It's pretty much what you would expect after a few months of looking at all the leaks that have come through Pocketnow. So, whaddaya think now?
The post Blass leaks out a media-grade render of the Galaxy S8 appeared first on Pocketnow.
Superlative smartphone leaker Evan Blass seems to have come through with the goods again, this time revealing what appears to be an official promotional image of Samsung's Galaxy S8 — and almost a full month ahead of its anticipated official unveiling.
There's little in the way of further details apart from the single image, which we've embedded below, although eagle-eyed observers may note that the date on the handset's is 29th March, which is when Samsung's announcement event is set to take place.
Of course, there've already been plenty of other hints about the features and specs of Samsung's next flagship, so check out our comprehensive Galaxy S8 rumors and release date guide for the full rundown.
So, let's get this straight: the XZ Premium, the XZs, the XA1 and the XA1 Ultra. Got that? Did we leave anyone behind? No? Then let's do this video.
The post Sony Xperia XZ Premium hands-on featuring XZs, XA1, XA1 Ultra at MWC 2017 appeared first on Pocketnow.
It's still considered a mid-ranger, but is Lenovo trying too hard in improving the Moto G-series? We have our hands on the Moto G5 Plus.
The post Moto G5 Plus hands-on: metal, mature, mid-ranger (Video) appeared first on Pocketnow.
It's more than just a bunch of pretty lights: it's also Alcatel's first attempt at modular phone accessories as well. Take a look for yourself!
The post Alcatel A5 LED hands-on: budget stealth modularization (Video) appeared first on Pocketnow.
It's just as thick as the Huawei Watch and has taken a more rugged and decidedly plastic turn. But we think that's neat. Here's our first impressions video.
The post Huawei Watch 2 Hands-On: A larger departure from its predecessor (Video) appeared first on Pocketnow.
Smartphone cameras are improving in almost every way, and one of the major stumbling blocks of the shooter in your pocket may soon be fixed with Oppo's brand new tech.
Oppo has just revealed a phone camera that can zoom into an image five times without any loss of quality.
It sounds a little too good to be true, so we headed down to try it out while at Mobile World Congress 2017. The good news is, it works.
Oppo hasn’t included this tech in a new smartphone release yet. Instead it’s just being displayed on prototype devices that are restricted to only the camera. There's no option of shooting video on these phones, but you can zoom in either one or five times.
The phone pictured in this article will not be released by Oppo, but the tech should soon appear in phone releases from the company.
Lossless zoom has been possible in phone cameras before - the Nokia Lumia 1020 could do 3x zoom back in 2013 - but this is the first time it has been pushed up to 5x zoom.
That means you can zoom in that little bit further and get a great shot. Practically this can be very useful when you're far from your subject - and when using the Oppo tech there was no noticeable loss of quality when zooming.
It’s genuinely breathtaking when you compare these shots to other smartphone cameras on the market.
For example, we tried the same shot with the newly launched Huawei P10 and there was a very clear noticeable loss in quality when trying 5x zoom.
We weren’t allowed to take photos from the Oppo device, but you can see shots of how the image looked in the gallery just above.
The Oppo tech uses a periscope-style structure to beat the competition when it comes to lossless zoom. This diverts light through a prism and into a telephoto lens that’s set at a 90-degree angle to a rear-facing wide-angle lens.
That light shift is how Oppo has been able to achieve lossless zoom without sacrificing the thinness of a phone.
Bear in mind, the photos taken on this demo are very well lit. The Oppo booth was set up to showcase this tech in the best case scenario. This won't work as well when trying to take darker or night time shots.
The company has been working on this tech for over a year now and it includes over 50 different modules working together to allow for this level of lossless zoom.
Oppo hasn't shared any more details on what those modules are, but we know the sensor is only 5.7mm thick, so will be able to fit into the back of a phone without creating a huge camera bump.
Because zooming in is likely to make your images quite blurry, Oppo has also spent a lot of time working on stabilization for photography. Here it's supposedly 40% better than on previous Oppo phones, but we didn’t think the stabilization was particularly good when using it on the floor.
If there's a slight shake in your hand you'll end up with a blurry image, and that's a bit of a shame. That said, if you shake when zooming on any other phone camera you'll end up with the same problem anyway.
This is part of what Oppo will need to work on further if it plans to bring this lossless zoom tech to the market anytime soon.
Considering some flagship manufacturers are currently focusing on upping the size of camera sensors and not working on areas such as stabilization and zoom, this is a big step towards a great new feature in our smartphone cameras.
This technology is exclusive to Oppo at the moment, but a similar tech could be applied by other companies to their smartphone snappers in the future, or Oppo may even license the idea out to other firms to use in their phones.
Improving such a vital feature of camera technology on smartphones just means we’re another step closer to being able to see phone photography compete with fully fledged cameras.
Whether the next Oppo phone will be capable of that task remains to be seen, but the new 5x lossless zoom tech may be one of the biggest highlights of whatever flagship phone Oppo releases next.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
This year's Mobile World Congress may have wrapped up on a high note for Windows 10 convertibles, with the powerful new Lenovo Yoga 720 and 520.
The post These new Lenovo Yoga 720 and 520 convertibles are pricey, but with good reason appeared first on Pocketnow.
According to the GSM Association, the organizer of the Mobile World Congress, last year's best smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
The post Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge follows S6 Edge in taking top Glomo Awards honors appeared first on Pocketnow.
Speaking at an Ericsson event at MWC 2017, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray said that the carrier will have to work on converting every last call onto VoLTE.
The post Expect an LTE-only T-Mobile by 2019 if the carrier can peel legacy clingers appeared first on Pocketnow.
The LG G6 doesn’t have the older Snapdragon 821 chipset because Samsung has an exclusive deal with Qualcomm to be the first to put a Snapdragon 835.
Developing...
On its own, the Moto Z is but a thin, well-designed flagship smartphone. But with Moto Mods, it has become something more than just that. These optional modules bring new, forward-thinking features to an aging device to keep it interesting as time goes on.
And although it’s a brilliant concept and executed way better than LG’s Friends campaign could dream of, there’s a bit of a problem. And it started to show itself with the Moto G5.
The leaks leading up to the unveiling showed that it has a removable battery, which got me thinking: “Motorola should bring mods to the low-end.”
Currently, the company is only serving these extra features to customers who have a considerable amount of expendable income. But as the idea behind modules is to enrich and empower people with the freedom of choice, the Moto G5 seemed to be the perfect place to expand.
But, as you know, that didn’t happen, so I sat down with Dan Dery, the vice president of Lenovo’s mobile business group to discuss why the company didn’t make the move.
“You’re telling me I have not, yet I haven’t said no to it,” Dery retorted.
“You haven’t seen anything so far, but I can give you a reason as to why it’s not coming now. Mods have to promise to be backward compatible for two years and obviously, there are limitations as to how low we can go and how sustainable that can be.”
So, is the Moto G5 too “low” in terms of performance, as Dery stated? While it definitely isn’t as powerful as the Moto Z (or even close, for that matter) it isn’t a pushover. It feels that, at this stage, Moto’s budget line would be a perfect fit for mods. But, his answer indicates that there’s more to the story.
“The last thing we want to do, and this is what I always keep in mind, I don’t want to end up with a fragmented ecosystem. That would be the worst. If we start being more complicated than that, we’ll kill the whole thing.”
It seems as if Moto still has mods on the mind for its affordable, highly acclaimed lineup in the future, though that day hasn’t come yet. And honestly, it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to steal the show at MWC 2017.
But those disappointed have to appreciate that Moto isn’t forcing it. If anything, this year’s Moto G seems to be the phone that is tying its budget and premium devices together.
Maybe after another year, possibly at MWC 2018 or before, we’ll see Moto’s full suite of ambitious feature-expanding mods working on a phone that won’t cost you as much as the Moto Z.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
China's TCL is looking to further ramp up its smartphone-producing efforts this year, with own-brand, BlackBerry and... Palm hardware?!
The post TCL has own-brand phones, at least two more BlackBerries, and maybe even Palm stuff on the way appeared first on Pocketnow.
There's a software lord in China and there's hope for iterative point updates. Unfortunately, it came with a big MiFavor UI update, too.
The post ZTE Axon 7 updated to Android 7.1 in China appeared first on Pocketnow.
It's no big secret that Apple probably has a curved OLED iPhone 8 in the pipeline, but what if its Lightning port will go away to make room for USB Type-C?
The post Curved OLED iPhone 8 rumors rehashed yet again, new USB-C gossip calls for Lightning exclusion appeared first on Pocketnow.
The iPhone 8 may be dropping Apple's Lightning port for USB-C according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
The report states that the next iPhone will feature a “USB-C port for the power cord and other peripheral devices instead of the company’s original Lightning connector.”
Though this would be a surprising move from Apple considering it’s never been shy about the fact that its devices and peripherals have their own connection standards, it does have precedence as the company recently adopted USB-C on its MacBook line.
That said, the report doesn’t explicitly state that the USB-C port will be on the handset itself. It could mean that Apple is actually planning to change the connector on its power adapters.
This would mean that rather than charging cables and plugs with USB A to Lightning connectors, we could see USB C to Lightning, making it possible for new Mac owners to connect their iPhones more easily while retaining the Lightning port on the phone.
This would make USB-C connection optional and it would certainly be less alienating to those already heavily invested in Apple’s Lightning-heavy ecosystem.
The report also states that there will be three new iPhones this year, with two being updates to the last generation called iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, and one being a premium model that’s rumored to be a 10th anniversary iPhone 8.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, the iPhone 8 will drop the traditional home button and replace it with a touch-enabled function area which we imagine would behave something like the Touch Bar on the latest Macbooks.
One of the three new devices will also feature a curved edge-to-edge OLED display similar to those seen on Samsung’s Galaxy Edge smartphones, while the other iPhone models will retain the standard LCD displays.
We've heard several of these rumors already which adds weight to the Wall Street Journal's report. If they prove to be true, we wouldn't be surprised if the iPhone 8 proves to be Apple's most expensive phone yet as we've also heard reported.
A refreshed HP Pro x2 has been unveiled at MWC 2017, and made available stateside for $979 and up with Windows 10, optional keyboard and Wacom Pen.
The post HP Pro x2 612 G2 convertible tablet targets mobile professionals with robust design appeared first on Pocketnow.
The Fairphone 2 takes an eco-friendly approach to phone design by using conflict-free materials and employing a modular design to make repairs easier, but now the company is looking to expand its products to more than just phones.
This means you one day may be able to buy a Fairlaptop or Fairwatch from the company, one that will be made with conflict free materials.
Fairphone CEO Bas van Abel confirmed at MWC 2017 that Fairphone is looking to diversify its product line up, but it has no specific plans for either a Fairtablet or Fairheadphones.
Abel said, “Making phones is so complicated, adding more products makes it pretty difficult. On the other hand, from a commercial point of view it's very risky to have just one product.
“We don’t have plans to make Fairpads or Fairheadphones at the moment, but we’re looking into creating a portfolio of products.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to make all kinds of different products, but it could mean we make the decision to do so.”
Fairphone is all about creating tech products from sustainable sources and making devices that last longer and can be repaired easily.
Sustainability is set to become a far bigger issue for the gadget-buying public as resources to create our gadgets become harder to mine or produce, as well as a general rise in interest from consumers who don't want to harm the environment just to own a device that lets them read their emails more swiftly.
Companies like Fairphone won't suddenly become Apple rivals with this stance, but they're showing the direction that could be taken and highlighting key messages that smartphone buyers need to be aware of.
It's unlikely we're going to see new Fair products ready to buy in the near future, but the fact Fairphone is looking to diversify does point toward a future where you can kit yourself out with guilt-free tech.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
The MWC 2017-unveiled Meizu Super mCharge smartphone fast-charging solution may soon put Quick Charge 3.0 or VOOC to absolute shame.
The post Meizu Super mCharge tech will fill up a 3,000 mAh battery in 20 minutes… someday appeared first on Pocketnow.
Meizu showcased its new Super mCharge technology at MWC 2017, which claims to fully charge a zeroed-out battery in just over 20 minutes.
The Chinese company’s third generation charging technology is going head-to-head with Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 3.0 (QC3.0) and apparently ousts it in a few keys ways.
First off, Super mCharge utilizes its own cable and connector, in conjunction with its own 3,000mAh test battery, to bring an industry-leading five amp current that goes a long way in pulling in more power at a faster pace than Qualcomm’s standard.
Yet somehow, Meizu’s technology can charge faster while keeping the temperature of the cable and thus, the device, lower. Compared once again to QC3.0, Super mCharge tops out at 39-degrees celsius (about 102-degrees fahrenheit) while the competition gets up to 85-degrees celsius.
It’s impressive that Meizu can accomplish such a thing while maintaining a lower temperature, but that alone doesn’t really benefit the consumer in a tangible way. That’s compounded by the fact that this tech won’t show up in phones outside of Meizu’s own future devices.
However, what is of more relevance is safety. Can Meizu guarantee that its new charging solution won’t be a fastlane to another fiasco like the one that the Note 7 brought on?
Li Tao, of Meizu’s research and development team is confident that it won’t happen, saying “Super mCharge is not only the fastest charging technology, but the safest one of all.”
OK then, I guess we’ll have to take his word for it until we see the tech (hopefully) showing up in a Meizu device later this year.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
Not available yet for any previous-gen smartwatches, Android Wear 2.0 should hit Fossil Q devices in mid March, followed by Asus ZenWatches.
The post ‘All’ Fossil Q devices get Android Wear 2.0 next month, Asus ZenWatch 2 and 3 in early Q2 appeared first on Pocketnow.
Are you with BT for your landline service? In that case, prepare yourself for some good news, because the bill for your line rental could be due for a reduction to the tune of at least £5 per month, possibly more – providing you’ve subscribed for just the landline (as opposed to a bundle of other products such as broadband and TV).
This is Ofcom’s freshly announced plan, with the watchdog believing that those who only have a landline are being asked to fork out an unfair amount for their monthly rental fee.
Ofcom is proposing that those who pay £18.99 every month for their line rental at the moment will see a reduction to a maximum of £13.99. The watchdog said that it’s looking at such a cut of at least £5, but it could be as much as £7 for an £84 annual saving (depending on the feedback it receives from interested parties during its review of landline pricing).
Ofcom noted that the price of landline rental has risen rapidly despite falling wholesale costs, and that this represented ‘poor value for money’ for landline-only customers, many of whom are often ‘elderly or vulnerable people’ who have been with the same phone provider for decades.
Statistics show that the wholesale price of landline provision has seen a 26% drop over the past decade or so, whereas landline rental costs have gone in the other direction and risen by between 25% and 49% in real terms.
The proposed £5 price cut would effectively return line rental costs to the same level as 2009 in real terms, which the watchdog believes is the fair and right thing to do.
In total, this will affect some 2.3 million BT customers who are landline-only – the vast majority of the total of 2.9 million landline-only subscribers in the UK. Ofcom further observes that BT’s price cut would likely force the hand of other providers to also decrease their tariffs in order to stay competitive.
Sharon White, CEO of Ofcom, commented: “Line rental has been going up, even as providers’ costs come down. This hurts people who rely on their landline the most, and are less likely to shop around for a better deal. We think that’s unacceptable.
“So we plan to cut BT’s charge for customers who take only a landline, to ensure that vulnerable customers get the value they deserve.”
BT defended itself by telling the BBC: “Unlike other companies, [we] have many customers on special tariffs for socially excluded or vulnerable customers. Recently, we have frozen the cost of line rental for all of our customers who take a BT phone line."
MWC 2017 has seen brand new phones, tablets and wearables as well as the weird and wonderful tech we've seen as companies from all over the globe descend on Barcelona.
Now it's time for the TechRadar MWC awards 2017, and you can have your say too. You can now vote below for our favorite announcement of MWC 2017 from the likes of Huawei, Samsung, Nokia and Sony.
Be sure to vote by 12:30 GMT (7:30 EST, 4:30AM PST, 23:30 ACT) February 28 to make sure your vote counts.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
The phone will sell for the equivalent of $800 in Korea, the highest LG has has priced a G-series device. Will its charm offensive work on the audience?
The post LG Mobile president talks G6 price, mass appeal and its logo appeared first on Pocketnow.
The Android 7.1-loaded $220 Xiaomi Mi 5c is the first smartphone powered by the company's first homebrewed SoC, the Surge S1.
The post Mid-range Xiaomi Mi 5c smartphone goes official with in-house-designed Surge S1 SoC appeared first on Pocketnow.
If they do work, it seems that the Japanese manufacturer will run afoul of a US carrier in a deal with the devil to keep selling phones here.
The post Sony: US Xperia fingerprint sensors don’t work and they MUST not work appeared first on Pocketnow.
If you have two or more phone lines with the Un-carrier, you can get a third line of phone, tablet, smartwatch or whatever service for free.
The post T-Mobile’s “Third Line Free” promo starts March 1 appeared first on Pocketnow.
Chairman Ajit Pai does not foresee his agency scrutinizing the $85.4 billion deal between a telco conglomerate and a media giant.
The post AT&T and Time Warner effectively cleared for deal by FCC’s Pai appeared first on Pocketnow.
Rumors of HTC's masthead phone for 2017 adopting a new user interface paradigm have bubbled up to the surface in a software diagnostics leak.
The post HTC U (Ocean) supposedly includes Edge Sense, may be part of Sense Touch UI appeared first on Pocketnow.
Your future Netflix binge sessions could be beamed directly to your eye via a smart contact lens, and the co-founder of the company is all about it if it happens.
"If virtual reality takes off, we’ll adapt to that. If it becomes contact lenses that have amazing powers, we’ll adapt to that,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at MWC 2017.
Netflix-capable contact lenses are theoretical today and not ready for prime time. We haven’t seen smart contact lens prototypes outside of dozens of sci-fi movies – many of which are on Netflix itself.
However, the thought of projecting video onto a contact lens is an idea that’s been talked about before, when industry leaders have speculated about the future of mobile. It’s a recurring topic.
We’ve also seen Google Smart Contacts tied to medical use. They’re not for entertainment – at least not yet – but everyone’s mind went there as soon as they were announced.
What’s important is that Netflix has the willingness to follow new technology trends, according to the keynote comments by Hastings, who naturally cited Black Mirror in his comments.
“Charlie Brooker is a UK film maker who has done Black Mirror for us,” he said. “In Black Mirror, he tells many strange and wonderful speculations on technology.”
This includes “wearing contact lenses that have all of the world’s information,” Hastings said in a spoiler-free overview of the hit British television series.
“What’s amazing about technology is it’s very hard to predict. If you started ten, 20 or 30 years ago, very few people would be able to predict what’s happening today,” he said.
“What we do is try to learn and adapt, rather than just try to commit to view of what’s going to happen. We’re very flexible and we learn as we go.”
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
The Android projector follows up from last year's Xperia Projector and delivers wall-to-wall coverage as well as a tabletop experience.
The post Sony Xperia Touch is an interactive tabletop projector for €1,499 appeared first on Pocketnow.
It's still more than a month away before Samsung officially shows off the Samsung Galaxy S8, but that isn't stopping some eager eyes from taking a peek at the unannounced flagship phone.
Two videos have recently surfaced showing what looks undoubtedly like Samsung's upcoming Galaxy successor in action, according to Phone Arena.
The first video, courtesy of Slashleaks, shows not just the supposed S8, but another device claiming to be the larger Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.
The video lines up the two phones together, showing us the size difference, ports (headphone jack confirmed?), and all-screen front face for each handset.
The second video, provided by MobileFun's YouTube page, claims to show the S8's keyboard – including digital buttons on the bottom of the screen in place of the Galaxy S-series' normal three-button setup.
A quick PSA to future mobile videographers: humans typically have two eyes arranged horizontally, so shooting in landscape is probably a better way to go than giant black bars eating over half the screen. Just pointing that out.
Framing gripes aside, both videos are convincing and appear to back up previous leaks and rumors; it's still always wise to take unconfirmed visuals with healthy skepticism.
As for when we'll finally get the word from Samsung itself on its next big mobile device, the electronics giant is teasing an event on March 29 that we are 99.99% certain will host the S8's official reveal, finally putting speculation to rest.
The LG G6 has generated a lot of buzz at MWC 2017, but not all of it has been the good kind.
Just reading through the comments on our hands-on video review of the phone will tell the story immediately. I won’t spoil it for you, but here’s a snippet: “WTF LG?!“
Being the large global manufacturer that it is, LG has to delicately balance the feature set of each new phone as to release something that pleases people the world over. But of course, that’s impossible. Or is it?
For some background, wireless charging in the G6 is available only in the United States, but the quad DAC, a praised feature found in the LG V20, is nowhere to be found. Alternatively, those outside of the US would rather have the wireless charging instead of the quad DAC.
I chatted with Frank Lee of LG Electronics to ask the very question of why the company decided to include or omit these sought after features from its G6 in certain regions.
When asked about how LG responds to consumer disappointment, Mr. Lee spoke candidly.
“We have a large fanbase that’s probably disappointed. They probably saw it [the LG G6 unveiling] and [pauses].”
It’s not just the consumers, it’s the press, too. At TechRadar, we have editors across the globe. When the V20 released, it was only me and my US colleagues that got to handle the phone, while our UK colleagues and many others got the cold shoulder.
Not being served in equal measure when it comes to a smartphone release is a baffling feeling. But Lee assures me that there’s a reason for the madness, even if it hasn’t made itself visible yet.
“We looked at each of the different regions and generally, we’re seeing parts of Europe and Asia - there’s a higher appreciation for audio. And that’s not to say that Americans don't, my goodness.
“But in this transition year, at least in the American market[…]we’re giving you wireless charging to lessen the impact from changing to a built-in battery. Wireless charging was a strategic play for us to not disappoint our fan base.”
The funny thing is, I guess that I’m the exception as an American in that I’d much rather have a quad DAC than wireless charging. To that end, I’m certain that many around the world will be perfectly content with the feature set of the LG G6 and worry not about what’s missing.
But, there will always be a vocal party and without them, companies wouldn’t stay on their proverbial toes when it comes to future releases.
“We’ll continue to learn and get to the point where, at the second half of the year, we will have locked-in what next year will look like. I think you’ll see a lot of those learnings expressed again.
“It could very well be that we’ll be talking in two months and I’ll be telling you that we’ve learned something.”
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
We're still a month or so away from the official Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ announcement, but yet another set of leaks leaves very little to the imagination.
The post Working Galaxy S8 and S8+ caught on (blurry) video, sharper hands-on pics also leaked appeared first on Pocketnow.
Huawei has announced its new flagship smartphones, the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus, at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. However, it appears there may be a third as yet unannounced P10 device called the P10 Lite.
According to Android Planet, several Dutch retailers including Cool Blue and Belsimpel have listed the Huawei P10 Lite on their sites at a price of €349 (around £297/ $370/ AU $481) with official images and specifications.
They’ve not just listed it once, either, as it’s there in its three color options: white, gold, and black.
In terms of design the P10 Lite is quite different from the other P10 flagships in a way that makes them quite difficult to tie together. It has a reasonably premium look thanks to its glass and metal casing but its fingerprint scanner is located on the back rather than the front.
The P10 Lite listed on these sites has a 5.2 inch screen of 1080p resolution, running on the Kirin 655 chip with an octa-core A53 processor and a Mali-T830MP2 GPU. It also has a 12 MP rear camera and 8MP front camera with a 3000 mAh battery.
The P10 Lite will run on Android Nougat with Huawei's EMUI 5.1 interface laid on the top, sporting 4GB RAM with 32GB of expandable storage. It certainly seems like a natural progression from the P9 Lite, even though it's not a particularly big jump in terms of spec.
It’s not clear when this phone will launch or in which markets as the sites only have the release listed as ‘soon’ and Huawei is still to make comment.
Far from ready for primetime inside an actual commercial product, OPPO 5x dual camera zoom technology moves one step closer to a sleek execution.
The post Innovative OPPO 5x dual camera zoom smartphone tech gets early MWC 2017 preview appeared first on Pocketnow.
Motorola recently announced the Moto G5, a phone that is pushing its budget line to new, more premium heights.
While not a total rethinking of the Moto G4, those looking for an upgrade will find a few features that have seen some refinement.
However, not everything has changed for the better in Moto’s latest smartphone. Its chipset is a slight downgrade if we’re looking at Snapdragon iterations and battery capacity.
If you have a Moto G4 and are looking for a total improvement in the G5, you may not find what you’re looking for. But, that’s a testament to the feature set and performance capability of last year’s phone.
That said, those who haven’t taken the plunge for Moto’s affordable line will definitely find a lot to love here. We’re currently busy testing the G5 in-depth, but do check back soon for a full review.
Check out our video from the MWC 2017 showfloor where we get down to the details to help you decide which phone fits your life better.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
Would you watch a movie on your phone? No? Well how about if it was already downloaded, stored locally, and ready to watch without a moment’s hesitation?
A new initiative from Fox, Telstra and Ericsson is banking on the latter.
Announced at MWC 2017 the initiative will see movies such as The Martian, Deadpool, The Revenant and Life of Pi pre-loaded onto Samsung Galaxy S7 handsets, ready to watch.
The catch is that users will still have to pay to rent or buy the films, as they would if they wanted to stream it from a service like YouTube.
The films will also take up space on a user’s phone, which could end up being annoying depending on how much free space you have on your device.
Although this won’t be the case during the initial trial period, eventually the hope is to have these films download onto phones in the background using data that’s zero-rated - so thankfully there won’t be any nasty movie-related surprises when your bill arrives at the end of the month.
Watching a movie on your phone is hardly the best way to get the cinematic experience, but having the film pre-downloaded might mean we end up watching it in situations where we’re without signal for extended periods of time, and not having to wait to have it downloaded is an additional bonus.
Just please don’t watch The Revenant on your phone. If ever there was a movie to watch on a big screen it’s that.
Smartphone cameras are getting better all the time, but one thing they’re still not great at is zooming in, usually not letting you zoom far or degrading the quality of your shots when you do. But Oppo has used Mobile World Congress 2017 to announce a new camera tech that could solve that problem.
Catchily called “5x Dual Camera Zoom”, this new technology apparently offers 5x lossless zoom – so you can zoom in five times closer to your subject without losing any visible image quality.
Most current smartphone cameras top out at 2x lossless zoom, if they offer any at all, so this is a big jump.
It works by combining wide-angle and telephoto lenses in a periscope-style structure, giving the lenses more space for a deep zoom, without them sticking out the back of the phone, as you can sort of see in the image above.
In fact, Oppo’s solution is apparently 10% thinner than a typical 2x optical zoom, so it can be implemented into a smartphone without adding too much bulk, and it’s accompanied by a new optical image stabilization (OIS) solution that’s supposedly 40% better than OIS on other smartphone zoom lenses, so shots stay crisp and clear even when fully zoomed in.
If you want to grab a phone with this new tech, well, you can’t. Not yet anyway, but if it lives up to Oppo’s claims we’d expect to see it start filtering into new handsets over the coming year.
With eye-catching front cameras, all-day (and beyond) batteries, FHD screens and Nougat, it's not hard for the Gionee A1 and A1 Plus to shine at MWC 2017.
The post Gionee A1 and A1 Plus are ‘super selfie, super battery’ new Nougat smartphones appeared first on Pocketnow.
ZTE has a light and diffuse presence at MWC 2017. Its Nubia brand is also taking a light-on-details approach to publicizing the Nubia N1 lite.
The post ZTE lightens up MWC 2017 with the Nubia N1 lite appeared first on Pocketnow.
The Nokia 3310 is an iconic handset, and 17 years after it first launched Nokia has brought the handset back to the life in the shape of the new Nokia 3310.
But is newer always better?
We’ve pitted the new Nokia 3310 against the original to see which one comes out on top. This isn’t just a simple spec shootout though – there’s plenty of nostalgia, emotional attachment and pure gut feeling here too.
The new Nokia 3310 price is low... really low. It will go on sale globally some time between April and June for €49 (around $40, £35, AU$55).
In comparison, the original Nokia 3310 launched at £129.99 (around $160, AU$210), although 17 years later it can be picked up secondhand for a lot less.
A quick search on eBay shows multiple hits for 3310 devices, with Buy it Now prices ranging from £15-£50 (around $18-$60, AU$24-80).
Winner: New Nokia 3310
With a supremely low launch price the new Nokia 3310 is highly affordable, making it a great option as a back-up, festival or holiday phone. While you can pick up the old Nokia 3310 for next to nothing, you can’t guarantee the condition it’ll arrive in, and it doesn’t support many modern SIM cards.
The design of the original Nokia 3310 is iconic. Back in 2000 its 113 x 48 x 22mm dimensions were viewed as impressively compact, coming off the back of the taller 3210, and more importantly it could take one hell of a beating.
Dubbed by many as ‘indestructible’, the 3310 put solid build quality front and center, with a noticeable thickness and removable fascias, which meant that if you did manage to crack the casing it was cheap and easy to replace.
The 133g weight provided a reassurance presence in the hand, without being overbearing, and you could easily use the phone one-handed.
Nokia has put the new 3310 on a diet – it tips the scales at 76.9g and measures 115.6 x 51 x 12.8mm, making it a lot more compact and lightweight than its predecessor.
While this makes it supremely easily to handle, and almost undetectable in a pocket, it doesn’t feel as solid. You also can’t remove the front cover, only the rear, so swapping out the current fascia for a new one is out of the question.
Winner: Original Nokia 3310
They built them better back in the day. The Nokia 3310 wins this round with its solid, hardy build. It may be thicker and heavier, but it’s still easy to use one-handed and will comfortably nestle in the pocket. Plus, the ability to switch the fascias for funkier options is always fun.
Short on time? Check out our new Nokia 3310 vs old Nokia 3310 video below.
What makes a good screen? Is it the size, the resolution, the colors, the viewability in bright light? It's somewhat of a mixed bag on both the old and the new Nokia 3310.
The original 3310 packs a monochrome display with an 84 x 48 resolution that's laughably low-res in today’s world.
That said, it consumed very little power, and was still perfectly readable even in direct sunlight.
Things have been stepped up a notch on the new Nokia 3310, with a 2.4-inch full color display adorning the front of the phone.
A 240 x 320 resolution gives a more detailed look to the interface, but it’s still nowhere near as good as the displays you get on even entry-level Android smartphones.
It’s still power-efficient however, and while Nokia claims a polarizing layer will help with viewability in bright light we’re not convinced it’ll be as good as the original 3310.
Winner: New Nokia 3310
A higher resolution, bigger screen and larger display all play their part in giving the new Nokia 3310 the win here. The extra detail makes texts and images easier on the eye, although we do miss the green glow of the original 3310's display.
The original Nokia 3310 is fondly remembered for its days of battery life. The handset featured a 900mAh power pack which could give up to 2.5 hours of talktime and up to 11 days of standby, making it a bit of a road warrior.
Things get even better with the new Nokia 3310 though, with a larger 1,200mAh battery giving you 22 hours of talktime and up to a whopping 31 days of standby.
Winner: New Nokia 3310
The battery life on the original Nokia 3310 was great, but the quoted stats for the new Nokia 3310 are simply fantastic. We’re yet to put the new 3310 to the test to see if it can live up to the claims, but the early signs are positive.
Pick up an original Nokia 3310, hit the menu button and use the arrows keys on the right and you’ll scroll through a familiar list of options.
It’s simple yet effective, giving you access to call logs, contacts, messages, games, calculator, settings and… not a lot else.
The menu on the new Nokia 3310 isn’t exactly feature-packed, but it has a number of additional options over its predecessor.
There’s a calendar, basic web browser, a simple app store and a camera application to name a few. It runs the Nokia Series 30+ operating system, which is navigated via the directional key below the screen. It’s all very intuitive.
Winner: New Nokia 3310
In this case, more is more. The additional features on the Nokia 3310, along with the updated UI, make for a strong yet straightforward experience.
This is a quick section. The old Nokia 3310 doesn’t have a camera. Why? Because it was around before cameras were being put into phones.
The new Nokia 3310 does have a camera – but don’t get too excited. The rear-mounted 2MP snapper features a digital zoom and single LED flash – but that’s your lot. For the odd snap it’s fine, but it’s not going to be your main camera.
Winner: New Nokia 3310
Well it’s obvious: only the new 3310 has a camera, so there’s only one winner here… unless you hate cameras, in which case the original 3310 is your champion.
When it comes to connectivity the old Nokia 3310 is very limited. There’s no Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, microSD slot, USB port or NFC. All you get is basic cellular connectivity. It was a simpler time back in 2000.
While the new Nokia 3310 adds a few extras – namely Bluetooth, a microSD slot and a microUSB port – it still misses options such as Wi-Fi, GPS and NFC.
You get a slightly better cellular connection – 2.5G to be exact – but that’s only enough to give you a very basic web experience.
Winner: New Nokia 3310
Just… there’s not a lot in this one, with neither handset packing Wi-Fi, GPS or NFC. But the new 3310 edges it with 2.5G connectivity and the inclusion of Bluetooth.
The old Nokia 3310 is sometimes mistaken for a handset which came with the original version of Snake, but in fact it ran Snake II. The second generation of the popular mobile game added a few new levels, a head to your snake and bugs for bonus points.
It’s simple, yet utterly addictive – and even today you can spend longer than you’d probably like to admit trying to get a new high score.
The new Nokia 3310 has a modern-day take on the game called Snake Xenzia. It have full color graphics, a wider selection of levels, a more lifelike snake and a simpler way to control it – just use the 4 and 6 number keys. It's still fun to play, but lacks the simple charm of Snake II.
Winner: Original Nokia 3310
You can’t beat a bit of classic Snake II action. It's as simple as at.
Da da der der, da da der der, da da der der der. It’s a ringtone which is synonymous with Nokia, and both handsets have the ‘Nokia tone’ as a ringtone in their settings menu.
The original Nokia 3310 has the classic monophonic jingle, which always raises a smile when it’s played.
The new Nokia 3310 has a more polyphonic variant of the tune which makes it a little fancier. It’s a matter of taste as to which you’ll prefer, but purists will always opt for the monophonic version.
Winner: Original Nokia 3310
As with any classic song, remixes are all well and good, but the original is always the best.
If you tot up the totals, the new Nokia 3310 wins this shoot-out with a score of 6 category wins to 3 – but that doesn't tell the whole story.
The new Nokia 3310 doesn't offer the nostalgia, the twang of sentiment you get when you think back and remember the original 3310. For some it can never be bettered, and the reboot won't hit the same heights.
We'd have liked to have seen the design follow the original a little more closely, but the addition of the new features, improved battery life and color display means the new Nokia 3310 is a worthy winner.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
