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Meizu MX3 may be Ubuntu OS high-end partner

January 10, 2014 By Daniel Giordano Leave a Comment

Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu and Ubuntu Touch, announced a short while back that they have got one high-end partner to launch Ubuntu OS on a phone. From leaks today, it looks like that partner will be Chinese phone maker Meizu and the phone may be the current flagship, the Meizu MX3.

The Meizu MX3 is one of the high-end smartphones competing in the Chinese market and comes in a variation on models, the highest running a octa-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and 8MP rear camera.

It is questionable why Meizu would partner up with Ubuntu OS, considering they already have Flyme OS, an Android skin with extras. This is not the first Chinese company to decide to do this and Meizu may see it as a way to break into the Western market, offering their hardware and Ubuntu OS as the software.

Oppo did the same with CyanogenMod, a popular ROM for Android, adding it onto the Oppo N1 and shipping it in the US and Europe. Not only did this gain Oppo presence in those markets, it made CyanogenMod look at adding their ROM onto smartphones before users open the phone.

Canonical needs to start somewhere and securing a high-end smartphone could bring them a lot of success in the future. Ubuntu OS may not only be available on the Meizu MW3, according to recent reports, the new mobile OS will run on a few low-end devices too.

The company did say they were excited about 2014 and it looks like Ubuntu OS will be a fully-fledged mobile OS this year, instead of just a switch between Ubuntu and Android. We are seeing a lot more mobile operating systems come out, including Firefox OS and CyanogenMod.

Meizu MX4 rumored to come with two configurations

December 27, 2013 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

A lot of talented Chinese smartphone companies are starting to spring up, Xiaomi, Oppo and Meizu are just three of the new line of companies regularly updating their top end smartphones for the masses and Meizu has made it a habit of making incredible phones at cheap prices.

The Meizu MX4 may go down a different route from previous MX devices, but a similar one to other smartphones this year – releasing two configurations, one for high-end and one for mid-range buyers, with changes internally.

According to the report, the major change will be on the processor side, the high-end Meizu MX4 is likely to come with Qualcomm’s new quad-core Snapdragon 805 and the mid-range variant will apparently come with a MediaTek processor.

Another feature set for the high-end edition is the 2056 x 1536 display, the same resolution as Apple’s retina display on the iPad Mini. Meizu will condense the pixels on Apple’s iPad Mini into a 5.5-inch display for the Meizu MX4.

The mid-range handset will sport a modest 1920 x 1080 display instead of the “retina display” on the high-end Meizu MX4. Truly, it looks like the mid-range Meizu MX4 will just be the MX3 with some small updates to the software and a slight upgrade in performance.

For those that don’t know Meizu, the company is well known for delivering their own devices, with well designed hardware and impressive software, named Flyme OS, a variant of Android. Unlike most OEM skinning options, Meizu knows how to get it right on both fronts, making them one of the most popular Chinese manufacturers.

Meizu has not had the incredible success Xiaomi has had in the past, but this is probably due to the company being a high-end only brand, not selling their smartphones for dirt cheap like Xiaomi, even though the Meizu MX4 will be cheaper than most flagships outside of China.

Meizu MX3 officially announced in China with 128GB storage option

September 2, 2013 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

Meizu is another name from China almost unheard of in the West, but like Xiaomi they are making some waves in the technology industry, working to actually make competitive products with impressive hardware and software.

The new Meizu MX3 oversteps the current flagship, the MX2. The phone has powerful specs that will surprise Android fans, even though the company takes a while to get their phone to other markets, especially in the US.

Starting with a 5.1-inch 1800×1080 IPS display, an odd resolution but still one of the best around, running on Samsung’s Exynos 5 octo-core CPU, the same one that is fitted onto some international variants of the Galaxy S4.

The Meizu MX3 also has 2GB of RAM and is the first smartphone to offer an 128GB storage option, reportedly coming on the Galaxy Note 3 and iPhone 5S. Meizu will also offer other storage options for those who want to keep some money.

Meizu has went conservative when it comes to camera specs, with an 8MP rear and 2MP front camera. The rear camera has a sapphire lens, f/2.0 aperture and Fujitsu ISP software features. The battery for the Meizu MX3 is a little undercooked, with a 2400mAh Sony-made battery.

As we said, Meizu is like Xiaomi, they develop both the hardware and software and they are good at it. Unlike Samsung, LG, ZTE and other manufacturers that cannot seem to understand simplicity in software design, Meizu has developed some pretty unique features for their UI, Flyme 3.0, underneath Android 4.2.2.

With prices starting at $410 for the 16GB version all the way up to $650 for the 128GB option, Meizu has made the smartphone a little cheaper than Samsung or Apple would with these storage options. The 16GB Galaxy S4 is the same price as the 128GB Meizu MX3, incredibly.

We are unlikely to see Meizu ship the new device to the US, although it may come to Europe as other devices have from the Chinese manufacturer in the past. Perhaps with this leap in excitement over the new device, they may make a push for one carrier in the US.

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