The German company Linshof, which is new in the mobile market, has just announced its smartphone offering: the Linshof i8, which is an ultra-slim (likely around 6 mm or thinner) octa-core device that comes with a 5" Full HD display (in either Super AMOLED or IPS variants, depending on the market), 3 GB of RAM and LTE, and it costs only $380.
The Linshof i8 also brings as much as 80 GB of storage. Only 16 GB is apparently used for apps, while the other 64 GB module is used for media. This sounds like the 64 GB may be a microSD card that the company is offering by default, but it's also possible that the phone has a second internal storage module. The company claims that the 16 GB module is significantly faster than the 64 GB one, although both are likely to be fast enough for whatever you will throw at it.
The phone also comes with a 13 MP Sony sensor and a 28 mm wide-angle and fast f/1.8 lens, which could be great for low-light shots. In front, the phone will have an 8 MP selfie camera.
The Linshof i8 will run Android 5.0 but with the company's own customizations on top, which make it look quite a bit like Windows Phone. The notifications seem to be accessible from the bottom of the screen, possibly because it's easier to reach them that way. It seems the company will also offer certain security features such as the "Safe VPN" feature we can spot on the phone's screen.
In the past few years we've seen local manufacturers pop up in many countries. This is in large part thanks to the open source Android operating system, which makes it easy for smartphone startups to build a mobile device of decent quality that offers features that are just as advanced as devices from better-known manufacturers. We've seen some of these local smartphone startups, such as OnePlus, even go global in popularity.
The Linshof i8 looks to be feature packed, well designed (in an "interesting" octagon-shape way) and ultra-slim, with a big 3,300 mAh battery and a relatively low price. If everything goes well, the Linshof i8 could become the OnePlus One of Europe. The device should start shipping in Q1 2015.
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