Tag: smartphones

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Wireless Charging to Get Less Confusing Thanks to New Broadcom SoC

PR_IMG_BCM59350_Wireless_Charging_HiResOk, so wireless charging isn’t that confusing a concept. You take a device, slap it down on a pad, and it charges the battery. What IS confusing is having to deal with two different standards for wireless charging which aren’t cross compatible.

There are two different versions of chargers Qi and PMA, and each has carved out a niche of the market. It gets even more confusing with companies like Nokia. International Lumias support Qi, but AT&T is partnered with PMA, so their phones wont support Qi chargers anymore. It’s a tricky roadmap to navigate for consumers who want to know which accessories will work with their phones.

Broadcom has announced a new SoC which should eventually ease that confusion as it’ll work with both standards. It’s an exciting innovation. Having competing “standards” is a sure fire way to halt progress of a new technology. Anyone remember the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war for HD content? Of course you don’t we all moved over to Netflix.

Broadcom’s full pr below for all the technical details.

Continue reading “Wireless Charging to Get Less Confusing Thanks to New Broadcom SoC”

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LG Announces G3 Flagship Phone with Quad HD Screen

LG_G3_3Today LG took the wraps off of their long awaited follow up to the popular G2 Android phone. The LG G3 continues in the design language of the G2 and G Flex, while taking the brand upscale and including some bleeding edge specs.

LG_G3_Metallic_Black_BackThe G3 retains the power button placement on the back of the phone under the camera, but now the build material of that backplate has a metallic finish which LG claims is fingerprint resistant.

The screen has also increased over the G2’s 5.2″ diagonal to a 5.5″ diagonal, placing the G3 screen firmly in the territory of last year’s phablets. The major talking point however is the bump to screen resolution. Called “Quad HD” the G3 display contains 2560×1440 dots, or four times the resolution of a 720p display. This delivers and insane pixel pitch (538ppi), which should make text and fine photo detail crisp. Continue reading “LG Announces G3 Flagship Phone with Quad HD Screen”

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Phablet BATTLE! Nokia Lumia 1520 vs LG G Flex Smartphone Showdown! Fight!

It’s a battle of the biggest screens we can find on our premier phones! Both Nokia and LG deliver a 6″ display, but both take extremely different views on what that experience should be like. Aside from the screen size, let’s take a look at two very different approaches to the phablet.

Related:
Lumia 1520 Long Term Review
G Flex Long Term Review
Shop the LG G Flex on Amazon
Shop the Lumia 1520 on Amazon

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Minnesota Governor Signs Smartphone “Kill Switch” Law

phone with lock image on screenIt’s the first of a likely growing trend in consumer protection laws surrounding our technology.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed off on the state’s “Kill Switch” law today, and the measure will go into full effect July of 2015. The law is aimed at devaluing the black and gray market for stolen smartphones. If a phone is reported stolen, there will be a process acted by the carrier which effectively renders the phone useless. The idea being, if a thief can’t easily profit from stealing a phone, they’ll be less likely to try and steal one.

While there’s always the potential for abuse with any system which can brick a phone, we’ve already seen companies like Apple institute similar features into the iPhone, preventing devices from being activated if they’re classified as stolen or missing. Continue reading “Minnesota Governor Signs Smartphone “Kill Switch” Law”

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HTC Unveils One Mini 2 Mid-Range Android Smartphone

htc one mini 2Following in the footsteps of last years One Mini, the One Mini 2 continues HTC’s new design language found on the M8.

Shrinking the screen to a 4.5″ 720p display, the OM2 features a number of our favorite features from the M8 like Boomsound speakers, Blinkfeed, and Zoe. What’s different is an odd collection of specs.

htc one mini 2 (2)First, we expected the camera would not be HTC’s new dual camera sensor setup which provides depth info to the M8, but it’s also not the same 4 Ultrapixel shooter we’ve seen since the M7. It’s a 13MP BSI sensor. Something of an odd move considering the lengths HTC has gone to in promoting Ultrapixels. There’s also no mention of OIS on board.

A Qualcomm 400 quad-core should be plenty powerful for most folks, and thankfully HTC has seen fit to add in NFC and a larger battery. That combo of efficient processor, Android 4.4, and a 2100 mAh battery should provide for noticeably better screen on time over the last Mini.

A MicroSD card slot will be appreciated by many, but OM2 owners will lose out on the M8’s IR blaster to use the phone as a universal remote, and it doesn’t appear to have 802.11AC WiFi either.

Continue reading “HTC Unveils One Mini 2 Mid-Range Android Smartphone”

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4K Video Test: Samples from the Samsung Galaxy S5 on AT&T!

Time to run the Galaxy S5 through the most comprehensive real world camera test available online!

We’ve already seen how improved the GS5 camera is when shooting 1080p, but how does the camera handle 4K? Watch on!

4K Video Test: The LG G Flex.
Shop for the Galaxy S5 on Amazon.

Continue reading “4K Video Test: Samples from the Samsung Galaxy S5 on AT&T!”

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LG Releases Teaser Video for the G3

lg g 3Under the banner of “Simple is the New Smart”, LG teased the Android community today with some footage of the next G flagship.

Rumors are swirling with what will actually be inside the phone. The G2 was fairly ahead of the curve from a specs perspective, so it’ll take some significant hardware to wow the specs-obsessed Android elite.

We’ll all know more come LG’s proper announcement on May 27, but until then we at least have some confirmation that the G3 looks like it will follow in HTC’s footsteps with an aluminum build. Hit the vid below, and try to keep the drool off your keyboards. Let’s maintain a little dignity ok folks?

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Entry Level Moto E Smartphone Official at $129, Moto G Gains LTE

Moto_E_White_ShellsAfter the leaked and blurry pictures, it’s nice to see Motorola continue applying pressure to the entry level market.

The Moto G started a “low cost” conversation, and we’ll see it get a nice little update. Already showing up on MotoMaker and Amazon, G gets LTE support and still maintains its $229 price point.

Moto_E_Single_NAThe big news is Moto E however, as it steps into an even lower cost market. Motorola is delivering a solid spec sheet for a $129 price. A 4.3″ qHD screen (960×540) will be powered by a Qualcomm 200 dual-core and 1GB of RAM. A 1980 mAh battery should get this low powered wonder through a solid day, and a 5MP camera is on board for photos and vids. Plus the phone will feature a removable backplate to customize the design.

It’ll also offer up some great “Offline” features like an FM Radio and a MicroSD card slot, notable as this phone will be targeted at areas where data coverage is spotty or prohibitively expensive.

Exciting stuff, as less than three years ago this would have been a premier phone in the $600 price range. Motorola released a fun welcome video, and you can read the full PR below.

Continue reading “Entry Level Moto E Smartphone Official at $129, Moto G Gains LTE”

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