June 18, 2014

The Amazon Fire Phone, A Pocketable Kindle Fire That Makes Calls

June 18, 2014/ Nir Schneider

From this day forward Amazon will no longer be known as the giant online retailer that also makes tablets and Kindles, but also as a company that makes smartphones. That’s right, Amazon has revealed its new smartphone, the Fire Phone. It’s Amazon’s first and only flagship smartphone to be designed by the company itself using materials like a rubberized frame, stainless steel reinforcement and aluminum buttons. Oh, and it only comes in black. Unfortunately for Amazon's little design boasting, the Fire Phone looks like an entry-level, basic smartphone instead of a premium flagship device.

The Fire Phone is 0.35-inches thick (compared to the 0.30-inch iPhone 5s and 0.34-inch Nexus 5), primarily made from plastic and is unexpectedly expensive, albeit isn’t lacking when it comes to features and specs. Prices start at $200 for a 32GB Fire Phone with a two year contract on AT&T, or $650 unlocked. The Fire Phone features an ultra-bright, Gorilla Glass 3-protected 4.7-inch IPS LCD HD display with the resolution of 1280x720 (315ppi), which Amazon says is the right size for one-handed use. A Gorilla Glass 3 panel can also be found covering the back of the Fire Phone which is surrounded by a rubberized plastic frame similar to the Nexus 4.

February 24, 2014

Samsung Unveils The Galaxy S5 With Fingerprint Sensor, Other Awesomeness

February 24, 2014/ Nir Schneider

Say goodbye to slippery shiny plastic, and hello to the new Galaxy S5. Samsung has officially introduced its latest flagship handset today at the Mobile World Congress event with a larger 5.1-inch FHD Super AMOLED display with full 1080p HD resolution. Samsung's new Galaxy S5 features a number of hardware and exterior design improvements starting with its rear shell, which is now a dimpled textured polycarbonate with a matte soft-touch finish for added grip that Samsung is calling a "glam look". The front of the S5 is otherwise indisputable from its predecessor except for that vibrant new wallpaper art, keeping that familiar Galaxy styling. But there's more, the Galaxy S5 is IP67 rated which means that it is water and dust-resistant and can be submerged underwater up to 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes.

Underneath what we'd assume is a remorseless plastic construction, the Galaxy S5 is powered by Android KitKat 4.2.2, a 2.5Ghz quad core processor with 2GB of memory, fast 802.11 a/c Wi-Fi with 2×2 MiMo antennas, Cat 4 LTE, and offers 20% better battery life compared to the Galaxy S4 using a user removable 2,800mAh battery. Other improvements include what Samsung is calling the world's fastest auto-focusing smartphone camera: a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera that can focus in just 0.3 seconds with real-time HDR, 4K video recording like the Note 3, and background blurring action thanks to a new Selective Focus feature.

The Galaxy S5 combines an advanced camera, the fast network connectivity, dedicated fitness tools and enhanced device protection features as consumers stay fit and connected in style.

Other notable new features include a fingerprint scanning home button that works by swiping down on it to unlock the device. Users will also be able to use the Galaxy S5's fingerprint sensor to authenticates purchases including PayPal transactions without having to physically input their password. There's also an improved LED flash with a heart rate monitoring sensor built-in right next to it. The two will work in tandem to measure your finger pulse. As for the GS5's speaker, well it was left behind. More after the break including a video demonstration of how the Galaxy S5's new fingerprint scanning home button works in practice.

April 03, 2013

HTC One To Go On Sale On AT&T April 4

April 03, 2013/ Nir Schneider

Get ready, if you want to secure your very own HTC One the day it comes out on April 19, you should know that you'll be able to pre-order yours with AT&T starting tomorrow at 1pm CT sharp. Both silver and black 32GB and 64GB models will be available to order for $200 and $300, with a new 2-year contract of course. But an off-contract One can be purchased at full retail price as well. Expect it to run Android Jelly Bean 4.1 filled with AT&T's worthless bloatware.

Update: AT&T's HTC One pre-order page is now live! Contrary to the expected ship date, AT&T will begin shipping as soon as April 16. Unfortunately only the silver variant is currently available.

January 30, 2013

BlackBerry Z10 Announced: The Rundown

January 30, 2013/ Nir Schneider

Formally known as RIM, the newly rebranded BlackBerry has officially announced its new flagship smartphone, the Z10. It has an iPhone 5-esque comfortable form factor measuring in at 0.35" in thickness compared to 0.30" thickness of the iPhone 5 - and a 4.2-inch full touchscreen (non-Gorilla Glass) display with the resolution of 1280x768 at 356ppi. Under the svelte aluminum, glass and plastic shell, the BlackBerry Z10 is home to 16GB of on-board storage with the option of expanding that capacity with an additional 32GB using a microSD card, an 8-megapixel backside illuminated rear camera which is capable of shooting full 1080p video, and 2-megapixel front facing camera capable of 720p HD recording.

white iPhone 5 and Z10 battle it out in style

Performance wise, the Z10 is powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Plus processor with 2GB of RAM, and a removable 1800mAh battery. The Z10 is running BlackBerry's in-house operating system called BlackBerry 10 - and features all the modern bells and whistles like NFC, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi a/b/g/n, micro-HDMI, micro-USB and 3.5mm ports and LED notification light to name a few.

BlackBerry's $199 Z10 handset will be available in the USA on March in white and black flavors on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon with a 2-year contract. Sadly, the white variant is exclusive to Verizon while LTE data isn't supported on T-Mobile. Lucky UK residents can pick the Z10 starting today.

January 17, 2013

HTC's New M7 Flagship Android Smartphone, An iPhone 5 In Disguise

January 17, 2013/ Nir Schneider

HTC's rumored flagship Android smartphone to replace the One X, dubbed the M7, looks awfully similar to the iPhone 5 only that the similarities are flipped around. The leaked image is sourced from Evleaks, a known and reliable source that we've seen leak numerous products in the past ahead of their official debut which have all turned out to be 100% accurate. So it's safe to say that we're looking at HTC's new 4.7-inch M7 flagship Android device which is expected to make its world debut next month at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Barcelona, Spain.

We've always had great admiration towards HTC's brilliantly designed handsets, more notably the company's recent Windows Phone 8X and 8S outings. The M7 is quite the looker nonetheless. As for some specs, it'll have a 4.7-inch full HD display at a staggering 468ppi with a blazing fast 1.7Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel camera with a f/2.0 aperture - all housed inside a "premium" build, and a suggested unsubsidized price tag of $600 for a 32GB flavor.

March 12, 2012

Tag Heuer Racer Smartphone Inspired By Formula 1

March 12, 2012/ Nir Schneider

Tag Heuer is most known for its impressive watch collection, but never has it been respected for releasing a few handsets costing thousands of dollars. Tag Heuer's latest smartphone is said to be the first luxury phone designed for "high performance" and was inspired by Formula 1 and GT cars. It's Swiss engineered for ultimate lightness and strength using a shockproof rubber enclosure that is supported and strengthened by the screwed-in titanium and carbon fiber bridges. The Racer phone will run the latest Android OS with a "high speed processor" and will be heavily skinned with a customizable 3D user interface.

Tag Heuer isn't saying more than that for now. The video down below suggests that the Racer phone will sport a large touch screen, front and back facing cameras. The new TAG Heuer Racer collection starts at €2,800 ($3,680), and will be available in TAG Heuer boutiques, luxury mobile boutiques and selected watch and jewelry retailers in July.

January 01, 2012

The Modai Is The Most Beautifully Designed Smartphone Inside & Out

January 01, 2012/ Nir Schneider

What if there was a phone that was so different that it could be the next iPhone of the touchscreen phone revolutionizing. The Modai is a stunning smartphone concept created by Julius Tarng with a set mind of creating a single exterior design with modular and hot swappable, upgradable hardware specs for a sustainable ecosystem consumers will most benefit from. Instead of having to replace your smartphone every so often because of the desire of wanting the newest gadget and the fear of obsolescence, the Modai offers a much more satisfying purchase for the long run most iPhone users are accustomed to due to a new iPhone release only once per year. It's a slap in the face to all the Android running smartphones out on the market that get released every week. Catch more after the break.