Microsoft Smartphone Lumia 435 and Lumia 532

Microsoft has unveiled two new Lumia smartphones running its Windows Phone 8.1 mobile OS, both focused on beefing up the portfolio at the lower end and expanding the platform’s appeal in emerging markets to try to compete with budget Androids.

The Lumia 435 is the cheapest Lumia device to date, and the first 400 series device in Microsoft’s smartphone line-up. It’s being priced at around €69 ($81) before taxes and subsidies, bringing the platform within spitting distance of budget Androids (albeit, the latter’s floor extended below $50 last year so the race to the bottom on price is still not one Microsoft is winning).

CES 2015: Saygus Unvailed Waterproof Smartphone V2 with 256GB storage

Saygus is a US-based company that hasn't been in the news in the last several years, but in CES 2015, it’s back with what it’s calling a “super smartphone.”

Named Saygus V-Squared (styled V2), the new smartphone is “engineered with high-end components and materials”, has a somewhat rugged design, runs Android 4.4 KitKat, and is "dual-boot capable." There aren't too many details regarding the dual-boot capability, so for now we don't know if the handset can run, say, Windows Phone.

Samsung Smartphone Galaxy Alpha with leather backside

Samsung's Galaxy Alpha has a new material around back which is colorful leather. On the company's French site, four new devices surfaced, complete with back panels sporting the aforementioned scaly rawhide. However, the front of the phones keep the silver and gold hues we've seen on the regular models, and these new handsets are only available in limited quantities. In fact, there's only 100 of each.

This particular set of models will be super limited edition and only released in France. Just 100 models of each of the 4 leather releases will be released to the public, and the price increase will be €80 ($97) above the standard model cost which is in USA Amazon is $545.

The Sesame:Touch-free smartphone for Disabled People

Wheelchair bound for nine years, quadriplegic electrical power engineer Giora Livne is determined not to be left by technology. Keen to use a smart phone, Livne joined forces with app developer Oded Ben Dov to create a device that responds to head movements. And this is the result.  The Sesame Phone is customised to the user's face and allows them to select applications and move the cursor.

Asus Fonepad 7: Smart Phone Review

Asus Fonepad 7 Dual SIM smartphone with 7.00-inch 1280x800 display powered by 1.2GHz processor along 1GB RAM and 5-megapixel rear camera.Asus is expanding its FonePad line of big smartphones (or small tablets) with a new FonePad 7 (FE170CG). It’s a 7 inch Android tablet which you can use to make phone calls or surf the web over 2G and 3G networks.

UMI Zero smartphone review

UMI, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer sells the octa-core Zero, the world's thinnest dual-SIM phone that has some flagship specs and now is available for a tiny $314 at Amazon.

To start off, the first thing you need to know about the Zero is that its extremely thin at 0.25 in (6.4 mm). That's not all though, as despite sporting a 5-inch, 1080p Super AMOLED display (a rarity among OEMs other than Samsung), the body of the phones reportedly measures just 5.41 x 2.61 inches (137.4 x 66.3 mm). The device is also nestled within two sheets of Corning's Gorilla Glass 3 (front and back) and a metal frame, and we happen to dig the design UMi has gone for. In fact, you even get a very unique Z-shaped "case" included with the Zero's box, though that one will likely be a hit or miss with most.

Huawei Honor 6 review

The Honor 6's crisp, bright display makes videos and pictures look great, its octa-core processor will handle anything you're likely to throw at it, and its price tag is extremely reasonable.

The Huawei Android skin makes some big changes to the platform, which some will find frustrating to live with, and the phone itself feels slightly cheap.

Its software might not be perfect, but the Honor 6 packs an impressive lineup of specs for a brilliant price. If you want the crisp screen and fast speeds of the top-end phones but don't fancy the price tag, the Honor 6 is a great phone to go for.

Luxury Smart Phone Tauri 88, a $6,000 Android phone

You ride around in one of luxurious cars ever built, don’t you think your phone should be equally as luxurious? Thanks to Lamborghini, the Tauri 88 should meet your high standards, designed by Tonino Lamborghini, son of the famous founder Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Now, we have seen extra ordinary fancy phones before, but they always seem to fall short in specs or in some other random department.

Smart Phone OnePlus One: Review

Many users have a strong preference for either on-screen or capacitive keys. OnePlus built the OnePlus One to leave the choice with you. Use either the three capacitive keys at the bottom of the screen or turn them off and instead enable the on-screen buttons. In the truest spirit of ‘Never Settle’, navigation is now exactly how you prefer it to be.

 OnePlus believes it doesn't have to be this way. Its motto, "Never Settle," represents the fledgling Chinese company's mission to build and sell the perfect smartphone. Its first attempt is the One, a premium-looking device that has customizable firmware and top-shelf specs. Oh, and it'll sell for $399 unlocked and free of contract, which is even less expensive than Google's Nexus 5. Seems a little over-ambitious for a small startup with no official track record, doesn't it? Let's find out if the One is too good to be true.

Google Nexus 6 reviews

The Motorola-made Nexus 6...is basically a small tablet that you carry around and occasionally use to make and receive calls. It maintains the Moto X's gently curved back and soft-touch plastic material. It's surprisingly comfortable to hold; it feels like it fits my hand and seems far less hefty than it actually is.

Design makes a major difference in usability. Still, big is big and the Nexus 6 isn't the type of phone you're going to be able to use single-handedly. The phone's 5.96-in. Quad HD AMOLED display is absolutely stunning, with strikingly rich and true-to-life colors and razor-sharp detail. It also excels when it comes to audio [from its] dual front-facing speakers. With a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor and 3GB of RAM, the system is fast as can be. Battery life is commendable, too with three to four hours of screen-on time.

Motorola's Turbo Charger promises to boost battery life by as much as six hours in just 15 minutes. Like most Nexus devices, the Nexus 6 does not have an SD card slot. The camera is easily among the best you can find on a smartphone...crisp and clear with vibrant and realistic colors. Unlike the majority of Android devices, it runs a "pure" version with the guarantee of fast and frequent future OS upgrades. When consumers think of Google's Nexus devices, they think about the promise of receiving the latest updates for Android essentially as soon as they release. At $649 it goes up against essentially every other flagship smartphone.

Both the plastic back and the aluminum sides feel good in the hand, but...your hand tends to rest more on the back cover instead of arching over it, so it doesn't quite have the premium feel of metal devices like the HTC One (M8) and the iPhone 6. For some reason one of the parts I found myself really liking is its nano SIM tray and tray ejector tool. The tray has a better design than other devices like the iPhone, HTC One, or Nexus 5. It has tiny notches that hold the SIM in place.

The large display has minimal bezel but the increase in width is the most noticeable change from the Nexus 5.  It's a firmly two-handed device. Compared to other phablets like the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4 the Nexus 6 is somewhat more difficult to hold. This is a Nexus, and that means stock Android, and that means Google’s standard Camera app. It’s awful. The Nexus 6 hardware is up to snuff. It’s got a 13-megapixel Sony IMX214 sensor, f/2.0 lens, with optical image stabilization, and a dual-LED flash but the experience of taking photos is abysmal. No burst mode? No slow motion video? The shutter lag and shot-to-shot latency is way too long.

How is Google’s own Camera app...not a proving ground for what’s possible? It doesn't appear to take advantage of any of the new camera API features and other developers have not yet stepped up to the plate. It’s a shame to see the best Nexus yet, tarnished by once again delivering a lackluster photo-taking experience.

         

Smartphone Case 3 Times Harder than Steel

Jan Schroers, who teaches mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale University, developed the technology for the cases in his lab and wants to bring the product into mass production. An engineer and researcher at Yale University has developed technology to enable manufacturers to easily build smartphone cases that are lightweight, thin and tougher than steel.  

 “This material is 50 times harder than plastic, nearly 10 times harder than aluminum, and almost three times the hardness of steel,” Schroers says. “It’s awesome.” For years, academic and commercial institutions have sought an effective technique for shaping these bulk metallic glasses (BMGs)—a new generation of strong-yet-pliable materials. Electronics casings, in particular, have been identified as a desirable application. Yet past attempts at finding a shaping process were unsuccessful. It could also be an important advance for the tech industry, according to Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "Protecting your smartphone without adding much weight or thickness is a good thing," he said. "If it protects the screen when the device falls, that's important.

The vulnerability of these expensive gadgets is a drawback. I think the potential of this kind of material is in making the phone itself, instead of being an aftermarket accessory." For the protection of your smart phone some thing like this is already available at Amazon, called Smart Tech Bumper Case, you may try it. Companies that build smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices have been looking for such a material for device cases.

The tougher the case, the safer people's devices will be if they are accidentally dropped on the floor or bounced off a table. However, the stronger, tougher materials were extremely difficult to mold into the necessary shapes. They were strong but not flexible enough to be used. Schroers and his team may have conquered that problem by changing the state of the material, itself. Instead of melting the material and trying to force it, at high temperatures, into a mold, the researchers put the material into a supercooled liquid state, softening it enough so it could be shaped, as if the material were a soft plastic. The technique is called thermoplastic forming.

Schroers is looking for a manufacturing partner and noted that he could scale up production by late 2015 if he finds the right one soon. According to Yale, he's also hopes to have the manufacturing done close to the university, which is in New Haven. Scientists have been able to build metal buttons into the sides of the case, which offers a significant advance in making smartphones more waterproof, according to Yale.

 "If this makes it somewhat water-resistant, there's real potential here," said Gottheil. "Protecting your phone becomes more important as the innovation rate inevitably slows and people plan to keep their phones longer." Though the technology is owned by Yale, where it was developed, Schroers has launched his own company, Supercool Metals, and has exclusive licensing rights to it.  

   

Amazon Fire Phone, 32GB (Unlocked GSM): Review

Amazon has cut the price for its unlocked Fire smartphone by 69% just four months after the phone first went on sale. This unlocked Fire Phone (which is the same as the AT&T version with horrible reviews, only it's unlocked), is an all around excellent phone with some pretty cool technology not found on other phones.

The big thing to remember here is who the manufacturer is: Amazon. That said, it's important to realize that the phone is going to be centered around the Amazon ecosystem. Many of the 1-star reviews on the AT&T version were written by people who didn't read the description or reviews before dropping a lot of money and committing themselves to a 2-year contract. This all started with the Kindle, and has since evolved into the Kindle Fire Tablets, and now, the Fire Phone. As is the case with Microsoft and Apple, Amazon is in direct competition with Google and Apple in terms of their "App Stores" and their music sales, hence the reason you're not going to find Google Apps or iTunes on this phone... we'll go into that in more detail below, but let's start with the display:

 *** DISPLAY *** The display is a standard 4.7" 1280x720p TFT LCD screen so its not the super high-resolution 4K or quad-HD displays that are becoming mainstream on new smartphones. The Fire phone comes in with a 315 ppi pixel density which is not bad, but it's lower than a lot of the competition. In short, you're eyes are not going to distinguish anything above 300 ppi so the Fire Phone's display is perfectly adequate.

 *** DETAILED TECH ALERT! ***

If you're happy knowing the screen is acceptable, skip to the next section... if you want all the techy details, read on. To give you a comparison: Samsung's Galaxy S5 LTE-A packs 576 ppi pixel density into its 4HD 1440x2560 super AMOLED display which I'm pretty sure is the highest pixel density out there at the moment. LG's G3 comes in at 538 ppi, and Apple's iPhone 6 Plus has a 401 ppi pixel density. So, you're not getting the highest pixel density display by any means, however, at 315 ppi, it's probably the best all-around pixel density for a couple reasons: First, you'd really have to strain your eyes to make out a difference above 300 ppi as the human eye has limitations with seeing anything with more saturation than this. Second, having a pixel density of more than 300 ppi can actually prove to be a problem as every pixel requires a tiny amount of power and the more pixels you have to power, the faster the battery drains. On top of the screen sits a Synaptics S3310B touchscreen controller with 10-finger sensitivity.

It is interesting to mention that the pixel pattern used on the display is unlike anything seen on any other phone. Not sure how to describe it other than a sort of up and down "wavy" look but it likely has something to do with the Dynamic Perspective (3D) system. UPDATE: 12/03/2014: Many phone and tablet displays now come with an oleophobic coating on the glass which prevents fingerprint smudges. This is NOT the case with the Fire Phone. Comparing the Fire Phone to my Galaxy Note, the Fire Phone collects fingerprint smudges so easily, there's no point in even trying to keep them off the glass as simply holding the phone will render the front and back glass completely covered in fingerprints. The Samsung Galaxy Note does not show fingerprint smudges because of this oleophobic coating.

 *** CAMERA ***

Remember when DSLRs were 13 MP and were considered professional grade cameras? I have one myself. Well now, the Fire Phone sports a 13 MP camera that takes advantage of unique image-stabilization technology and a super-fast shutter (fastest on the market), to make beautiful quality pictures even when your hands are trembling from your eighth cup of coffee! The Samsung Galaxy phones were considered the best in terms of photo quality but I have to say, after using the Fire Phone, they have some catching up to do. One of the best features of this camera, besides the incredible optics, is that it has a flash! My goodness, adding a flash is so simple that I'm surprised we still have phone manufacturers not adding a flash to the camera. The flash, combined with the exceptional quality of the optics, make for an amazing camera and you will definitely enjoy the quality of the photos you get out of this phone. Also, like the rest of your content, it is all stored in the Amazon cloud for easy access and safe storage.

 *** PROCESSOR, ON-BOARD STORAGE, AND RAM ***

The Fire Phone comes with a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor which includes 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU. This is Qualcomm's flagship processor and it's designed to offer high performance with low power drain. Is it all that it's cracked up to be? Well, in my experience, it seemed adequate but it wasn't as snappy as other processors found in competitor's phones.

*** DETAILED TECH ALERT! ***

If you're happy knowing the processor is adequate but not anything breathtaking, skip to the next section. For detailed info on the processor, read on: The Snapdragon 800 series has 4x Krait 400 cores that are capable of running as high as 2.3 GHz and includes an Adreno 330 running at 450 MHz. RAM is pretty standard at 2GB and is the LPDDR3 type at 800 MHz. Although Qualcomm claims the processor is designed to be high-performance while using low power, it actually seems more focussed on performance than power savings. It's based on TSMC's 28nm High Performance for Mobile (HPM) chipset, as opposed to the low power 28nm LP (low power) polysilicon chipset. While the Adreno 330 GPU is capable of encoding and playing back UHD (ultra high definition) 4K video at a very high 120 Mbps H.264 speed, Amazon has chosen to keep the video recording at 1080p, obviously for power savings purposes. All in all, the Snapdragon 800 is a good processor but for some reason, I just didn't get the peppy performance I was hoping for. The on-board storage is a basic flash drive system manufactured by SanDisk (Model SDIN8DE4-32G 32 GB NAND FLASH), while the RAM is provided by Samsung (Model K3QF2F20Da-QGCE 2 GB LDDR3 SDRAM).

 *** GRAPHICS ***

I won't go into detail here as the graphics quality is directly linked to the processor and its Adreno 330 GPU but suffice it to say, the graphics are what you'd expect from any other smartphone. They're high quality, responsive, and in my experience, they don't lag. There's no screen tear or other problems, at least not that I've noticed. All of your games should run smoothly and with great graphics. The same obviously applies to video recording and playback.

 *** 3-D VIEWING (DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE) ***

3D viewing, or as Amazon calls it, "Dynamic Perspective" is a cool feature that uses four cameras that you can see on the front of your phone, along with infrared technology manipulate the image. The cameras and infrared constantly monitor your head movements and the tilting of the phone and adjust the image accordingly, allowing you to look around objects, and essentially see them in 3D. I think this was primarily designed to improve shopping experience on Amazon, although it works great for games, the map service, and other graphics including some pretty cool screensavers that display in 3D as you move the phone around.

*** DETAILED TECH ALERT! ***

Here you go: The Dynamic Perspective technology is pretty basic and is achieved simply by using four OmniVision brand cameras, each relying on an individual infrared (invisible) LED to monitor head movements, and controlled by the OmniVision OV680 image processor, along with an Invensense MPU-6500 Six-Axis accelerometer/gyro. Nothing too sophisticated, but what a mouthful, and it does prove that Amazon isn't cutting corners on the phone's internal components as these are the newest, top of the line components on the market. UPDATE: 12/3/2014: The dynamic perspective is pretty cool but I have a feeling it's using a LOT of power. It can be a little jittery at times but for the most part it's nice and smooth. See the "BATTERY" section below for details on the major battery drain issue.

*** TILTING AND TURNING, AND WHERE THE HELL IS THE BACK BUTTON?! ***

While we're on the topic of dynamic perspective and moving the phone around, it's worth mentioning that this phone relies HEAVILY on tilting and turning to make things work. By this I mean accessing hidden menus, the "back button" that you'll notice is physically lacking on the phone but works by tilting the phone forward or swiping upwards on the screen, and so forth. Get ready to start twisting and turning the phone because that's how you navigate through things! It takes some getting used to and honestly, it's a little buggy at the moment, being quite unresponsive and lagging at times. Another reviewer actually mentioned that while trying to show off the phone to some co-workers, the whole twisting and turning was so buggy that it was accessing things it wasn't supposed to and not accessing the things it was supposed to... pretty embarrassing.

 *** AUDIO ***

The Fire Phone uses Dolby Digital Plus so nothing exceptional in this category, although it does automatically control volume and create a "virtual surround sound" but nothing breathtaking. The Kindle Fire HDX uses Dolby Atmos which is far superior in terms of audio quality and I'm honestly not sure why it wasn't included in the Fire Phone unless there were size constraints or something. The audio is decent but after hearing the Dolby Atmos sound through the Kindle Fire HDX, I noticed a huge difference!

The included headphones aren't anything special but they are good quality from what I can see. Some people have asked me to elaborate on the sound. All I can say is, "it's average." I compared the sound to the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Note 3, and the Fire Phone doesn't even come close to the sound quality of the Samsung line. Again, it's not horrible, it's just average and may be better than many other phones out there. To me, it's just average.

 *** BUILD QUALITY ***

Weighing in at about 5.6 ounces with a rubberized frame an aluminum buttons, the Fire Phone does have a nice heft to it that gives you that "this feels solid" feeling, similarly to what I experience when picking up an iPhone and the opposite I get when I pick up my Galaxy Note 3. The Fire Phone makes use of the newest line of Gorilla glass which is good and bad. Scratch resistance wise, it's a good thing. The bad is you're going to get the usual smudges and a higher chance of the glass breaking, especially since it's glass on both the front and back. Another reviewer actually dropped the phone from a short distance of maybe a foot onto a table and a corner of the phone dented, although the glass stayed intact.

The buttons are CNC machined aluminum and feel solid... not loose and wiggly like some other phones do, and are very responsive and well laid out. The internals (guts) of the phone are mostly Qualcomm components (no surprise there), along with a few pieces made by SanDisk (on-board storage), Samsung (RAM), OmniVision (cameras and image processor), Synaptics (touchscreen), along with several others. What's nice about this is Amazon isn't cutting corners on the internals... in fact, they're using some of the newest, top of the line components on the market right now.

 *** BATTERY LIFE ***

There should be a penalty for lying about battery life! Nearly every phone, tablet, Chromebook, or other tech device I've reviewed has claimed a battery life higher than what it really is. It's annoying, but at least Amazon gives you a disclaimer of "actual results may vary." While the battery life is good, it's nowhere near 22 hours of talk time or 11 hours of video playback. While I could go a couple days of average usage before needing to recharge the battery, I certainly wasn't talking for 11 hours each of those days. Throw in app usage, game playing, web browsing, email pushing/syncing and so forth and that battery drains really fast! As is the case with any tech device utilizing a battery, the longer you use the device, the shorter your battery life. For example, when I first got my Galaxy Note 3, I could go a couple days without recharging... fast forward 6 months and I'm lucky to get even a day's worth of usage before the phone starts beeping at 10% battery life. I'm expecting the same thing from the Fire Phone.

UPDATE: 12/02/2014: The battery is now one of the biggest pitfalls of this phone, in my opinion. Using the phone today, it was at 100% when I left for work this morning at 7:00 AM. I made no phone calls, used the Bluetooth to listen to music in the car for about 30 minutes on my drive to and from work, checked email twice (once in the morning, once at lunch,) and took 2 photos. It is now 3:30 PM, 8.5 hours later, I've barely used the phone, as I've explained, and my battery power is already down to 77%. According to the battery discharge page, 35% of the power was used for that 30 minutes of music via Bluetooth, 18% was used for WiFi, 18% was used by the Fire OS, 9% was used by the screen (probably because I barely had the screen on doing anything) and the email used a mere 2% of the power. Other small services used the remaining percentage or two. Compared to other phones, this is absolutely unacceptable. I have emailed Amazon about it because of how serious this is. If I was actually using the phone to its full potential throughout the day, I'd probably have 5% battery power right now.

 *** APP AVAILABILITY ***

There are nearly 250,000 apps available on the Amazon App Store which is pretty impressive given how new the Amazon ecosystem is, compared to the competition. The Fire Phone comes pre-loaded with the core Amazon apps such as messaging, email, calendar, maps, weather, Silk browser, Amazon Instant Video, Amazon App Store, and of course a "shop" app that allows easy access to purchasing items from Amazon. I won't go over every app that comes installed as Amazon has provided a list in the product description. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others are pre-loaded but you'll notice right away that the YouTube app (owned by Google) is not. More on that debacle below:

 *** GOOGLE COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ***

 As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, Amazon is in direct competition with Apple and Google in terms of app and music purchases so the first thing you'll notice is even though this is an "Android based phone," some of your most used Android apps are not going to be installed, nor can they be downloaded from the Amazon App Store. While some of these apps can be "side loaded" by selecting "allow non-Amazon app installation" within the phone settings, this won't work with the core Google apps, at least not without rooting the phone which is cumbersome, not to mention it voids the warranty and runs a risk of "bricking" the phone.

The Starbucks app and Foursquare app are other examples of apps that simply won't run on the Fire OS, even if you sideload them. (more on sideloading below) In short, if you rely heavily on Google apps such as Drive, Calendar, Docs, YouTube, and the countless others, this phone is probably not for you. While there is Gmail support and an app available to sync your Amazon calendar with your Google calendar, it's going to be difficult to use this phone in the way you're accustomed to with a phone running a pure Android OS. Again, I can't really dock a star from the review because of this as this is an AMAZON phone and Amazon is making sure it stays that way, just as Apple and Windows do with their operating systems. So how do you "side load" an app? Read below:

UPDATE: 12/03/2014: One of the customers reading this review informed me that not only can the Google Play Store be loaded onto the Fire Phone simply by sideloading it (without having to root the phone), but so can all of your Google Play Store apps, including the core Google apps, obviously. I tried doing this myself before writing the review and the phone simply would not recognize the app, nor would it accept any of the core Google apps through sideloading. I already decided I would not root the phone so I was unable to test if that worked. I called both Amazon and Google to verify and I was told that it is simply not possible to do and if you somehow can get it to load, it will be unstable and the Google Play Store apps would not auto-update through the push service as they typically are. This reader says he has found a way. If I can verify it works, I will post the instructions. If you'd like to read his instructions, check out Page 8 (I think) of the comments section where he has the whole thing explained.

*** SIDE LOADING INSTRUCTIONS ***

1. Start by launching the Settings app on your Fire Phone
2. Select the "Applications & Parental Controls" section
3. Once you're there, select "Allow non-Amazon app installation"
4. Slide the switch next to the first listing on the next page and wait for the warning!
5. You'll get a warning telling you you're putting your personal data at risk by sideloading. This is just a last ditch effort by Amazon to stop you from using apps other than theirs although the warning is legitimate as Amazon has no control of those non-Amazon apps in terms of privacy of your personal information.
6. You'll need to find your Android apps using a Chrome app that allows you to download the APK for free apps to your desktop.
7. Once you've downloaded the APK file to your desktop, you'll need to upload it to Dropbox or a similar online storage service that has an app available for Fire Phone (since Drive isn't available on the Fire Phone, forget about using that!)
8. From there, you'll install the app by opening the APK file
9. Amazon's Fire OS will recognize the app (unless it's a core Google app which will fail installation as they're banned), and install the app. And that's basically how side-loading works. It's a pain but it's worth it if you really need that app!

 *** MOVING DATA FROM YOUR EXISTING PHONE ***

I'm not going to give all of the instructions here as you can find them on Amazon but I will say, it was a fairly easy process moving from Google to Fire OS. I was not able to try it on Apple or Windows phones but I'm sure the process is similar. It wasn't complicated, at least not any more complicated than transferring from Apple to Google and vice versa. Transfer of your music happens through the USB cable. Your computer should recognize the Fire Phone as a drive and you simply copy and paste your iTunes music library into the Music folder on the Fire Phone. After the music files are copied over, you're good to go. I easily paired the phone to my car via Bluetooth and all of my music was available while driving.

 

Fujitsu Brick: Transparent Smartphone

Fujitsu Brick concept is a transparent smartphone that can magnify stuff and translate text instantly, capture video and photo, and operates as a projector. Its designers Shaocheng Huang & Yuyin Huang define Fujitsu Brick as a portable PC. If there’s a decent CPU and storage inside than this concept device could be a useful thing, for let’s say a student. This concept uses the transparent screen for magnifying purposes, text translation, video and photo capture plus… a projector feature.

The Fujitsu device is a ultraslim one, it’s very sleek and supports instant translation from one language to another. The magnifier works perfectly and considering I don’t see any buttons here, I guess it’s all touchscreen and gestures. I don’t quite get how you can use this handset as a projector… maybe by amplifying a light source it will project a certain image or video on a surface.

If you add a decent CPU, camera and storage to this unit, it could become useful especially for students and business men, if you take into account its features. There’s one thing that I always wonder when seeing a transparent phone: does it really use a sheet of see through glass, or it just has the camera on all the time and shows what it captures behind the phone?

 

Smart Phone DOOGEE TURBO DG2014 Review

The Doogee TURBO DG 2014 has a 5.0-inch HD IPS and OGS screen with 1280*720 pixels in resolution. It is equipped with the new MTK6582 Quad Core processor that is clocked at 1.3GHz. It has 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. This one is an impressive Chinese phone. From its price tag, you are already having much more of its value if we look into its overall specifications and features. Added to that is its elegant design and the selling point of being a 5.5mm thin Android smartphone.

 General

• Manufacturer: Doogee
• Model: Doogee TURBO DG2014
• Phone Style: Bar, multi-touch screen, 5.0 inch Capacitive touchscreen
• Operating System: Android 4.2 OS
• Processor: MTK6582 Quad Core 1.3GHz
• GPU: ARM Mali400-MP2 500MHz
• Google Play Store: Can Be Pre-installed

Display

• Screen Size: 5.0 inch HD IPS OGS touchscreen
• Display resolution: 1280*720 pixel
• Color Support: 16 million colors
• Screen Technology: Multi-touch screen

Camera

• 13.0MP rear camera
• 5.0MP front camera

Connectivity

• Connectivity Technology: GSM + WCDMA (Dual Simcard)
• Network Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz + WCDMA 850/2100MHz
• Data Technology: GPRS, EDGE, HSUPA, HSDPA2, HSDPA+
• Bluetooth: Yes, 3.0,
• WLan: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
• USB: USB 2.0
• GPS: GPS/A-GPS (Built-in GPS chipset)

Features

• Video Player: AVI, MP4, 3GP, MOV, MKV, FLV
• Audio Player: FLAC, APE, MP3, OGG, AMR, AAC
• Image: JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF
• Ringing Tones: Downloadable
• Message: SMS, MMS, Email
• Phone Book: 1000 contacts
• Brower: HTML
• Interface/Port:
• Game: Downloadable
• Radio: Yes
• G-sensor: Yes
• Barosensor: Yes
• Interface/Port: 3.5mm earphone jack / mini USB 5 pin jack

Battery

• Battery: Li-on battery (1750mAh)
• Standby Time: 150-200 hours

Memory

• 1GB RAM
• 8GB ROM

Size

• Dimensions: 142.9*71.36*5.5
• Weight: 128

Package contents

• 1 * Doogee TURBO DG2014 (comes in different colors as seen on the pics)
• 1 * Charger
• 1 * Battery
• 1 * USB Data Cable
• 1 * Headphone

Price: You can buy from Amazon just for $145

Google’s Nexus 6, best gift for this Christmas

Nexus 6 is too large, in fact, for most people. Back when it was just a rumor that Google would be picking Motorola to provide the Nexus 6 hardware, and that it would indeed be a monster with a 6-inch display, I lamented the phabletization of the Nexus line before it was even a real thing. Now, another to acknowledge that Google may have gotten it right with a “go big or go home” strategy for this generation of hardware.

 For the users of the Nexus 6, there’s no question that something more akin to the Nexus 5, albeit with just better battery life, a better camera, improved specs and an updated display would’ve been the preferable option. Not least because such an unexciting iteration would probably have been able to keep the cost down, meaning you’d have another great pure Android option at a fraction of the cost of most locked, contract-only devices. Which is great, insofar as you consider the purpose of the Nexus program to build affordable, easy-to-access devices with ergonomics aimed at suiting the needs of the greatest number of people.

 Nexus is not a populist program, however – it’s a reference hardware initiative that Google undertook because it wanted to help show OEMs how to get the most out of Android, and because it wanted developers to be able to build for a specific set of criteria that would mostly serve them well when their apps appeared on other Android devices, too. Some speculate that the Nexus 6 was actually just one of many devices that were supposed to take part in the Android Silver program, which would’ve replaced Nexus devices with hardware from various OEMs that contained a pure version of Android with guaranteed timely updates. That theory suggests that the Nexus 6 is but one of a variety of kinds of smartphones, some of which would’ve resembled the Nexus 5 more closely, and theoretically been more broadly aimed devices.

Even leaving that aside, however, the Nexus 6 seems like it fits the Nexus mould – it’s a device that lets Google show off Android 5.0 on hardware that exemplifies some of its best aspects. It also potentially anticipates a future where, rather than a mobile market divided among tablets and smartphones, most consumers prefer a single device with a large display but with all the functions they’ve come to expect in a phone.

In my time testing the Nexus 6, it went from something that I found awkward to use and that would mostly stay home, to a device I’d carry in lieu of a tablet, stowed in a pocket or bag, and that I automatically used two-handed, without thinking about how inconvenient it was to use single-handed. And while it still isn’t for everyone, it might be the Nexus Android needs, in terms of lighting the path forward for what’s coming next in the mobile device market.

 

Microsoft TryLumiaPhone, an Online Emulator for Lumia Smartphones

Messaging App: The inbuilt messaging feature helps user to check all emails in one place, stay connected using different apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc. Work on the Go: In-built Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook apps make working on the device almost virtual even after being away from the computer also helps to present those PowerPoint, Excel slides on big screen by connecting Lumia device with large TV or projector which supports Microsoft functionality.

Customization: User can take home screen personalization to a next level. Windows Phone user can customize home screen by arranging tiles the way they want, decorate home screen with favourite picture and can customize with favourite colour of their choice.

Games & Navigation: Play anytime, anywhere, connect Lumia with Xbox friends and discover new games with pre-installed games application and Windows Store. The navigation app helps user to drive in around 94 countries with voice guidance, works both in offline & online mode and can even track down remote destination. Lumia phone comes with a pre-installed Find my phone app, which helps users to track their phone in case it gets lost. The Easy transfer application helps user to transfer or sync content from iPhone, Android to Windows Phone.

Clicking pictures, recording video in HD, taking pictures in low light & shoot and share feature makes the device top performer in low-budget smartphone segment. If you are planning to buy Lumia phone this fall, then don’t forget to visit TryLumiaPhone.

 

Smart Phone LG G3 One of The Best Gift Options

The LG G3’s new 5.5" Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display transforms the smartphone visual experience at 4 times the resolution of HD. Stunning graphics and life-like colors seem to jump off the screen, showing imagery in its finest detail and clarity at 538 pixels per inch. When you think of all the ways you use your smartphone, don’t you want a full, clear view of everything?

The LG G3 fits a stunning 5.5” Quad HD IPS display into a handy smartphone form factor, delivering 4 times the resolution of HD with a superior pixel density of 538 ppi for breathtaking detail, along with the stunning, lifelike colors that IPS displays offer..

LG's G2 was a bit of an oddball when it debuted late last year. It had all the makings of a standard flagship Android smartphone—top-of-the-line internals, a beautiful display, and a capable camera—but it also brought something unique to the table: volume and power buttons that were curiously placed on back of the device. Despite the peculiar hardware design, though, the G2 was generally impressive. But with handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC's fantastic One (M8) on the market, LG had little choice but to go beyond interesting button placement to make sure its new G3 smartphone doesn't fall by the wayside in the incredibly competitive market.

So what did LG do? It dropped in a larger display with an astounding 2,560 by 1,440 resolution and wrapped the phone in a new, metal-like casing. Other upgrades are also in tow, like redesigned hardware buttons, an improved camera with an infrared laser for quick auto-focus capabilities, and a new approach to its smartphone UI, and the results are nothing short of amazing. While other flagships can be portrayed as mere iterations of their predecessors, LG's G3 has managed to evolve from last year's model, making for an all-around, more complete package.

 

Russia’s first smartphone with dual screen made by Yotaphone

YotaPhone, the dual-screen mobile device that made a splash at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, will launch in Russia, Austria, France, Spain and Germany before Christmas and in 15 other countries including the UK by the end of Q1 2014. In the UK it will only be available from Yotaphone's own online shop.

The YotaPhone has a 4.3-inch 720x1280 HD LCD on the front and a 360x640 e-ink display on the back. The colour LCD display can be used like a normal Android phone, while the rear e-paper display can receive notifications and display news or maps while conserving battery life. The YotaPhone is made by Russian smartphone manufacturer Yota, which also provides 4G mobile broadband services in the country. At a launch event in Moscow, Yota Devices CEO Vlad Martynov said that Yotaphone helps to solve the problem of the ‘always dark’ screen that current smartphones suffer from when in sleep mode.

Electronic paper display (EPD) technology can make information available and visible without draining the battery, meaning that the YotaPhone's e-ink display can be always on. “Once we determined that an electronic paper display would work as a second screen, an array of new and improved user experiences became obvious,” said Martynov. The rear-facing 4.3-inch screen is not simply a dedicated e-reader, though. Carrying a phone around in your pocket containing all your personal information leads you to wake it up quite a lot — sometimes just to check the weather or time. You don’t really need a backlit LCD screen refreshing 60 times per second to check email notifications, right? This works out to be a big drain on battery life over the course of the day, as Android’s stock battery usage monitor will tell you.

The YotaPhone puts relevant content on the back e-ink panel so you don’t have to fire up that power-hungry LCD as much. Yota will include custom software designed to work with the rear panel that can show you Twitter notifications, email, SMS, RSS feeds, or even Google Now. The company is also working on an API for developers to create new e-ink apps for the YotaPhone. One thing that will be a sticking point is the lack of an official e-book service in most countries. The device is on sale in Russia first, but will then expand to other regions. Yota is partnering with Bookmate in Russia, but there’s nothing in the works with Amazon for Kindle support.

The YotaPhone was first shown off at CES almost a year ago, and the specs listed at the time were definitely high-end. However, in the intervening year Android devices have continued their rapid advance in the hardware department, leaving the YotaPhone looking a bit dated. This phone packs a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro (first-gen Krait cores clocked at 1.7GHz), 2GB of RAM, a 4.3-inch 720p LCD, and an 1800 mAh battery. The e-ink screen is the same size, but only 360×640 resolution.
The YotaPhone is priced like a premium handset too — it’s going for 500 euros, or almost $700. For that price, other Android devices are shipping with quad-core ARM chips based on faster processing cores and 1080p screens. Even factoring in the reported 15% increased cost for the e-ink screen technology, this is still a pricey device for the specs. The battery might seem a little small too, but that’s kind of the idea. You should not need as much juice with the YotaPhone. Yota plans to sell the device in Europe and the Middle East after the Russian debut, but anything beyond that is unclear. The YotaPhone as it currently exists doesn’t support the necessary cellular bands to work in the US on anything but 2G GSM. Maybe it’s a gimmick, and maybe it’s a revolution — most of us will have to watch from afar to find out.

Sony Xperia Z3 Smartphone Review:

The Sony Xperia Z is one of the main pillars of Sony’s new organisation to nidus on transferable, diversion and imaging. In fact, it’s a design that addresses all triad of those areas, piece also pressing set on Sony’s smartphone recent. The phone ushers in a new pattern language, one Sony’s decided to transfer to its new paper too. It’s called omnibalance organisation, but it’s person described as a combining of 90-degree angles, plane metric arrangement and mat satiny sides. Erstwhile you get to aspect at the sound in individual, all Xperias that came before it discolor in alikeness.

The sound feels solid and you’d be hard-pressed to exposit any strain of it as plasticky. Between those mirrored sides, you’ll gestate Sony’s freshman 1080p phone demonstration, measure digit inches and benefiting from the visitant’s new Bravia Moving Engine 2.   Improvements to the Xperia piping aren’t only toiletry, though: Sony’s side a 13-megapixel camera (featuring the HDR video-capable Exmor RS sensor) and a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro — Qualcomm’s most potent raisable processor currently purchasable.   Meanwhile, those loved electronics are shielded by a covering that’s water- (IPX5/7) and dust-resistant (IP5X). It’s rare to see much aegis on a phone that’s not being marketed as a hardy emblem, let unaccompanied a friendship’s new flagship. Examination the Xperia Z against the only separate 1080p sound we’ve reviewed, the Droid DNA,

Sony unfortunately comes in product space. Sony is job its new, thinner demonstration the OptiContrast window, but its action doesn’t proffer the selfsame vigil angles, or outdoorsy action, of HTC’s Super LCD 3 protection.   In fact, reverse the protection absent from straight-on watch, and you’ll see a grayish discoloring that starts to veil what’s feat on — especially low buttony. Piece Sony says the new communicate thought should turn thoughtfulness, sunshine and definite lighting conditions ofttimes prefab it rugged for us to register flatbottom the bag take.   The Xperia Z arrives retributive down the current Android process.

It’s ease Humanoid Delicacy Bean, but it’s variant 4.1.2. Avowedly, the additions since then are relatively insignificant, but Sony has the luckless knack for propulsion its unexcelled phones without the very brightest software.   Since last from the constraint protect. Stomach a fireman see at Sony’s knifelike position on Android and you’ll pronounce few likable additions, same the Rolodex-style room widget or the expansive cause direction widget pre-installed alongside some slightly statesman excess area hogs, same a Walkman frequency contestant widget or Sony’s Amusement Cloth.

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Review

The precise color saturation and the high contrast of 5.7'' Quad HD Super AMOLED display will drive you to feel the fluent and vivid color as if you are looking with the naked eye. High resolution boasts tremendous viewing experience. Truly optimized for web-browsing and e-reading.

 The Galaxy Note's big screen and S Pen stylus are certainly not for everyone. The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Alpha offer a more mainstream smartphone setup - the Note 4 brings together big power, a big screen and big productivity. If you're after a top-end smartphone which won't break the bank (or your palm, pocket or handbag) then you're probably in the wrong place. At over £600 (around $840, AU$960) SIM free the Galaxy Note 4 is not cheap. On contract in the UK a free handset will probably see you shell out upwards of £40 per month for two years. It is a considerable investment. It's up against the likes of the Nexus 6, Nokia Lumia 1520,Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the steeply priced iPhone 6 Plus, with the latter the only one matching the Note 4 in terms of cost.

 

 Unlike the previous three iterations Samsung hasn't deemed it necessary to increase the screen size of the Note 4, so it sticks with the same 5.7-inch dimensions of the Galaxy Note 3. It's not the same screen though, as Samsung has given the Galaxy Note 4 a hefty resolution boost - but more on that on the next page. When it comes to design Samsung has definitely listened about its latest line-up feeling plasticky in the hand and has decided to give the Note 4 more of a premium finish. There's a metal rim surrounding the handset, shielding the rest of the chassis like a velvet rope protecting celebs from real people in a club. It sports exactly the same shape, style and rounded corners as the Galaxy Alpha, only on a bigger scale and thanks to the increased size the plastic rear is more noticeable here than it is on the Alpha.

Samsung has tried to make the removable plastic cover feel more premium by giving it a leather effect finish, but there's still no fooling your hand with that unmistakable texture. A plus side to this though is the plastic rear does provide good grip - vital when you've got such a large handset in your hand and even though the Galaxy Note 4 is a touch wider than the all metal iPhone 6 Plus, I found the Samsung is easier to hold. Even though the 6 Plus has a smaller, 5.5-inch display, it's actually taller than the Note 4 - something else the Samsung has over its Apple rival as it makes the phone more balanced in the hand. Add to that the placement of the power/lock key on the right of the Galaxy Note 4 and you find that even for a big phone the key buttons are still easy enough to reach (if your palms are on the larger side).

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 measures 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm, almost the same as its predecessor and smaller in width and depth than the Galaxy Note 2, which is impressive considering this is the first of the Note series to sport a metal frame. I've also been using the 5.5-inch OnePlus One recently and there's really not a lot to choose between the two in terms of size. It's safe to say then, if you're already accustomed to the larger league of smartphones then the Galaxy Note 4 will feel right at home in your palm. Samsung's tried and tested physical home key still resides at the bottom of the screen, providing a location for the Korean firm to stuff in its fingerprint scanner, and that's flanked by two touch keys. To the left of the home button is the Multi-tasking key, while on the right you get Back.

Both Back and Multi-tasking are completely hidden when not illuminated by the backlights, providing a clean finish to the front of the Galaxy Note 4. Some shuffling of the Note 4 in the hand is required to get your fingers in the right position to reach these during one handed use, and you'll need to be careful not to drop it. Round the back you'll find a 16MP camera, LED flash and the heart rate monitor which also features on the Galaxy S5, S5 Mini and Galaxy Alpha. In the bottom corner you'll also notice the end of the S Pen stylus hiding inside the body of the Galaxy Note 4, while behind the removable rear cover there's a microSIM port, microSD slot and a sizable 3220mAh battery. Samsung has managed to keep the dimensions manageable - it's certainly a lot easier to hold than the 6-inch Lumia 1520 and Ascend Mate 7 - and while the iPhone 6 Plus may look sleeker, the Galaxy Note 4 boasts a bigger, better screen and very similar dimensions.