Samsung has launched its first two phones with front-facing camera flash, a feature aimed at a younger crowd that might want to take selfies in lower light. The phones were announced in China today, and are scheduled to be released over the coming week.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Following a report on Friday morning from Reuters, rumors began flying about a potential ASUS acquisition of struggling HTC. The original report was clear, with ASUS Chief Financial Officer David Chang quoted as saying that “the chances of an actual takeover are not big…” This morning, however, HTC has come out to say matter-of-factly that it “will not consider the acquisition.”
We strongly deny the news. We didn’t contact Asusteck[sic] and will not consider the acquisition. As an international brand, HTC will continue to design world-class innovative smart devices through its pursuit of brilliance brand promise.
HTC has been struggling over the last few years, and the problems have been amplified as of late following the company’s launch of its lackluster HTC One M9 smartphone. HTC CEO Cher Wang came out to apologize publicly for the company’s poor performance earlier this year, and it slashed its performance guidance for the April-June quarter following a 20% drop in its stock early last week.
According to a report this morning from Reuters, Asus still hasn’t ruled out the possibility that it could acquire struggling HTC. It’s clear that this doesn’t actually suggest that a takeover is going to happen, but the fact that Asus chairman Johnny Shih seemingly doesn’t deny the possibility might be telling…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Introducing smart devices made of gold isn’t exactly a new concept (and it’s gone mainstream to a new degree as of late), but now Taiwanese phone maker HTC is on board. Some think the phone is gorgeous in gold, and some think it’s absolutely disgusting. Either way, the company’s flagship smartphone, the One M9, isn’t going to make its way up to par with the Android flagships with a 24-karat gold body.
Oh, and it looks like HTC also managed to accidentally reveal that photos they took to unveil the phone… were taken with an iPhone.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Google’s Tango tablet
Earlier this week, Google made its Project Tango tablet available to everyone via the Google Store for $512. While many expected this price drop and public availability to lead to a successor at Google I/O, the company kept quiet and didn’t address its Tango initiative. Nevertheless, Qualcomm this evening has taken the wraps off of its own Tango smartphone platform powered by the Snapdragon 810.
Meet BlueLink, a Hyundai cloud-connected service that provides cool remote access features for select vehicles. I recently had a chance to test BlueLink with the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Plug-In, and now I’m convinced that connected cars are the future.
BlueLink links up to your vehicle using its VIN number, using the Internet to relay information to and from the car, wherever you may be. Connected apps for cars, homes, and other smart accessories are cool and all, but what if you could start your car or unlock your doors from an Apple Watch, without taking a step? Welcome to what’s next…
Google’s existing Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 handsets
With Google reporting falling revenues from its Nexus devices, and having seemingly abandoned the original concept of an affordable vanilla device in favor of more expensive devices, the future of the product line was looking a little uncertain. But a new rumor says that Google will indeed be continuing the Nexus program – and not just with one new smartphone, but two.
Android Police cites a “reliable source” in suggesting that Google is partnering with two different manufacturers: with LG for a 5.2-inch smartphone code-named Angler, and with Huawei for a 5.7-inch phablet code-named Bullhead …
Expand
Expanding
Close
Upleaks is at it again, today posting press renders of what is likely to be the company’s forthcoming HTC One ME9. The phone isn’t planned to be coming to North American, European, or Middle Eastern markets, but it’s interesting nonetheless to take a look at what HTC’s international smartphone strategy looks like.
The device sounds a lot like the Chinese-only HTC One M9+ in terms of specifications (including a fingerprint scanner), but it notably does without to Duo Camera set up and goes with a polycarbonate back rather than aluminum. The device has an octo-core MediaTek processor, 3 GB of RAM, a 5.2-inch display, and a 2,900 mAh battery.
Upleaks says that the device is going to ship in three colors: rose gold, gold sepia, and meteor gray. Three launch markets, India, Hong Kong SAR, and Taiwan are confirmed to be getting the device at some point. It’s expected to launch at around $550 dollars, and will purportedly hit the market sometime in July.
Yota Devices wants to bring the YotaPhone 2 to the United States, and today they launched an Indiegogo campaign to help accomplish that goal. The unique smartphone, which notably sports “two fronts,” brings the convenience of a fully-customizable always-on ePaper display. And the American market has apparently seen the benefits of the rear display, including saved battery life and more, because the phone has almost passed its funding goal in the first couple of hours…
LG has quietly launched the successor to its ‘Escape’ handset today on AT&T, featuring mid-range specs and a price tag to match. The phone has a 4.7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 720p, but what makes this handset somewhat unique is that it features a curved display like LG’s G Flex and G Flex 2 handsets…
According to a recent report from the Taiwanese media, HTC is said to be leaving behind the “mini” variant of its HTC One lineup this time around, due to a market shift toward larger-screened devices. A”mini” version of the HTC One M9 was naturally expected due to the existence of the HTC One mini and its successor, the HTC One mini 2 (which were miniature variants of the HTC One M7 and One M8, respectively)…
In a pretty ambiguous press release, LG has come out this afternoon (or this morning for those in Seoul) to announce that its recently-announced G4 flagship will begin shipping this week to consumers in “key markets around the world.” The rollout will supposedly begin in Hong Kong, followed by introductions in Turkey, Russia, and Singapore…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Neither of these are the rumored (and more recently, teased) Iron Man-themed red-and-gold Galaxy S6 Edge, but Samsung is now launching two new color variants for its current-generation Android flagship. The first of which is a shiny “Blue Topaz” Galaxy S6 and the second is an equally as vibrant “Green Emerald” Galaxy S6 Edge.
The Galaxy S6 is undeniably one of the most powerful handheld computers ever created (and many of the other Android flagships this year fall into the same category). Samsung’s device packs the best chipset the South Korean company has made yet, the octo-core Exynos 7420, along with 3 GB of RAM, bringing processing power that supersedes the capabilities of desktop computers from not many years ago.
But just how powerful is the Galaxy S6? As you can see, it would take the power of five PlayStation 2s to match it, but keep reading for a more detailed comparison, pitting the handset against smartwatches and supercomputers alike. This infographic makes many other interesting comparisons, my favorite being the almost identical processing power between the original Pebble smartwatch and the Nintendo 64…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Google has added Taiwan to the list of countries where its Nexus 6 smartphone is available to purchase through the Google Store. It’s also now selling the new LG Watch Urbane Android Wear smartwatch in Japan.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Huawei has today sent out invites to an event happening on June 2nd, and it looks like this date might mark the first time the Chinese company will launch consumer hardware in North America. According to the invite, the event in New York City is scheduled to show off “what’s new from Huawei” and provide the latest information on the “company’s US strategy.”
Yu—a subsidiary of Micromax—announced their first device (the Yureka) late last year, but today the company has announced their second entry: the Yuphoria. At first glance you’ll probably notice that the device has a smaller overall build and a metal frame—and that’s exactly the realm of devices that Yu seems to be after with this launch (think the Galaxy A series)…
Expand
Expanding
Close
comScore today released a new U.S. smartphone manufacturer and platform market share report for the three month period ending in March. The data suggests that while the continued strength of iPhone 6 adoption has resulted in market share gains for Apple, Android is still the most popular smartphone platform in the United States.
During the measured period, comScore reports that 187.5 million people in the United States owned smartphones, which equates to 77 percent of the total population. Of that, Apple was the most popular OEM (original equipment manufacturer) with 42.6 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers (up 1% from December), followed by Samsung with 28.3 percent market share (down 1% from December), and LG taking third place with 8.4 percent (up 0.4% from December).
A new report from German site winfuture.de suggests today that a new LG G4 variant, sporting model number LG-H525N, is in line for announcement later this year. This isn’t simply a smaller version of super-powerful LG G4, though; the site suggests that this miniature “G4” variant will be a middle-range phone with mediocre specifications.
Sony has today announced a refresh of its Xperia C line with the introduction of the Xperia C4, featuring a Full HD display and a “best in class” 5-megapixel front camera. I’m not the target audience for a selfie phone, but there’s definitely some kind of target audience out there somewhere that buys these things…
When you think of the word “budget,” rarely does it fit in-between the words “great” and “smartphone.” Well, you may not be super familiar with them, but Alcatel OneTouch has a new budget offering that’s not only a smartphone, but overall pretty great. Meet the Idol 3…
Sony may have already announced the Xperia Z4, but that’s not stopping it from uploading a new video to its YouTube channel showing off last year’s Xperia Z3. I guess technically the Z3 is still the current generation flagship for American buyers (as we have no word yet on an US launch of the Z4), but why does Sony need to tell us about its “premium waterproof design” and its 20.7-megapixel camera at this point?
Almost all of the 2015’s biggest Android flagships have been announced by now, including Samsung’s Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge, the HTC One M9, and most recently, the LG G4. If you’re in the market for a new phone, I would recommend all four of these over Sony’s Xperia Z3. I know it’s just so very tempting to buy the phone after watching the below clip of a man taking pictures of rain falling on him, but I would urge you to resist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUq9-Ln0QwU
LG has today announced its new LG G4 flagship, packing hardware upgrades all-around, a plethora of rear cover designs, and the Snapdragon 808 system-on-a-chip. None of the specification announcements come as much surprise (thanks to the steady stream of leaks over the last few months), but now we have the official word on what LG’s latest contender will be bringing to the market…
Expand
Expanding
Close
There’s no denying that 2015 will be filled with smartphone releases, but only a few will shine as the best in the budget category. We’ve seen a few major players make their mark in this area recently, but back at MWC 2015 Alcatel OneTouch announced a budget offering that may give the others a run for their money. The Idol 3 smartphone is in many ways a budget flagship smartphones. We’ve been pretty excited to get our hands on it and today, we’re doing just that…
