchase. 

Its low price and pleasing feature set – not to mention the battery life – provides an appealing option for anyone looking for a back-up handset, festival phone or just a simple novelty/retro buy. 

Those less familiar with the 3310 are likely to be a little more puzzled over this phone’s existence, and the hype surrounding it, but it can serve a purpose for pretty much anyone.

Source: techradar

The secret story of how the LG G6 leaked online

A behind-the-scenes look at why we know so much already

If there’s one thing that’s been a constant over the last decade in the technology industry, it’s the early leaking of upcoming phones on the internet.

But where once it was just the odd whisper, a selection of blocky images or a slip of the tongue from an over-eager employee, now we’re in a world where the level of secrecy on new phone has slackened to the point where even the iPhone will be accidentally shown off by Apple ahead of its launch. 

The iron grip of secrecy surrounding a phone’s launch is undoubtedly slipping, with anyone interested in finding out what a brand is up to needing only to spend a few moments Googling to know pretty much everything that’s about to happen. 

The subject of leaks inspires fierce debate among tech fans. Does it ruin the surprise? Or is the search for morsels of information and the disseminating of salacious gossip the most exciting part of the launch – a thrilling chase that's more satisfying than the expensive catch at the end?

Building the hype

Certain patterns of behavior are apparent in the leaks – or lack of leaks – from different manufacturers. Apple’s development of its iPhones has traditionally been cloaked in the most secrecy, while many of the Asian brands have traditionally been far more regular with the outpouring of information, raising questions as to whether the manufacturers themselves are doing the leaking in order to drum up interest in their new handsets.

LG's behaviour has always been the most curious though. Where others let slip information quietly, LG will proudly announce key features of its new G Series flagship phones ahead of time, with the tech press in no doubt as to what they’ll be seeing come launch time.

The LG G5 leaked in December 2015, three months before the reveal at MWC 2016.

We recently reported on the forthcoming LG G6 launch in Barcelona later this month, and in that piece we questioned why LG would give away so much information with such regularity. Surely it ruined the surprise?

To our surprise this struck a chord with a source within LG, who consented to an interview with TechRadar over its pre-release strategy under the condition of anonymity, in which they finally explained why the company's new handsets are splashed all over the internet ahead of their glitzy press conference unveiling.

TR: How long before launch was the LG G6 conceived?

LG: Generally we start developing a new smartphone a year and a half before launch. So for about six months you have two teams working on different products simultaneously, one as it's finishing and the other as it's starting. 

TR. We often see early prototypes of new phones leaking months ahead of launch, with features that don’t make it to the final model. How many prototypes typically are made of a flagship phone?

LG: There is no set number – it depends on the particular device, and how close to expectations they come at the early stage. 

TR: At what point during the LG G6's conception and creation did you expect to see it start appearing on the internet? 

LG: Generally, consumer and media interest in a phone starts about three months before the expected announcement date. Interest in the upcoming G phone has been particularly high, probably because there was so much speculation in the beginning as to whether it would be modular or not. 

Surprisingly, we've seen more coverage of imaginary images of the new G-series phone than we saw with the G5, which was unexpected because we thought the early speculation that the G5 would be modular was what was driving the buzz. I guess we were wrong.

TR: Where do leaks typically come from? Are they seen as a positive or negative thing within LG?

LG: While we would prefer to be able to control the flow of information, it gets tougher and tougher with each new phone. I mean, if a candidate for the American Presidency can't stop her emails from leaking, what chance do we have? 

Joking aside, this is a whole different world than 2010, when a prototype phone from [Apple headquarters] Cupertino ended up in the wrong hands.

You simply can't undo something that gets released online, it's out there forever, and there are so many touch points these days, from suppliers to retailers to case makers who have access to devices before they're official. 

So we like to think that information that gets out before its time just proves how much interest there is in the product. And with the new G phone, there's been plenty of interest, which we're happy about.

TR: We saw the early pictures of the LG G6 in January; is that earlier than you'd like for the phone to be shown off? At what point are you okay with elements being seen?

LG: We’re less likely these days to spend too much time, energy and resources trying to find the source of a particular leak. Hey, it's out there so you can't turn back the clock. We try to make the best of it... lemons into lemonade, as they say.

Credit: The Verge

TR: Do you get wind of a source having a leak before it goes live, and if so what can be done about it?

LG: We see the details and images online, like everyone else. On some occasions we'll see details pop up first on some Russian or Chinese site that the English [speaking] media hasn't caught wind of yet. That gives us a little bit of time to prepare ourselves for the inevitable questions as to whether that story is accurate. Of course, we don't confirm or deny anything.

TR: LG’s internal divisions – LG Display in particular – often announces they're going to be bringing their latest product to the next iteration of the G series. What’s the benefit to LG of different divisions confirming they'll be supplying for the next flagship phone?

LG: Well, you have to remember that our suppliers aren't only supplying to us. By announcing a component in an upcoming smartphone these partners are generating interest in other smartphone manufacturers who are planning their next products.

If you have a big customer, you want smaller customers to know that.

TR: Why does LG release the name of its flagship phones ahead of launch? 

LG: In the past we didn't. But we thought that with the G6 it was already such a well-known assumption that we didn't see much of a benefit in playing coy until February 26. After all, what were we going to call it – G7?

TR: What’s the benefit of having a press conference at an expensive event like Mobile World Congress when you could just spend more time leaking / previewing the phone on the internet?

LG: Press events give companies a chance to set the record straight, to control the message one hundred percent.

Even today, no one actually knows for sure which story is accurate and which isn't. And this is why it's more important than ever that we have official announcements, so we can help separate rumors from fact.

Think about this fact: even though there are more and more leaks every year, more and more people turn up at our press events at MWC. That tells us that journalists still want to hear the truth from an official representative, and actually touch and feel the product, something that one can't do with a story or photograph.

TR: In our experience, every other big phone brand is petrified of leaks, and works to ensure that as few details as possible emerge before the big announcement, so why does LG take an alternative view? Does being so open bring any tangible benefit?

LG: Petrified is a strong word. We don't like not being in control of the communication process, but that's life in the digital age. We're realistic. 

And at the end of the day, if someone doesn't think he or she needs to attend an unveiling event because all the information is already out there, I say fine, let's save that seat for someone who wants the real hands-on experience. We can live with that.

Source: techradar

Nokia WILL Release Two Android Phones In 2017: Nokia 6 Was Just The Beginning

Nokia's return to the mobile space is now under way with the Nokia 6. But this is just the beginning...

This year, 2017, is the year when Nokia returns to the smartphone space. Will it be a triumphant return? We hope so, and there's every reason to belive it could be given Nokia's history in the space. On top of that, the Nokia 6 has now hit the market, though is currently an exclusive to China, but it is selling like the proverbial hotcakes; pre-orders were through the roof, and the handset has literally sold out in minutes. Clearly interest and demand in Nokia Android devices is sky high.

Nokia's deal with Microsoft has now expired, so the firm can once again launch its own devices with its own branding onboard.

It won't be Lumia or Windows Phone any more, nope, what we're looking at is Android all the way. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Nokia is BACK!

Nokia 6 Android Phone Sells Out In Record TIME

Nokia's first Android-powered smartphone, the Nokia 6 sold out in under one minute.

That’s right: One minute…

The handset, which is a China exclusive, was releases as part of a flash sale that over one million people signed up to enter.

At the time of reporting it is unclear exactly how many units Nokia sold of its Nokia 6 handset. But the fact that it sold out is very good news for the company’s return to the space.

The Nokia 6 isn’t even Nokia’s flagship; nope, that handset is destined to launch at MWC 2017 and that phone WILL be coming to the UK and US.

Check out the specs for the Nokia 6 below: 

• Display: 5.50-inch
• Processor: 1.1GHz octa-core
• Front Camera: 8-megapixel
• Resolution: 1080x1920 pixels
• RAM: 4GB
• OS: Android 7.0
• Storage: 64GB
• Rear Camera: 16-megapixel
• Battery Capacity: 3000mAh

"With the arrival of Nokia 6," said HMD at launch, "consumers will see superior craftsmanship and design quality in action. It takes 55 minutes to machine a single Nokia 6 from a solid block of 6000 series aluminium. It then receives two separate anodising processes, taking over ten hours to complete, with each phone being polished no less than five times. The end result is an aluminium unibody with the highest level of visual and structural quality."

Arto Nummela, CEO, HMD Global said: “Just a short while ago we announced the launch of HMD Global. From the outset we have stated that we intend to move with speed to establish a position as a player in the smartphone category and create products that truly meet consumer needs. The Nokia 6 is a result of listening to our consumers who desire a beautifully crafted handset with exceptional durability, entertainment and display features.

Our ambition is to deliver a premium product, which meets consumer needs at every price point, in every market. We start today, with our premium, high quality Nokia 6; built to deliver a fantastic core user experience for Chinese consumers. We look forward to unveiling further products in the first half of this year.”

Nokia & HMD: What's The  Deal?

While Microsoft might be gone, Nokia isn't without partners in this endeavour, although partner isn't exactly the right word. Nokia is now OWNED by HMD, another Finnish company. But who are HMD? 

Here's how the company describes itself in its official marketing materials: 

"Nokia is known around the world for its history of innovation, including in mobile phones. As the new home of Nokia phones, HMD will write the next chapter for these products. HMD plans for its future Nokia branded smartphones and tablets to run on the Android operating system, uniting one of the world’s iconic mobile brands with the leading mobile software and app development community."

On December 1 2016, HMD Global has issued a press release on the subject of its plans with Nokia in 2017. Amongst the details there is confirmation of new handsets arriving next year. The company stated that "new Nokia smartphones on Android operating system [will be] available in H1 2017."

"Today marks a happy and important day for HMD. Nokia has been one of the most iconic and recognisable phone brands globally for decades. The excitement of re-introducing this much-loved, well-known and trusted brand to smartphone consumers is a responsibility and an ambition that everyone at HMD shares.

Driven by the extremely positive reception we have received since HMD was announced earlier this year, we are excited about building the next chapter for Nokia phones. We see this as a brilliant opportunity to solve real life consumer problems and to deliver on the quality and designs that the Nokia brand has been always known for. Our talented and passionate team is uniquely placed in this modern setup to deliver our promise of reliable, beautifully crafted and fun Nokia phones for consumers across the globe."

• HMD Global enters the market today, to create a new generation of Nokia branded mobile phonesthrough an exclusive 10-year brand licensing agreement  
• Effective immediately, HMD will own the existing Nokia branded feature phone business, providing global market reach and scale 
• HMD Global leadership team announced; ambition to become significant player in the global smartphone market  
• Strategic partnership model with leading industry players and world-class expertise to bring the very best Nokia mobile phone experience to global consumers

The Nokia brand, as rumoured, is returning to the mobile space to make Android-powered smartphones and tablets. The news was confirmed in a press release from the company, which is now owned by HMD, a new company set up to enable the proliferation of Nokia-branded phones and tablets.

Here’s the official line from HMD on what’s happening:

“HMD has been founded to provide a focused, independent home for a full range of Nokia-branded feature phones, smartphones and tablets. To complete its portfolio of Nokia branding rights, HMD announced today that it has conditionally agreed to acquire from Microsoft the rights to use the Nokia brand on feature phones, and certain related design rights. The Microsoft transaction is expected to close in H2 2016. Together these agreements would make HMD the sole global licensee for all types of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets. HMD intends to invest over USD 500 million over the next three years to support the global marketing of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets, funded via its investors and profits from the acquired feature phone business.”

Nokia will not be investing any money in the project but it will receive royalties and sit on the board of HMD’s directors. Quite a few of Nokia’s old top brass will be returning to the fold as well.

“This agreement will give HMD full operational control of sales, marketing and distribution of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets, with exclusive access to the pre-eminent global sales and distribution network to be acquired from Microsoft by FIH, access to FIH’s world-leading device manufacturing, supply chain and engineering capabilities, and to its growing suite of proprietary mobile technologies and components,” said HMD in a press release.

What this means is simple: Nokia WILL return with Android phones and tablets, as well as wearables off the back of its Withings acquisition. 

Nokia's MWC 2017 Plans And Beyond: How Many Phones?

Nokia has confirmed that it will release two Android phones inside early 2017. Previous rumours pointed to a launch during Q4 2016, but this didn't occur. Nokia will apparently announce the phones at MWC 2017 and a release will follow shortly thereafter.

Nokia is also rumoured to be prepping a MASSIVE Android-powered tablet as well. And when we say massive, we really do mean massive – it’s said to have an 18in display.

The unnamed tablet showed up in benchmarks over the weekend and could well be Nokia’s plot for taking on Apple’s iPad Pro, as well as Microsoft’s Surface line of hybrids and laptops.

There will be at least two phone models: a mid-ranger and a flagship handset. The latter is naturally the one most people are interested in, as it is the phone that will go head-to-head with the likes of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S8, which will get a release around the same time.

Word on the street suggests the flagship handset will pack in Qualcomm’s brand new and as-yet-unreleased Snapdragon 835 CPU and a whopping 6GB of RAM.

The other handset will also feature the Snapdragon 835, but make do with “only” 4GB of RAM. Carl Zeiss imaging will return on one or both of the handsets will feature a dual-lens camera setup, similar to what we saw on the LG G5 and iPhone 7 Plus earlier on in 2017.

As of January 4 2017, evidence has emerged in the form of a leaked presentation slide. The slide, shown in a photo picked up by NPU, apparently shows that ambitions for Nokia-branded Android devices in 2017 extend to a suite of as many as six or seven handsets. The slideshow was showcased by Malaysian device distributor Avaxx and shows that a "total of 6-7 models will be available by end 2017."

It adds that "Entry, Mid & High End Smartphones," will be part of this line-up. Over time it seems, perhaps with more and more positive media coverage, Nokia and HMD's plans have expanded from initially just a handful of two or three phones, then to five, and now to as many as six or even seven. Of course it's also possible that all of them were planned, or at least prototyped, all along and it's only that evidence has emerged gradually.

Nokia "Heart"

On January 23 2017, evidence has emerged that there may be a new lower-end Nokia model which is reportedly codenamed "Heart". The phone rocked up in a set of benchmark results on the GFXBench database; it shows that at its core this is similar to the Nokia 6 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 CPU, however, pretty much ever other spec on the sheet has been downgraded from the Nokia 6's spec line-up.

It's still running Android 7.0 Nougat, of course, and packs a 5.2in 720p display panel. The CPU is clocked at 1.4GHz and uses the Adreno 505 GPU and 2GB of RAM. There's 16GB of onboard storage, a 12MP primary camera and an 8MP secondary. With this lower spec, we'd expect a lower price; it has been rumoured that some new Nokia Android phones will cost as little as $150 and this could be a possible candidate as the Nokia 6 has a slightly higher spec and a $250 price tag in China.

The Nokia E1

One of the forthcoming models is the Nokia E1, a leak on Friday 6 January has revealed the specs for the device; a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 quad-core processor with an Adreno 308 GPU runs the show, along with 2GB RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. The touch display is a 720p setup at either 5.2in or 5.3in, while the cameras are a 13MP primary and a 5MP secondary.

The Nokia 6

The Nokia 6, meanwhile, leaked on China's Weibo social network where one lucky tipster managed to get some hands-on time with the device, including photos.

As mentioned, this phone, model number TA-1000, will only launch in China and is a mid-range model at $250, but features an aluminium metal body which perhaps gives us some indication of how the other devices in the series will look.

We get a view of the device from a range of angles, and it's looking pretty slick it must be said. The handset is a solid-black slate sculpted from a single piece of aluminium. The entire frontage is more of less taken up by its 5.5in 1080p display, which measures 5.5in diagonally.

As for specs, you’re looking at 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of onboard storage alongside microSD support, Snapdragon 430 CPU, a 16 megapixel main camera, and a 3,000 mAh battery.

The Nokia 6 will run Android Nougat out the box but, unfortunately, is only launching in China at the moment. The reason? China is still a growth market, so it will be easier for Nokia to establish itself there versus inside the more fixed and stagnant markets of Europe and the US.

This is a mid-range handset. The price will be low, hence HMD’s focus on China where price is a HUGE driving force for adoption. The handset will be priced at around $245, making it very accessible – even in China’s market, alongside brands like Xiaomi.

The Nokia 6 will be available inside early January and will be exclusively available in China via JD.com.

According to reports on January 11, the Nokia 6 might actually become an internationally released model in time. It's by no means confirmation, but a version of the Nokia 6 has been spotted passing its Bluetooth certification, and this is not the same version we've seen being prepped for launch in China either. The new model, seen listed in a database filing, carries the model number TA-1003, as opposed to the China version whih is TA-1000. The timing of the certification suggests that the handset may be in the preparatory stages of an announcement timed for the MWC 2017 expo in Barcelona in late February - an announcement at the event would likely be aimed globally.

Remember, however, that the Nokia 6 is still a mid-ranger, not a flagship phone, so we're still expecting a major release for a lead model from Nokia at MWC.

Source: knowyourmobile