The newest example of using the word "sheeple" lifts off of a CNN journalist's take on Apple's Smart Battery Case for the iPhone.
The post Merriam-Webster definition of “sheeple” includes example about Apple fans appeared first on Pocketnow.
Following on the local launch of its well-received Mate 9 phablet, Chinese phone-maker Huawei is returning to Australian shores on May 25 with the release of its latest flagship handsets, the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus.
Continuing its successful relationship with renowned camera company Leica, the P10 and P10 Plus will be Huawei’s first ever phones to feature Leica-powered sensors on both the front and back on the phone.
The selfie cameras have a F/1.9 aperture and 8MP resolution for high quality pictures in low light situations, while the primary cameras pack 12-megapixel RGB and 20-megapixel monochrome lenses.
Improving on the camera setups featured on the Huawei Mate 9 and last year's P9, the new phones boast Dual-Camera 2.0 (with a special ‘Pro’ version on the P10 Plus), which is said to incorporate all-new 3D facial recognition technology that will find faces and capture them quicker than ever before.
Each phone also promises dynamic illumination functionality that uses an auto-sensing algorithm capable of tracking lighting and adjusting shutter speed, white balance and more on the fly.
In terms of raw power, the P10 and P10 Plus uses the same 64-bit octa-core Kirin 960 processor that was inside the Huawei Mate 9 as well as a Mali G71 GPU. The P10 will come with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, while the P10 Plus offers a whopping 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
The P10 will be available at Vodafone, Optus and Virgin Mobile stores in Graphite Black, Prestige Gold (exclusive to Vodafone) and Dazzling Blue (exclusive to Optus) for $899. The P10 will only be available in Graphite Black from selected retailers at a price of $1,099.
“I don’t have a dishonest bone in my body, nobody is trying to get over on Fitbit or be dishonest with them," the injured owner of the Flex 2 said.
The post Fitbit Flex 2 exploded from “external forces,” claimant protests appeared first on Pocketnow.
The supposed smallest of the next Pixels is getting around the offices at the Googleplex, apparently. It's a good sign that Google is avoiding failures.
The post Google devs physically testing Walleye Pixel 2 appeared first on Pocketnow.
LG got into lawsuits by letting bootloop problems go untreated. The Galaxy S8 isn't doing as bad, but there's yet to be a real response from Samsung.
The post Not exactly bootlooping, but random Galaxy S8 reboots should not be a thing appeared first on Pocketnow.
The Google Chromecast is not only one of the most useful and innovative gadgets of the last few years, it's also dazzlingly cheap. And if you're looking to pick one up for the cheapest possible price, you've come to the right place!
Chromecast is a Wi-Fi HDMI dongle that you plug directly into your TV. From there you can use your smartphone or tablet to 'throw' video at your TV over Wi-Fi – whether it be Netflix movies, live football matches from the major broadcasters or simply just a funny YouTube video. On this page we'll find you the best prices for the Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast 2 (or just Chromecast now) and Chromecast Audio and explain how they differ.
This one's easy. The standard price for a Chromecast 2 is $54. You should never, ever pay more than that because you can always find one for that price.
The Chromecast 2, or 'new Chromecast' as it's also known, is very similar to the now discontinued 2013 Chromecast. Sure, it looks a little different. And it's got slightly faster network performance and a few other tweaks such as coming with a dangly cable instead of as a rigid stick. But essentially the same product in a different shape.
While it doesn't offer true multi-room streaming at the moment (fingers crossed that comes soon), this easy-to-use and affordable device modernises any trusty set of wired speakers you already own with wireless capabilities. In doing so, it also opens them up to features that will grow and get even better over time. Got an old set of speakers or an ancient iPod dock? Turn it into a wireless speaker with Chromecast Audio!
The 4K Chromecast Ultra is the newest member of the Chromecast family. If you have a 4K TV or are planning on getting one, it's certainly worth picking one of these up. The Chromecast Ultra is a cheaper alternative to Amazon's Fire TV or the US-only Roku 4 for getting 4K content on your TV. Chromecast Ultra deals are usually around $88, so anything cheaper is an added bonus.
If you can call the HTC U 11 the "HTC CBP," you might just think it will take the Snapdragon 835 and run with it. And in fact, that's the case here.
The post Benchmark paints HTC U 11 with a Snapdragon 835 appeared first on Pocketnow.
This Chinese manufacturer is keeping the enthusiasts enthused with a stream of updates for its 2016 flagship. Makes us wonder about its 2017 flagship.
The post ZTE Axon 7 update B25 bumps SD card storage limit to 256GB appeared first on Pocketnow.
With cheap and frequent flights to almost anywhere in the world, it's never been easier to see the Earth. That doesn’t mean that the actual traveling part of it is easy. To help make the whole experience of traveling less stressful we have compiled the best travel apps available on the market right now.
Our list has a range of different types of apps to cover every aspect of travel, from how to get there, what to do once you’re there, how to speak to the locals, and even apps to take the pain out of paying for things.
So before you pack those bags and slap on the sunscreen, make sure you've got these downloaded to your phone of choice.
Airbnb is now a household name but it wasn't that long ago that it upturned the way people booked their accommodation on holiday. It used to be that if you were going away you pretty much stayed at a hotel. Or a hostel.
Then Airbnb came along and suddenly you could stay in a beautiful house in the center of a city, or a little cottage out in the middle of nowhere.
The app makes booking your accommodation simple, and also has guides for local inspiration and a section for booking experiences.
App in the Air may have a gimmicky name, but there is a reason this app is an Editor's Choice on the App Store. The app gives you real-time flight updates, gate changes, airport navigation maps and tips, meaning you will never find yourself frantically running through an airport terminal again.
What's more, you can still receive updates offline so you'll incur no roaming charges if using the app abroad.
Booking.com is one of the world's best known hotel booking websites. Their smartphone app builds on their successful model, allowing you to search for the best deals on over 1 million hotels and homes all across the world. If you're struggling with where to book, there are over 107 million user reviews to help you decide.
What's more, once you have completed your booking, you will receive instant confirmation of your booking, complete with paperless check-in and offline maps of the area.
The British Airways app, unsurprisingly, is the app for if you are flying with British Airways. What is surprising is how good it is.
It allows you to book flights, check-in, choose seats, and download a digital boarding pass so you don't have to go near a printer or check-in desk if you only have hand luggage.
The app has live departure gate and in flight information, meaning you can choose which movies to watch while you wait for your flight to board.
Cleartrip is an app for booking flights, hotels and trains. Cleartrip was originally founded in India, and while its success means it now has over 10 million users worldwide, there are still regions it doesn't support so make sure to check you're in a supported region.
With the capability for securely storing card information, you can do 1-click purchase of plane tickets, meaning you can choose between deals then purchase tickets, all in 60 seconds.
Cleartrip can search for the best deals on hotel rooms in over 15,000 cities worldwide, too.
Citymapper is essential if you want to be able to move around like a local while abroad. Supporting many major cities worldwide, Citymapper is a map app that you can use to plan a route using any mode of transport the city offers. It gives live updates on delays and closures, and is very intuitive to use.
You can save maps offline and can access the maps for transport services like Tube maps, so if you want to navigate your own way, you can do that too.
Duolingo is a language learning app that makes learning a new language easy and fun. If you want to be able to converse with the locals, there are few ways of learning that will get you there as easily as Duolingo. The simple interface and game feel of the app makes learning a new language a pleasure.
The list of languages that Duolingo offers is constantly expanding. Currently you can choose from 23, including Spanish, German, Swahili, and Vietnamese. What's more, it's completely free.
The Expedia app is one of the world's most popular all-in-one-place booking apps. You can book flights, hotels, rent a car, even book tickets to tourist attractions and theme parks all through the one app.
Expedia has recently rolled out the ability to book bundle deals, so your hotel and flights are all included in the booking, potentially saving you even more money.
Lonely Planet made its name creating in-depth travel guides. With Guides, you can now get a condensed version of what they are best at, on your phone.
In the app, you can download the guide for the city that you are going to visit, then select what category you want information in. These include things to see, places to eat, places to drink, places to sleep, places to shop, and places to play.
Essential information, including maps and descriptions are all stored offline on your device so you don't have to worry about roaming charges while you're away. What's more, there are even phrasebooks included so you can converse with the locals.
There are over 100 cities catered for in Guides.
Google Trips is the travel planning app from the search giant. Where Google Trips is different from the other travel planners is that you don't actually book through Trips – this is the app you use to collate all of the information about your trip, and being Google, it provides plenty of suggestions of things to add once you're there.
The app pulls in all of your bookings for your trip from your Gmail account and brings them together, meaning if you find deals from a number of different places, rather than having to have a number of different apps, emails and print-outs all giving you piecemeal information, you have your entire itinerary in one place.
What's more, Google has recently announced that they are introducing a feature letting you share your itinerary.
Google Translate is fairly phenomenal if you haven't used it before. There are a few different methods of translation that it offers: text translation, where you type a phrase and it is translated into whichever language you choose, Conversation Mode, where you can actually talk to someone in a different language with the app translating as you speak, and camera translation, where you point your camera at text (like signs) and the translation appears on your screen.
This technology has been around for a while now, but still feels magical somehow.
It is a given that most places you go in the world people speak English, but this is an incredibly useful app for overcoming language barriers.
KAYAK is an app that searches travel sites to get you the best deals on flights, hotels and car hire. Once all of your bookings are complete, it compiles all of the information into an easy to manage itinerary.
Where KAYAK really comes into its own is its ability to track not only where the best deals come from, but even fluctuations in the price over time, sending you notifications when the deal you are looking for becomes cheaper.
There is even a function where you can put in your budget and it tells you places you can afford to visit.
PackPoint helps you pack. You put in where you're going, when you're going, and what you plan to do there and PackPoint suggests a list of things to pack. You can add or remove things from the list, then tick them off once they are packed.
It works with TripIt too, so you can get suggestions based on your travel itinerary automatically migrated from that app.
Never have that 'Did I pack my...' feeling again.
Splittr allows you to easily split costs between a group, meaning if you are travelling with a group of people, you no longer need to squabble over who paid for what.
You simply add expenses to the app as you go, then at the end of the holiday Splittr divides the bill and sends a PDF to all parties involved.
Skyscanner is a booking app for flights, hotels and car hire.
The Skyscanner website's calling card has always been easy customisation and the app is no different, allowing you to adjust your trip using flight duration, airline, stop-overs, flight class, and arrival and departure times. It even has a color-coded calendar that shows you when the best time to book your trip is to get the best deal.
Time Out is an app that helps you figure out what to do in a city. With restaurants, art galleries, night clubs, and pretty much everything in between this app is hard to beat if you're in a strange city at a loss for something to do.
Time Out has been helping people discover hidden gems since the 1960's so it knows what it's doing. Once a magazine that focussed on London, the app now covers 30 cities worldwide, with more being added soon.
TripAdvisor is the app to use if user reviews are your thing. The app has over 500 million user reviews for hotels, restaurants, and events. Users can rate, write and even photograph, so if you want the full picture before you decide to book somewhere, this is the app for you.
Once you've ploughed through all those reviews, you can book a table, a concert, a plane ticket, all through the app.
You can also download maps, saved destinations, and reviews so that if you want to wait until you're abroad to make final decisions, you can do so without incurring roaming charges.
TripIt is a travel itinerary app that makes it easy to see your whole trip in one place. You simply forward all of your booking emails to TripIt and the app collates all of your information. The information is available offline so you don't have to worry about roaming charges.
What's more, TripIt works with App in the Air and PackPoint (also in this list) so you can get flight notifications and packing advice based on your itinerary.
In order to use all of the functions TripIt has to offer you will have to upgrade to TripIt Pro for $49 per year (about £37, AU$65) but the free version does include all the basics you need like manual changing of plans, syncing with your calendar, compiling travel documents in one place, and sharing of your itinerary.
With over 55 million downloads, XE Currency is the most popular currency exchange rate app on the market, and with good reason.
It gives accurate conversion rates for every currency worldwide, refreshed every minute and stored offline so that even if you lose internet connection, you can still use the app.
If Apple's rumored side-to-side, top-to-bottom screen comes to fruition, where will Apple's iconic Home button go? We debate the possibilities.
The post Where should the fingerprint sensor go on the next iPhone? appeared first on Pocketnow.
Update: The Blu R1 Plus Amazon flash sale price is $109, but ends at 11:59 Pacific time. It goes back up to $159 midnight on Sunday.
The Blu R1 Plus is one of the cheapest Android phones we have ever reviewed, and right now it's even cheaper thanks to a temporary Amazon discount.
It's on sale today for just $109 at Amazon. This is a $50 discount on the 5.5-inch HD phone that has a metal design and runs Android Marshmallow.
This makes the Blu R1 Plus about 1/8th the price of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, one of the most expensive smartphones we've reviewed. That's a big price gap.
The normal Blu R1 Plus price will be $159, which is still incredibly cheap. But at that point, it starts getting closer to the Amazon price of the new Moto G5 Plus.
You're not going to want to trade down from an iPhone 7 or Samsung Galaxy S8 for this ultra-cheap phone. If you own flagship phones, this one isn't for you.
Instead, we see the Blu R1 Plus as an adequate choice for someone who can't afford the newest smartphone on the market or can't get on-contract financing.
The fact that this is an unlocked GSM phone means it's a fine travel phone, too. It'll work overseas in addition to AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless, etc. in the US.
If you happen to lose or break it during your travels, it's not as heartbreaking as losing an iPhone 7 Plus. We've been in that expensive pickle before.
Finally, it's a worthy choice for those flip-phone owning holdouts in your life, like mom and dad, or friends who carry around a phone with a cracked screen. This one can get them through the end of their contract upgrade.
We were surprised by many of the Blu R1 Plus features, including the bright enough HD display, aluminum back and metal frame and extra-large battery.
It's packing a 4,000mAh battery, which is larger than most flagship phones eight times its price. We were able to get close to two days a battery life in our testing.
Here's what Blu R1 Plus is not: it's not a 3D games performer by any means. 3D game apps tend to stutter quite a bit. Audio is just satisfactory, even for $109.
It still runs Android Marshmallow instead of Android Nougat. We didn't really mind that, except we think an eventual update could give it better battery life.
We were definitely missing the fingerprint sensor more than any single Android Nougat perk. The camera is shockingly not bad, except in all low light situations.
Lastly, we have to note that the Blu R1 HD isn't compatible with Verizon, Sprint or US Cellular. Those are CDMA networks.
You can get AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless and a variety of other carriers to work with this 4G LTE phone and then revel in paying a rock-bottom price for it.
Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we discuss the possible iPhone 8 positive predictions, HTC U 11 "squeeze" teaser ads & more
The post iPhone 8 positive predictions, HTC U 11 “squeeze” teaser & more – Pocketnow Daily appeared first on Pocketnow.
Update: There's a new winner among the best cheap phones in America and it's the newest version of an old favorite from Motorola. Here's our top 10 list.
The best cheap phone in the US is a complicated find in 2017, as carriers want to lock you into contracts even at budget prices. You want to pay less money, not more, right?
That's why we've harnessed our cheap smartphone expertise and tested hundreds of inexpensive phones to rank the best options. Unlocked, no contract and SIM-free phones are among the top ten.
And good news: while many are $200 or less, you'll actually recognize the names: Motorola, Google, Sony and Apple. Others may be new to you, namely Honor, ZTE and OnePlus, but they're just as worthy of your consideration.
No, these aren't the absolute best phones in the US, so you won't find the top tier iPhone 7 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus here. Likewise, the 4-inch iPhone SE is $399, so it misses the mark by $100, as lovely as it is.
But every cheap phone here is perfectly fine for everyday use by someone looking to save money on a discounted iOS 10 or Android Nougat handset.
If you're looking for a smartphone with no contract that's just above $100, this is our pick at the moment, mainly because it's been heavily discounted today.
It costs $109 through an Amazon flash sale (normally $159), and that gets you an Android phone with an HD display, metal design and large 4,000mAh battery. It's also a dual-SIM phone, making it a great phone for travelers, and it comes with a case and has an okay camera (good in daylight, poor in lowlight).
This phone is strictly for the sub-$200 crowd because it can't play 3D games well, has no fingerprint sensor and runs an older version of Android. It's capable of the basics, and gets you a ticket to the Google's app ecosystem.
Read the full review: Blu Plus R1
The Moto G5 Plus is the best cheap phone you can buy today mainly because it doesn't look or feel like a budget phone It has a metal design, a 5.2-inch Full HD screen, a fingerprint sensor, fast charging, and 64GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot.
Compatible with all US carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, the G5 Moto Plus also comes with Android 7.0 Nougat and Google Assistant, which we've found to rival Siri. It has a Snapdragon 625 chipset, and while it's not the fastest in the world, it's enough to play games and multitask. The only features you're missing out on vs the higher-priced Moto Z are a better camera, VR capabilities and MotoMods. Most people will do just fine with this phone, which is almost one-third the price of Motorola's flagship.
Amazon is offering the Moto G5 at an even deeper discount to Prime members. It's just $239 with Amazon's lockscreen ads, or the normal $299 without those ads for everyone else.
Read the full review: Moto G5 Plus
If you're looking for a cheap smartphone that costs just $129, you can get that with Motorola's last-generation Moto G4, which remains a top pick for us.
It has a 5.5-inch Full HD display and a Snapdragon 617 chipset with 2GB of RAM and up either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. Don't worry, too much, it has a microSD card slot in case you run out of space. You still won't get NFC or VR compatibility, but this phone does everything else you need on a daily basis and works on all major US carriers.
Read the full review: Moto G4
It's really, really difficult to fit an Apple phone on a best cheap phones list, but there has to be at least one that's inexpensive enough for iOS fans who refuse to try the cheaper Android phones above.
The cheapest is iPhone 5S. When it was last sold through the Apple Store, it cost $450 without a contract – until the iPhone SE showed up and replaced it. That was too expensive to consider here.
Now it's the cheapest iPhone we can find thanks to retailers like Amazon. It's under $299 through the main store and many third-party sellers are hawing it for under $199.
You're only getting 16GB But you can find it in space gray, silver or gold, has Touch ID and a still-impressive 8MP camera and runs iOS 10.
Read the full review: iPhone 5S
While ZTE might not be the world's most recognizable smartphone brand, the ZMax Pro is a sign that this might be changing soon.
Somehow, this 6-inch device is just around $200 and comes packed with a fingerprint sensor, 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and enough power to handle medium-sized loads of gaming and multi-tasking.
We think you'll be pleasantly surprised at every turn with the ZMax Pro, as we were.
Currently only available for MetroPCS and T-Mobile, this device is one of the best, most-surprising values to come out of 2016. Here's to hoping that more carriers support it soon in 2017.
Read the full review: ZTE ZMax Pro
Every OnePlus device is angled to the consumer as a "flagship killer". And, although there are more powerful phones available today, the OnePlus 2 still represents a fantastic value for light users, as well as the more hardcore users.
It may not have some of the niceties that we come to expect in a well-rounded device, like NFC, fast charging, or microSD support. But if you can get past those omissions, you'll be treated to what's likely the fastest, most capable smartphone on this list.
Read the full review: OnePlus 2
Considering its relatively low $300 (£299) price, the Sony Xperia XA Ultra is a rather brazen phone for being mid-range. It’s powerful enough to handle everyday tasks and its looks show that you’re definitely getting your dollar’s worth here in that regard.
Although this phone is short on surprises, the competent front-facing camera feels like a unique trait, and one that we hope comes back in the future. You’d think this sort of feature would be a better fit in Sony’s flagship product, but it’s good to see the company innovating in the mid-range sector.
If you’re in need of a solid performer that won’t break the bank, and you don’t mind the palm-stretching build of the XA Ultra, then you might have just found your next phone.
Read the full review: Sony Xperia XA Ultra
Lenovo has seamlessly continued Motorola's good work, refining this popular budget range and elevating expectations about what you can reasonably expect in a relatively cheap Android phone.
The gap between the Moto G4 Plus and the latest batch of Android flagships is not as wide as I expected. It's a pleasurable device to use, and it represents good value for money.
If you've been looking for something with a big screen and a good camera, and you can stretch beyond the bottom tier, the Moto G4 Plus is definitely a good buy. Bargain hunters, however, might have trouble looking past the cheaper, but very similar Moto G4.
Read the full review: Moto G4 Plus
The Nextbit Robin isn't like most phones. First off, its design sets it apart from the get-go. Available in mint (as seen above) and red, the Robin pushes a bold visual statement that makes other devices look boring.
But thankfully, it's not all talk: Nextbit's tweaked version of Android Marshmallow (and soon, Android Nougat) allows users to take advantage of 100GB of free cloud storage to offload apps, games and photos to make way for what space you might need to use.
In addition, it's just a slick phone that doesn't shirk on features. You'll commonly find the Robin under the $200 mark. And, so long as you're on a GSM carrier, this could be your next device.
Read the full review: Nextbit Robin
We know what you're thinking, and yes, the HTC One A9 does look like an iPhone. But that's where the similarities to Apple's popular smartphone end.
Inside of this beautifully-crafted device, HTC has packed in a surprising amount of power for the price, and we love the Sense overlay on Android Marshmallow because it doesn't mess with the stock experience too much.
The battery is pretty small for today's standards, but the general experience will impress those who are on a budget, yet want a stylish smartphone.
Read the full review: HTC One A9
The more expensive 4GB ASUS Zenfone 2 was a tough sell for us, only because it brought powerful specs and Android customizations, yet wrapped it all in a plastic phone at $299.
Much less of an oxymoron is the 2GB Asus Zenfone 2, at a more reasonable $199. It feels just as cheap, but for a much more appropriate price. You just have to deal with its slower processor.
Intel is powering both variants, and this phone has a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core chip, ditching the more commonly used Qualcomm Snapdragon processors.
Its roomy 5.5-inch display, 1080p resolution and Android software tweaks are the real highlights. Screen brightness and camera are literal lowlights, but you can't win them all with a cheap phone.
We were able to test out the forthcoming Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe, but with its more powerful specs and all-metal design, it'll likely cost much more than the cheapest Zenfone 2.
Read the full review: Asus Zenfone 2
It's the experience of using the Microsoft Lumia 650 that sets it apart. The lovely in-hand feel, the dependable camera, the decent battery life, the surprisingly good speakers, and the mostly smooth day-to-day operation are all key to what a good smartphone experience should be.
The poor processor selection is all that holds this device back from real greatness. If Microsoft had followed the competition, and gone with the likes of a Snapdragon 616, 652 or 617, and maybe doubled the RAM, the Lumia 650 would fly.
Despite this, Windows fans looking for a respectable upgrade will find that this phone is well worth the little money it costs.
Read the full review: Microsoft Lumia 650
We chat with Engadget's Evan Rodgers on how to strike the balance between pitting visual hedonism with consumer nuance in our editorially-starved world.
The post How to fix every Galaxy S8 review in numerous, difficult steps | #PNWeekly 250 appeared first on Pocketnow.
The Blu R1 Plus is one of the cheapest Android phones we have ever reviewed, and right now it's even cheaper thanks to a temporary Amazon discount.
It's on sale today for just $109 at Amazon. This is a $50 discount on the 5.5-inch HD phone that has a metal design and runs Android Marshmallow.
This makes the Blu R1 Plus about 1/8th the price of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, one of the most expensive smartphones we've reviewed. That's a big price gap.
The normal Blu R1 Plus price will be $159, which is still incredibly cheap. But at that point, it starts getting closer to the Amazon price of the new Moto G5 Plus.
You're not going to want to trade down from an iPhone 7 or Samsung Galaxy S8 for this ultra-cheap phone. If you own flagship phones, this one isn't for you.
Instead, we see the Blu R1 Plus as an adequate choice for someone who can't afford the newest smartphone on the market or can't get on-contract financing.
The fact that this is an unlocked GSM phone means it's a fine travel phone, too. It'll work overseas in addition to AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless, etc. in the US.
If you happen to lose or break it during your travels, it's not as heartbreaking as losing an iPhone 7 Plus. We've been in that expensive pickle before.
Finally, it's a worthy choice for those flip-phone owning holdouts in your life, like mom and dad, or friends who carry around a phone with a cracked screen. This one can get them through the end of their contract upgrade.
We were surprised by many of the Blu R1 Plus features, including the bright enough HD display, aluminum back and metal frame and extra-large battery.
It's packing a 4,000mAh battery, which is larger than most flagship phones eight times its price. We were able to get close to two days a battery life in our testing.
Here's what Blu R1 Plus is not: it's not a 3D games performer by any means. 3D game apps tend to stutter quite a bit. Audio is just satisfactory, even for $109.
It still runs Android Marshmallow instead of Android Nougat. We didn't really mind that, except we think an eventual update could give it better battery life.
We were definitely missing the fingerprint sensor more than any single Android Nougat perk. The camera is shockingly not bad, except in all low light situations.
Lastly, we have to note that the Blu R1 HD isn't compatible with Verizon, Sprint or US Cellular. Those are CDMA networks.
You can get AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless and a variety of other carriers to work with this 4G LTE phone and then revel in paying a rock-bottom price for it.
It takes a lot of backend work to make Alexa sound a little more natural. But all app developers have to do now is add a few tags.
The post Becoming “Her”: Alexa to gain breathing, whispering, bleeping appeared first on Pocketnow.
Apple claims that Qualcomm is holding royalty payments at ransom, so it has decided to reciprocate the action with the chipmaker. Qualcomm is none too snug.
The post Apple v. Qualcomm: chipmaker calls out Cupertino for holding royalties appeared first on Pocketnow.
Warranty and insurance might be covered for the life of the device, which should be a decent entry into mid-range Android space.
The post T-Mobile ODM device rumored to be paired with lifetime warranty appeared first on Pocketnow.
The UK-based mobile tech outlet expects most of these phones to land sometime in June. The famed 3310 rebirth is coming in more expensive than expected.
The post Clove takes first crack at Nokia 6, 5, 3, 3310 with pricing and availability appeared first on Pocketnow.
New intel claims that the screen on the G6 mini will retain the G6's aspect ratio, but shrink by a third of an inch on the diagonal.
The post LG G6 mini looks to be even more compact than its big sibling appeared first on Pocketnow.
Morgan Stanley and now, Credit Suisse are on board. What's a supercycle? A practical dam of appeal that's kept iPhone owners from upgrading.
The post The iPhone 8 supercycle hype train gets another carriage appeared first on Pocketnow.
Following in the footsteps of other super-popular dark phones, the Midnight Black OnePlus 3T can only be found in the UK and Hong Kong right now.
The post ‘Limited’ Midnight Black OnePlus 3T is already pretty much sold out worldwide appeared first on Pocketnow.
Sony has finally found a way to stop its smartphones from bleeding money, but does it even matter anymore?
The post Sony sold less than 15 million smartphones in the past year, actually pulling off a small division profit appeared first on Pocketnow.
Samsung has apparently adopted a moving virtual home button on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ to dodge the age-old screen burn-in problem.
The post You may not see it, but the Galaxy S8’s home button moves around, and that’s a good thing appeared first on Pocketnow.
It's not exactly a full-on smartwatch, but it's no low-cost activity tracker pushover either. The Acer Leap Ware sports a round screen and HR monitor.
The post Acer Leap Ware smart fitness watch costs $139 with ‘modern’ design, MediaTek bio-sensing chip appeared first on Pocketnow.
Later this year, John McAfee plans to launch a smartphone which boasts such tight levels of security that it’s streets ahead of the likes of the Blackphone.
The security expert (who founded the eponymous antivirus company – which is now a standalone firm separate from Intel, incidentally) talked to Newsweek about the handset, which he said was the result of ‘enormous investment’.
The John McAfee Privacy Phone – someone certainly likes using their own name in their creations – is an Android handset which will not just sport software security features, but also hardware measures.
The latter will include a bank of switches on the rear of the device which allow the user to actually physically disconnect components such as the antennas for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, and also the battery, camera, and microphone.
McAfee also noted that the phone would be prevented from connecting to a Stingray or other IMSI-catcher device (used for surveillance and tapping into nearby mobile phones), and that it would contain “a web search anonymiser”.
Further security features weren’t detailed, and neither were any specs – these won’t be revealed until the week before its launch, which is expected to be later this year, as mentioned.
McAfee told Newsweek that: “[The phone] is not hack proof but it does give the user enormous power over his or her privacy and it is light years ahead of the Blackphone or any other phone claiming to be secure.”
The bad news? The John McAfee Privacy Phone (which will be released by McAfee’s firm MGT) will be priced at $1,100 (around £850, AU$1,470), which makes even Apple’s prices look cheap.
That’s mainly because this is a phone aimed at business users who really need that extra-tight security – although well-off consumers who truly value privacy may also be interested, of course.
A second incarnation of the phone will apparently be out in the summer of 2018, with McAfee claiming this will be as “hack proof as humanly possible”.
The sequel probably won’t be called the John McAfee Even More Privacy Phone.
Apple's long awaited answer to Amazon's fast-growing Echo family of smart speakers is reportedly in the final stages of pre-release preparation.
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Blu R1 Plus is the newest cheap phone to prove that you don't have to pay top dollar in order to enter into the Android ecosystem.
It's debuting to a flash sale tomorrow for just $109, giving you a $50 discount on the new handset that will cost $159 after Saturday's big discount.
What do you get for a little over $100? This basic smartphone has a 5.5-inch HD screen, sizable 4,000mAh battery and 3GB of RAM. Those aren't bad specs.
It can't really handle 3D games very well, and it won't work with Verizon and Sprint. This is an unlocked GSM-only phone for carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless.
This isn't the right smartphone for everyone, as we have point our in our newly full review. However, we've identified four types of people who would want it.
It's a completely reasonable phone for these people, as long as they don't expect to multitask or play 3D games. This is after all, the sub-$200 price level.
It's biggest competition is the slightly more expensive Moto G5 Plus, which we have named the best cheap phone in the US.
It doesn't look very "premium", and it's certainly no powerhouse, but the Nougat-powered Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime is still a T-Mo and Metro bargain.
The post Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime starts at $69 on MetroPCS, $75 at T-Mobile with Android 7.0 appeared first on Pocketnow.
You don’t need the top spec Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. Nobody does.
Customers in South Korea and Hong Kong can buy Galaxy S8 Plus with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and many are now calling for Samsung to release this super-charged model worldwide.
You shouldn't hold your breath though. The stock Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus - with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage - is out worldwide and is enough for even the highest of spec-chasing phone fans.
Running the standard S8 Plus through our various review and benchmarking tests, it proved to be one of the fastest phones in the world right now - there's nothing you can throw at it that it can't deal with (in a software sense, don't go chucking bricks at it).
With 64GB of storage some music, movies and gaming fiends may feel a little shortchanged, but the S8 Plus also offers an expandable storage option via a microSD slot which supports cards up to 256GB in size.
Spend around $20 (£15, AU$30) on a 64GB microSD storage card, and you'll be able to boost your S8 Plus space to around the same amount as the 128GB version.
It may be slightly slower to read/write the information on the microSD card, but it's not a particularly noticeable slowdown on a day-to-day basis.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is also one of the most expensive phones on the market, and upping the spec to unnecessary levels means you'd have to spend even more money on it.
To buy the standard Galaxy S8 Plus outright you already need to part with $825 (£780, AU$1,349), and that's only going to rise if Samsung brings the 128GB version to you.
There's also no guarantee Samsung will release the phone outside of a handful of core Asian markets, where spec sheets are more important for consumers - and it's not given any indication that a wider rollout is on the cards.
In the middle of April Yonhap News claimed that Samsung was planning to release the 128GB Galaxy S8 Plus in more markets, but it may be that Hong Kong was the sole destination the article was pointing to.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is our fourth best phone in the world right now, while the Galaxy S8 is our favorite. It has that accolade without the need for extra RAM and storage.
It's the extra cost of the Plus that drops it down to fourth place, so if you like the look of the Galaxy S8 Plus and think you can afford it, you should buy it as soon as possible.
The much anticipated higher spec version may be slightly faster, it may have more storage, but it won't be enough to make the extra money and you're going to have to wait A LOT longer, if it ever comes out at all.
You can get a pair of these u-Jays Wireless On-Ear Headphones for 5% off retail—only $169.95, at the Pocketnow Deals Store.
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