OnePlus One specs, photos and camera samples surface

The OnePlus One smartphone is having its announcement on April 23 and as the date nears we've been bombared with new information about the upcoming phone. First up official renders of the phone's StyleSwaps back covers have surfaced. Then, there are new camera samples as well as information regarding the phone's initial availability.

Specifications

Let's get started with the OnePlus One specifications. We already know the phone is featuring a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset with 3GB of RAM as well as a 5.5" full HD JDI display (resulting in a pixel density of 401ppi).

It packs a 3,100mAh battery with OnePlus taunting a "mystery tech" behind it allowing it to last longer between charging times. At the back, there's a 6-piece 13MP f/2.0 Sony Exmor IMX214 camera.

The OnePlus One will come with either 16GB or a 64GB of internal memory and is going to run Android 4.4 KitKat-based CyanogenMod 11S, which has been tailor-made for the phone.

The new information reveals the phone's dimensions and weight. The One measures 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm and weighs 160 grams. Those are nearly the same dimensions as the Oppo Find 7, which launched a month ago. Notably, the One is lighter by 11 grams and thinner by 0.3mm.

StyleSwap back covers

One of the interesting exterior design features of the upcoming OnePlus One is its interchangeable StyleSwap back covers. Oppo teased all the styles that are going to be available, but it's only now that we see them in their full glory.

The StyleSwap covers will be available in different flavors. On the official photo above, there are four different wood styles, a leather and denim ones as well as a cool black and white dotted one.

Despite having a removable back cover, the 3,100mAh battery of the Oneplus One isn't user-replaceable.

Camera samples

In addition to the already outed camera samples we saw a few days ago, new ones are now out. They are taken by photographer Martin Mal, who has won a One smartphone through the company's Photo-Mania competition held in the beginning of April.

Martin says he wanted to test the phone properly, and so he took macro, sunlight, depth of field, and night shots. Here they are.

       
New OnePlus One 13MP camera samples

The photographer expressed his delight with the camera experience of the OnePlus One. We're excited to try it ourselves and give you our detailed analysis of its capabilities.

CyanogenMod 11S

The OnePlus One runs a special version of the popular CyanogenMod 11. It's based on Android 4.4 KitKat and has an added S to it to testify its special nature.

As you'd probably got accustomed to how OnePlus One does things, there have been a few screenshotsthat teased the looks of the UI, but now there are more of them.

    
CyanogenMod 11S running on the OnePlus One

As you can see, there's everything you can expect from the base CyanogenMod 11, but the custom theme, launcher, icons and lockscreen are unique to the One.

Accessories

And if the leaks above weren't enough, photos of the microUSB cable and the pin for the SIM-card tray are now available as well. The SIM pin is stylish, but the microUSB cable is puzzling.

 
OnePlus One's SIM card pin and microUSB cable

It's a regular microUSB cable, but the picture shows a Lightning connector extension that you can attach to it. There's no information at this poin if the One will have a Lightning port, but that seems unlikely.

Availability

OnePlus will release the One in 16 countries at first following the phone's official announcement on April 23. The phone will retail for less than $400/€350. The company also announced it will employ an Invitation system for purchasing the One.

OnePlus anticipates big interest from consumers for its first product and doesn't want to have people waiting by producing the One in batches. Here's the company's solution.

To solve these problems, we have created a much more user friendly way of buying the device through the OnePlus Invite System. With an invite, you can be 100% sure that you’ll actually be able to buy it, and it ships within a few days. In contrast to staying up in the middle of the night trying to buy one along with 20,000 other people. So in the true spirit of the OnePlus name, a good product gets spread by word of mouth, shared among friends for that extra personalized touch

To get an invite you have a bunch of options - through friends, in contests or on the company's forums. Those who've bought a OnePlus One phone will be able to invite their friends for a chance to get the phone, too.

LG isai FL leaked in pink along with specifications

We have seen couple of images of the LG isai FL for Japan before. Although this particular handset will be exclusive to the Japanese market, it is widely believed that the upcoming LG G3 will be based on this device.

In the past we have seen the phone in white and blue colors. The same source - evleaks - has now revealed a bright pink shade, which is almost customary for the Japanese market.

Along with that we also have some specs this time, including a quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC clocked at 2.5GHz, 5.5-inch LCD rumored to be at 2560x1440 resolution, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal memory with microSD support, 3000mAh battery, IPX7 rating which means it is water resistant and Android 4.4 KitKat.

Specs of unannounced Motorola Moto E leak out

Alleged specs of the yet to be announced Motorola Moto E leaked out. When launched, the smartphone will slot below the Moto G in the manufacturer’s product range.

Leaked specs of the Moto E include a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of built-in memory. The latter will likely be further expandable, as 4GB will not get you anywhere in terms of available storage these days.

The display of the Moto E is a 4.3" unit with unknown resolution (we would bet on a sub-720p screen). A 5MP main camera, front-facing snapper, 1,900mAh battery, FM radio, and Android 4.4 KitKat round up the list of known specifications.

The leaked 124.8 x 64.8 x 6.2mm physical measures of the Moto E are truly impressive. The handset will be significantly more elegant than both the Moto G (11.6mm thick) and the Moto X (10.4mm thick).

The Moto E is tipped to arrive in the coming weeks on the Mexican wireless carrier Telcel with the model number XT1021. Its price tag is certain to be lower than that of the Moto G.

LTE-capable ZTE Star 1 with 5" display goes official

ZTE has officially announced a new mid-range smartphone named Star 1 in China. The newest offering from the company has a metal frame and a glass back and looks quite sleek in those official photos.

ZTE Star 1 comes with a 5-inch OGS display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and offers 178-degree wide viewing angle. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor along with Adreno 305 GPU and 2 GB of RAM.

The 8 megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and 5 megapixel front facing shooter completes the camera department. There is 16 GB of internal memory that can be expanded by up to 64 GB via a microSD card. Connectivity options for the Star 1 include 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth with A2DP, USB OTG and GPS.

ZTE Star 1 runs on Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box and the juice for the smartphone is provided by a 2,300mAh battery.

The Star 1 will be available in pink, black and white color and will cost CNY1,399 (about $225). The device will go on sale in China later this month.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 rumored to feature 3-sided YOUM display

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is going to be the first smartphone from the company to pack its YOUM flexible OLED display technology, a new report says. The information comes from Korean media citing insider sources and further elaborates that the display is going to be three-sided.

Three-sided implicates that the display has its left and right sides bent to create additional zones where notifications from messages, email, incoming calls can appear.

In fact, here's a demo from 2013 where Samsung showcased its 3-sided YOUM display prototype. From 1:35 onwards, the video demonstrates the advantages that such an implementation brings.

Additionally, Reuters reports of a Samsung representative who has confirmed that the company is working on a new form factor. This new form factor could very well be what you just saw in the video above.

Traditionally, Samsung unveils the Galaxy Note smartphones in September at the IFA show in Berlin. We'll see if the company will keep the tradition alive this year.