We have been hearing rumours about a Samsung foldable phone in the works for more than two years now, with the company showing off several prototypes of folding displays as well.

The South Korean company in the meantime has launched Galaxy smartphones with curved edge displays. If a new leak is to be believed, we might finally see a foldable Samsung smartphone in January - with the company reportedly already testing the smartphone. Additionally, Samsung's mysterious Galaxy View device has been certified by the Bluetooth SIG claiming it's a tablet.

According to a tipster from China (via GforGames), Samsung's foldable smartphone has been codenamed Project Valley and is being tested with two different chipsets - Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 and Snapdragon 820. Other details tipped by the tipster claim that the handset will feature 3GB of RAM; come with expandable storage, and will come with an embedded battery.

It's worth noting that a previous report had claimed that Samsung was testing the unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset 'aggressively'. The test results were said to determine if the chipset would be featured in next year's flagship models or not.

In other news, Samsung's mysterious Galaxy View device which was teased during its IFA event and expected to the oft-leaked 18.4-inch tablet from the company has purportedly been certified byBluetooth SIG with model name SM-T670. The Bluetooth SIG listing of the tablet doesn't reveal many details; except that the Bluetooth version will be 4.1.

To recall, Samsung just as it did at the Galaxy Unpacked event last month, teased a new upcoming product at the end of the IFA show - what appeared to be a large tablet. Dubbed Galaxy View, the teaser was mysterious enough to hide most details but a kick stand was visible on the back panel. We will have to wait for Samsung to make the announcement.

OnePlus 2 smartphone was unveiled back in July and since then has been available through invite system only. Now, the Chinese company has announced that it will be offering 3,000 invites for theOnePlus 2 in India over next two days.

The company via its official forum announced the news and confirmed that interested consumers can earn an invite for the OnePlus 2 by being a part of the #InviteCarnival. The company has also promised that it will soon bring more OnePlus 2 invites.

"Love quizzes, puzzles, trivia and the like? Then this ought to be right up your alley. Be among the first few to answer them and bag an invite. Total of 3,000 invites are up for grabs! With the passage of time, we will roll out more number of invites," notes the official forum post. The company's #InviteCarnival will kick off Tuesday and go on for two days.

The company has kept few stipulations for contestants participating in the #InviteCarnival including only one entry per contest will be considered; only one invite will be shared with one fan; fans can participate in as many contest as they want, and winners will be selected on the basis of first come first serve rule.

OnePlus CEO Carl Pei had recently announced that the company will be keeping an open sale for the OnePlus 2 smartphone for a limited time, but it will not be applicable for users in India.

The 64GB OnePlus 2 has been priced at Rs. 24,999 and so far has been available in India via Amazon.in after gaining an invite. To refresh, the OnePlus 2 features a 5.5-inch in-cell display with a full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) resolution; powered by a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 v2.1 SoC clocked at 1.8GHz; Adreno 430 GPU; 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM; 64GB internal storage; dual 4G Nano-SIM; USB Type-C connectivity (with the cable reversible at both ends); 13-megapixel rear camera; 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 3300mAh battery.

2015 may have already seen its share of flagship smartphone launches but BlackBerry's long-rumoured Venice Android handset remains one of the most anticipated smartphone launches of the year.

The BlackBerry Venice Slider Android smartphone is expected to launch around November. Popular tipster, @evleaks aka Evan Blass had even claimed that the forthcoming slider smartphone from BlackBerry would arrive on all four US carriers namely AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobiles, and Sprint starting November. Unfortunately, no pricing details for the handset have been tipped so far, but based on the specifications, it is likely to be an expensive phone.

Based on preliminary leaks and rumours, the Venice slider smartphone is said to feature a 5.4-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) display, a 1.8GHz hexa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 808 SoC, 3GB of RAM, an 18-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

On the side-lines, the Canadian company is also said to be working on an Android Lollipop version of the BlackBerry Passport Silver Edition, which also popped up in a leaked video.

Several leaked images claim that BlackBerry's Venice Android smartphone will arrive with a slider form factor. The handset has been seen featuring a sliding Qwerty keyboard just beneath the display. The smartphone's top panel is likely to include the SIM card and microSD card slots.

The right panel was seen including home and volume rocker keys. The rear panel of the Venice smartphone was seen sporting a textured pattern alongside an 18-megapixel rear camera with OIS and dual-LED flash. The BlackBerry Venice smartphone has also been seen sporting a speaker grille at the bottom of the front panel. Last week, the rumoured BlackBerry Venice Android phone was spotted at the Toronto Film Festival. In the leaked image, the handset was seen running a near stock version of the Messenger app. The image also purportedly showed the handset covered in a protective case to possibly hide the overall design.

The yet-to-be-launched BlackBerry Venice was recently seen running near-stock Android Lollipop version alongside some company-specific features. The handset is said to include keyboard shortcuts for creating quick tasks. The smartphone was also seen with an image of a bugdroid holding a shieldwhile booting up. This most likely indicated that the Android handset was secure for enterprise users as well. However, nothing can be confirmed just yet.

A hands-on video showing the BlackBerry Venice smartphone also surfaced on the Internet validating the design seen in previous leaks. The leaked video showed that the Qwerty keyboard on the handset would feature capacitive touch input, allowing to scroll through a page just by touching the keyboard.

Password Keeper, an app usually seen on BlackBerry handsets offering the ability to save and manage passwords, logins, and store information safe and secure, was also seen preloaded on the handset. Considering that BlackBerry and Google earlier this year announced a deal which will see several BlackBerry security apps and services offered to Google's Android OS to improve overall security. We can expect to see the suite of security apps on the BlackBerry Venice Android handset as well.

Coming to software, reliable tipster Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) had last month shared a gif image showing BlackBerry's Productivity Suite of apps on the Venice Android slider smartphone.

To recall, the BlackBerry Productivity Suite includes BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry Calendar, BlackBerry Contacts, Documents to Go, Input, and Universal Search. BlackBerry's Communication Suite includes BBM, Worklife for BlackBerry, BBM Meetings, BBM Protected, SecuSuite for BlackBerry, and Global Support. Lastly, the Security Suite includes BlackBerry Enterprise Service 12, VPN Authentication, Secure Work Spaces, Enterprise Identity by BlackBerry, BlackBerry Blend, and Password Keeper.

The presence of such a large number of pre-loaded apps indicated that the BlackBerry 'Venice' smartphone will not be a stock Android device. Corroborating the same, Blass had said, "This is no stock Android handset." A full image of the BlackBerry Venice's front panel was also leaked on Twitter, and showed some Android apps on the screen such as Google Play, Google+, Hangouts, Google Maps and Android for Work apart from others.

Apart from launching its Mi 4c smartphone, Xiaomi introduced the new Mi Mobile service in China. The company thus marks its entry into an all new segment where it will compete against other China-based carriers.

The new MVNO (or mobile virtual network operator) service from Xiaomi will be offering consumers voice and data services and utilising China Unicom or China Telecom networks.

Under Xiaomi Mi Mobile's pay-as-you-go plan, consumers will be charged CNY 0.10 (approximately Rs. 1.10) per voice minute, SMS, and 1MB data. The plan supports China Unicom 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. It will be available for sale via the company online store (Mi.com) starting Wednesday.

Under the second scheme, consumers will get 3GB data bundle for CNY 59 (approximately Rs. 610) per month. Under this offer, consumers will have to pay equivalent to CNY 0.02/MB (approximately Rs. 0.30) for data and CNY 0.10 (approximately Rs. 1) per voice minute, SMS or 1MB data (after exceeding 3GB data cap). It supports China Telecom 2G, 3G, and 4G networks and will be available in public beta starting October.

The Mi Mobile SIM cards will be available as triple-cut SIM card, which means it could instantly usable with phone supporting mini, micro or nano-SIM cards.

MVNOs, which purchase network capacity from large carriers and resell mobile plans under their own branding, have failed to gain traction in China, where three state-owned giants dominate the telecoms industry.

The launch comes less than six months after Google announced it would launch an MVNO service in the United States called "Fi" that piggybacks off Sprint and T-Mobile's networks.

The Chinese company on Tuesday also unveiled its new Mi Bluetooth Speaker with aluminium body and 1500mAh built-in battery. The new speakers have been priced at CNY 199 (approximately Rs. 2,000). The speaker also comes with microSD card support.

New leaked retail box images have claimed that the upcoming Nexus smartphones will indeed be called Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, in line with earlier leaks.

We are less than a week away from Google's September 29 event where the company is expected to reveal the new Nexus hardware. Many of the details about specifications and design of the upcoming Nexus smartphones - claimed to be manufactured by LG and Huawei - have been leaked. However, there was a lot of confusion around the naming of both the handsets until now.

Android Police has obtained the retail box images of both the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. The styling of the boxes are different from previous years as the new retail boxes in the leaked images sport a large "X" for Nexus 5X and "P" for Nexus 6P. While the Nexus 5X retail box sports a rectangular design, the Nexus 6P comes with rounded edges. The leaked images further confirm that both the handsets would come in 32GB storage options. Material Design-styled wallpapers can also be seen on the retail boxes of both the new Nexus smartphones. It's worth pointing out that the front of both the retail boxes has no OEM logo placement.

Google over the weekend started sending invites for an event on September 29 in San Francisco, and the search engine giant is expected to launch its latest Nexus smartphones apart from a new Chromecast dongle.

We already know that both LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P would be running Google's latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box for which the handsets will be the platform lead devices. They will also sport fingerprint sensors and USB Type-C ports, both features that are supported natively in the upcoming Android release.

Based on past leaks and rumours, the LG Nexus 5X is said to feature a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display; a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor; 3GB of RAM; Adreno 418 GPU; a 12.3-megapixel sensor; a 5-megapixel front camera, and a 2700mAh battery.

As for the larger Huawei Nexus 6P, it is tipped to sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 SoC. A 5.7-inch QHD display and front-facing speakers are also tipped, apart from a 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera.

Xiaomi, as promised, launched its Mi 4c smartphone at an event in China.

As expected, the Xiaomi Mi 4c has been launched in two variants: 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage priced at CNY 1,299 (approximately Rs. 13,500), and 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage priced at CNY 1499 (approximately Rs. 15,500). The Xiaomi Mi 4c will be going on sale starting Wednesday in China and is expected to arrive in other Asian countries, including India, soon. (Update: A Xiaomi representative has said the smartphone is China only, which will disappoint our readers in India.)

The new Mi 4c supports USB Type-C reversible connector, a highlight of the device. The company has introduced a USB Type-C Adapter which will be available via the company's online store (Mi.com) at CNY 5 (approximately Rs. 50). The smartphone also comes with Edge Tap technology, which Xiaomiclaimed it's their patented technology, which allows the handset to perform different assigned functions with a single tap and double tap on the edges of the handset.

According to the company, the Edge Tap technology on the Mi 4c will allow the handset to click an image with just one tap on the edge while double tap will take the user back to previous page. The function can be extremely useful while clicking a quick image without reaching out for the screen. It runs MIUI 6, and is slated to receive MIUI 7 update in the coming months.

The Xiaomi Mi 4c features a 5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) display, similar to the Xiaomi Mi 4i. The company touts that the handset features a Sunlight display, which means it can be easy to read on the screen of the Mi 4c under the Sun and also comes with night reading mode. The Mi 4c supports Double Tap feature, which wakes up the screen on double tap.

Under the hood, the Xiaomi Mi 4c is powered by a 64-bit hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor clocked at 1.8GHz. The handset sports a 13-megapixel rear camera, just like Mi 4i. The rear camera features phase detection autofocus and comes with Sony IMX258 or Samsung S5K3M2 sensor. The handset also features a 5-megapixel front-facing camera that comes with 85-degree wide angle lens and self-timer. The company at the launch compared the front-camera samples of the Mi 4c against the iPhone 6.

The dual 4G SIM-based Mi 4c is backed by 3080mAh battery. The company confirmed that the smartphone supports Quick Charge 2.0. The handset comes with Infrared that helps the handset to act as a remote for various electronic appliances. It measures 138.1x69.6x7.8mm and weighs 132 grams. It will be available in Black, Blue, Orange, Pink, and White colours.

At a virtual launch event on Tuesday, Alcatel announced the Indian launch of Flash 2, the successor to its last year's sleeper hit handset, Alcatel Flash. The handset will go on sale on e-commerce shop Flipkart from October 2015.

In terms of specifications, the Alcatel Flash 2 comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD HD display (720x1280 screen resolution) with 5-point multi-touch capacitive touchscreen. Inside the handset sits a 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 octa-core SoC clocked at 1.3GHz coupled with Mali-T720MP4 GPU. It comes paired with 2GB LPDDR3 RAM and 16GB internal storage that can be expanded by another 128GB using a microSD card.

Other features of the handset include a 13-megapixel rear-camera (Samsung S5K3M2 ISOCELL Sensor) with Phase Detection Autofocus and f/2.0 aperture. It supports autofocus and up to 4 times digital zoom, and can record videos in full-HD video resolution. On the front side, there is a 5-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture and support for autofocus and company's baked in Beauty Mode, and V Gesture recognition features.

There's a 3000mAh battery, which as the company claims, can last for 25 hours on a single charge on 2G network. On the connectivity front, the dual-SIM capable Alcatel Flash 2 supports TDD LTE: Band 40 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi and other standard options. On the software side, the Flash 2 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The Flash 2 is available in Volcanic Grey and Mica White colour variants. As for pricing and availability, it will go on sale in India on Flipkart from October 20. The price of Alcatel Flash 2 is not known as of now, but we should find out soon enough. The company also launched the handset in the Philippines on Tuesday. It will become available in Thailand on September 25, in Indonesia on September 29, in Vietnam on October 13, and in Malaysia on October 15.