Following the keynote during CES 2016, we’re taking a closer look at the Huawei Mate 8. This is a beast of a phone with some pretty boss specifications and today we’re ding a brief unboxing and overview to see what it’s all about…
CES 2016 Stories January 10, 2016
CES 2016 Stories January 8, 2016
Fossil and Tag Heuer may have been the first traditional watch companies to launch an Android Wear device, but it was never going to be long before Casio joined the game. The popular watchmaker has dabbled in the connected watch market for a few years now, and has finally unveiled its first Android Wear watch. The WSD-F10 might just be the most durable and rugged smartwatch we’ve ever seen…
CES 2016 Stories January 7, 2016
At CES today, Google and Lenovo announced a partnership to bring the first consumer Project Tango device to the market. The Lenovo-made smartphone will be the first Project Tango offering that consumers will have the chance to try. Google touts that Project Tango transforms your smartphone into “a magic lens that lets you place digital information on your physical world.”
BLU is continuing its tradition of launching affordable, but well-specced smartphones with the new range of Vivo smartphones at CES 2016. The BLU Vivo 5 and BLU Vivo XL share many of the same features and specifications, albeit in two different forms…
CES 2016 Stories January 6, 2016
Speck is one of the best-known smartphone case manufacturers. Its products normally combine practicality and durability with attractive designs in a way not many other companies manage. Its Candyshell Grip case is one of the most recognizable around, thanks to the grippy, (usually) brightly colored stripes on the outer shell. Now, the company has decided to dive in to the world of virtual reality with its latest product: Pocket VR.
Samsung introduces new, sleek 11.6-inch Chromebook 3
Samsung has joined ASUS in offering a new ultra-portable Chromebook for the masses this year at CES 2016. While ASUS went with a ruggedized look, Samsung has gone with a more sleek appearance, while still promising a durable and long-lasting build.
The new Chromebook 3 weighs a little over 2.5 pounds and has a reinforced metal body and 180-degree hinge to ensure that it’s not easily broken. What’s more, its shape and grippy finish are designed to make it easy to carry, but difficult to drop accidentally.
“We’re seeing more and more people flocking to Chromebooks as families, students and other consumers seek out easy-to-use, highly portable and affordable laptops as resources for personal use, education and even work,” said Gary Riding, senior vice president, Mobile Computing at Samsung Electronics America. “Samsung recognized that demand when we launched the first-ever Chromebook in 2011. We’re continuing to keep up with evolving consumer needs with this new iteration, which offers even more convenient features that solve consumers’ pain points, like all day battery life and fast charging capabilities.”
Specifications are typical of the smaller, more affordable Chromebooks:
- 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 resolution anti-glare display
- Intel Celeron N3050 processor
- Intel HD GPU
- 2GB or 4GB RAM
- 16GB storage
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi with 2x MIMO tech
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 2 x 1.5W stereo speakers
- 720p built-in webcam
- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports
- HDMI out
- 3.5mm jack
- MicroSD card slot
- 11 hour battery life (33Wh)
Although exact pricing and release date details haven’t been announced, Samsung intends to launch the new Chromebook 3 at some point in the next few months. Similarly specced Chromebooks normally cost between $200-$250, anything more than that would surely make Samsung’s latest laptop unappealing.
CES 2016 Stories January 5, 2016
Samsung is up next for CES press day, following a very Android- and Google-heavy Huawei event. This event isn’t expected to be nearly as exciting, however, as Samsung has a wide variety of products spanning many categories to mention. Just like last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we heard about Samsung services, some connected home products, some televisions, and maybe a new variant of a smartwatch (the Gear S2 this time, likely)… expand full story
As its press event kicks off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Huawei has announced a pair of new smartwatches that will launch in Q1 of this year. Much like we reported earlier, both of these watches are designed with the female market in mind. The two watches are called the “Elegant” and “Jewel” models and are variants of the Huawei Watch we’ve come to know.
In an effort to get customers entirely absorbed into their ecoystem in one fell swoop, HTC and Under Armor have today announced HealthBox. Although it may sound like the brand-name for some kind of nutritious lunch, it is in fact a system which ties together a smart scale, fitness band and heart-rate monitor with a smartphone app…
Alcatel OneTouch unveils new Pixi 4 smartphone and tablet range
Alcatel OneTouch has built something of a name for itself at the affordable end of smartphone and tablet market. This morning at CES 2016, the company announced a brand new range of ultra low-end Pixi 4 phones and tablets, all powered by Android and a dual-core or quad-core processor, but each with a different-sized screen.
Alcatel OneTouch’s latest Pixi range will come with 3.5-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch models, with the last of those being far more like a small tablet than a smartphone.
Although they’re clearly entry-level products, the new Pixi range have been loaded with a number of features to make them attractive to first-time smartphone buyers, or those with lower budgets. The pre-installed Polaroid software lets users design their own collages from photos and add borders and text, while the front-facing flash on the 4-inch and 6-inch models means you can take selfies in the dark. What’s more, the Arkamys optimized speakers means audio shouldn’t be terrible.
You can find the full list of key specs for each model below. No specific release date or pricing has been mentioned for any of the devices.
Pixi 4 (3.5) Specs
- 3.5-inch HVGA display
- Dual-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7 processor
- 512MB RAM
- 2MP rear camera
- 0.3MP front camera
- 4GB storage (expandable)
- Runs Android 5.1 Lollipop
Pixi 4 (4) Specs
- 4-inch WVGA display
- Quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor
- 512MB/1GB RAM
- 4GB/8GB storage (expandable)
- 2MP/5MP rear camera
- 0.3MP/2MP front camera
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
Pixi 4 (6) Specs
- 6-inch 720p IPS display
- Snapdragon 210 processor, quad-core 1.1GHz
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB storage (expandable)
- 8MP rear camera
- 5Mp front camera
- LTE connectivity
- 2,580mAh battery
- Android 5.1 Lollipop
Pixi 4 (7) Specs
- 7-inch 1024 x 600 resolution
- 1.1GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 processor
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB storage (expandable)
- 2,580mAh battery
- GSM/3G networks
- 2MP rear camera
- 0.3MP front camera
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Last year at CES, ASUS showed off a number of new competitive smartphones boasting the ZenFone brand name. Among them was the 3x optical zoom-equipped ZenFone Zoom. Since then, we’ve heard very little else about the photography-focussed Android device. Until now…
10-inch Huawei MediaPad M2 Android tablet leaks ahead of launch
Huawei is expected to have a large presence at CES this year. With its plans to increase its market visibility in the US, the Las Vegas-based trade show is the perfect opportunity to show off its best smartphones and tablets. According to Evan Blass, we should expect to see the MediaPad M2 10 among them.
If a leaked set of renders from SuomiMobiili is anything to go by, this is what the 10-inch tablet will look like:
With its rectangular home button on the bottom bezel, its design is similar to many of Samsung’s Galaxy-branded tablets. From the renders, it appears as though the rear panel is mostly made from metal, with a plastic panel running all the way along one side which plays home to the camera and LED flash, and presumably also acts as a window for the various antennas.
Specification-wise it’s claimed that the tablet will feature a full HD 10.1-inch display, 2GB RAM, Huawei’s Kirin 930 processor, an 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera and either 32GB or 64GB internal storage. US prices aren’t given, but SuomiMobiili expects the 32GB and 64GB models to retail at €349 and €449 respectively in Europe. Roughly converted to dollars, that’s $376 and $484 respectively, although actual pricing will almost certainly differ in the States.
The leak certainly seems official, and Evan Blass has a pretty solid track record, so we’re fairly confident this is legit, but there’s always a chance this isn’t authentic, however small.
CES 2016 Stories January 4, 2016
LG has shown its hand at Vegas this year and announced a couple of new mid-tier smartphones for the budget-conscious consumer at CES 2016. LG claims that both of the new devices have been inspired by nature, and are the first to offer the company’s ‘glossy pebble’ design language which is aimed at a younger target market. Both the K10 and K7 run Android and feel premium, according to the company’s press release…
Prepare for an influx of announcements from all the major tech companies over the coming days, CES 2016 is well and truly upon us. First out of the blocks is Lenovo who showed off a brand new 13-inch ThinkPad. The ThinkPad 13 will come in both Windows and Chrome OS flavors, and is priced right in the middle of the market…
CES 2016 Stories December 16, 2015
The Huawei Watch is without a doubt one of the hottest wearables of 2015. The watch made waves this year as one of Huawei’s big breakout product launches in the United States, paired with the Nexus 6P — which is also a hit, widely regarded as the best Nexus phone ever. Now, people familiar with the matter have told 9to5Google that the Chinese company is planning to launch a made-for-women version(s) of the watch at CES 2016, and has already begun development of a second generation watch scheduled for the second half of next year…
CES 2016 Stories December 15, 2015
LG has unveiled a new range of audio products for both home entertainment and for parties. As Google fans, it’s the home entertainment range we’re most interested in, and that’s because the company’s new sound bar systems include baked-in support for Google Cast. The SH8, SH7 and SH6 sound bars will be shown off in more depth at CES next month, and come with a boatload of wireless connectivity options…
CES 2016 Stories December 9, 2015
Honor today has sent out invites to CES 2016 party/event during which it will detail the “creative and smart technology that will offer superior mobile internet experiences to natives all over the world.” Honor, a sub-brand of Huawei, is responsible for devices like the Honor 5X and Honor 7.
