AT&T Finally Delivers “Denim” Update for the Lumia 1520

With all the noise around the FCC yesterday, you might have missed a long awaited update start pushing out to the king Lumia on AT&T.

Verizon surprised us all in being first to deliver the Lumia Denim firmware update to the Icon, but now it’s Big Blue’s turn to update the monster phablet Lumia 1520.

Windows Phone fans will be happy to play with a new camera app capable of shooting HDR photos and 4K video. Also on board is a new voice activation trigger for the Digital Assistant search app. Saying “Hey Cortana” by your phone will initiate a voice search or command even when your phone’s screen is off.

This update will also replace any AT&T pre-installed software on the phone. If you uninstalled AT&T Navigator or FamilyMap in the past, they’ll return. Thankfully, unlike bloat on Android devices, these apps can still be uninstalled without rooting or jumping through hoops.

It took us a while to get here, but Denim brings a collection of bug fixes and new features to play with, while we wait for Microsoft to deliver Windows 10.

To see if your Lumia has received the update, head to “Settings”, then to “Phone Update”. You can see our 4K video review from the Icon below (and the 1520’s camera performs very similarly).

Smartphone Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – The New Android King

Samsung created the phablet market as we understand it today with the original Note. The Note has become their Bleeding Edge platform, superseding even the Galaxy S line in cramming high tech guts into a phone. The Note 4 also brings the new design language we saw first on the Galaxy Alpha. Does the whole package live up to the extremely high expectations the Note line has created? Let’s take a look!

Shop the Galaxy Note 4 on Amazon.

Smartphone Speaker Test: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 on AT&T (Movie and Music Playback Samples)

The Note series have always boast “BIG” specs, and the Note 4 is no exception. With all of the space to cram in high end guts, how has the speaker fared? Let’s take a listen!

Compare the Note 4 speaker to the iPhone 6+ and the HTC One M8.
Shop the Galaxy Note 4 on Amazon.

First Impressions: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – AT&T Launch Day Event in Pasadena!

Here we go folks! AT&T was kind enough to open a store early for me to go hands on with the new iPhones! Here are my initial thoughts on Apple’s newest flagship phone and their first phablet!

Continue reading “First Impressions: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – AT&T Launch Day Event in Pasadena!”

Smartphone Speaker Test: iPhone 6 Plus on AT&T (Movie and Music Samples Playback Benchmark)

Apple set the standard for audio playback with the original iPhone, but since then other phones have improved dramatically. Now that the iPhone 6 Plus has a phablet sized screen, did Apple bump up the speaker size and quality? Let’s take a listen!

Continue reading “Smartphone Speaker Test: iPhone 6 Plus on AT&T (Movie and Music Samples Playback Benchmark)”

CTIA 2014 First Look: The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Finally getting a little quality time with the new Note 4 Edge and its asymmetrically curved display! Samsung has moved menus, controls, and shortcuts to the EDGE! Let’s take a look!

Verizon employee leaks image of HTC One Max

android central htc one maxA friend of a Verizon employee posted this pic of the up coming HTC One Max in the Android Central forums. According to Jeremy, his mysterious pal has confirmed the One Max will have a finger print scanner and a removable back plate. Looks to be some decent competition for the Galaxy Note 3, especially with BoomSound in tow.

What I’m really happy to see, is this doesn’t appear to be a Droid. The last larger screened phone HTC released was a carrier exclusive to VZW in the USA, dubbed the Droid DNA. This image shows us a phone which very much follows the design language of the One and One Mini, meaning HTC is moving towards the same kind of device branding that Samsung and Apple have already figured out. Consumers will no longer be confused by seeing One’s on one carrier and Evos/Droids on another.

Of course, Verizon did still have to slap their weird checkmark logo right on the face of this otherwise beautiful phone. Right where the HTC logo would’ve been too. Kind of a slap in the face. Here’s to change?

(via Android Central)

Rumor: Nokia to launch Lumia 1520 on September 26

nokialumia1520leaknew9_1020_verge_super_wideI’m not a big fan of rumor posts, there’s enough real stuff to actually play with that I don’t like getting bogged down by speculation. This rumor comes courtesy of @evleaks however, and they’ve been pretty good about not engaging in wild speculation regarding gadget leaks…

The timing on this seems pretty legit. We know Microsoft is gearing up for a couple big moves over the next couple months, including dropping a new Surface and the public release of Windows 8.1. Updating Windows Phone with a killer Nokia phablet would fit into that release line up nicely.

More news when we get actual news.