Items tagged with mwc2016
By now you're probably burned out on smartphone and VR buzz. We don't blame you, Mobile World Congress week has been a whirlwind akin to only that sort of frenzied pace we experience at CES. Of course we agree, mobile computing isn't just about smartphones and other pocketable devices, even if what's coming is finally breaking the mold with modularity and even possibly someday complete end user repairability and upgradability. Well, even though HP joined the MWC 2016 party with a smartphone of their own (Windows 10 Mobile no less and with impressive scalability), they also decided to drop in a photobomb of sorts, with their Spectre X360 15-inch bad boy (or girl) ultralight arriving to our test...
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Have you ever tried repairing a broken screen on your smartphone? It can be done, though in most cases, it's not easy—smartphone makers don't build handsets with a mindset towards DIY repair or upgrades. That's not the case with Fairphone's second generation handset, the Fairphone 2, a modular handset that's now available to purchase. The idea behind the Fairphone 2 is that repairs and upgrades should be easy and affordable. To that end, Fairphone CTO Olivier Hebert demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2016 just how fast and painless it is to replace the screen on the Fairphone 2. From start to finish, it took him just 23 seconds. (Video at the bottom of the post showing the process in...
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Chinese handset maker Xiaomi unveiled a new smartphone at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, called the Mi 5 and it underscores why the company is the third largest phone maker in the world (and No. 1 in China) behind only Samsung and Apple. The Mi 5 is a flagship device with a low-end price tag.It's also a premium looking handset, resembling Samsung's new Galaxy S7. The Mi 5 sports a 5.15-inch Full HD display—same resolution as Apple's iPhone 6s Plus handset—powered by a burly Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 System-on-Chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM. That's not a bad foundation to build on top of.More than ever, smartphones are used in place of point-n-shoot cameras, and the Mi 5 looks up to...
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Samsung announced its latest flagship Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones, along with a slick 360-degree portable camera dubbed the Gear 360, yesterday at its Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress. If you’d like to check out the original announcements, you can find our coverage of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge here and the Gear 360 right here. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (Top) and Galaxy S7 (Bottom) To quickly reiterate, Samsung’s latest flagships are both packing a Qualcomm 820 SoC (up to 2.1GHz) with Adreno 530 graphics, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Both phones also have 12MP rear and 5MP front facing cameras (f/1.7), built-in fast wireless charging, microSD expansion...
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Cyanogen is rolling out a new MOD platform that will give third-party app developers deep-level access to its operating system. The benefit of letting developers dive beneath the surface of the OS is that it allows them to tap into functions that were previously off-limits, which in turn opens the door for added functionality. Through a previously announced partnership with Microsoft, the Redmond software giant's already been taking advantage of deep level access in Cyanogen OS. Most notably, Microsoft was given the keys to bake its Cortana digital assistant directly into the next version of Cyanogen, and when that happens, Cortana will be more functional than it is on other Android devices,...
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All eyes have been on Samsung and its new mobile boss, D.J. Koh, to see how he would lead the top tier handset maker into a new generation of smartphone products. And today, during Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2016 event, all eyes were literally focused on Mr. Koh as he hopped on stage amid a flurry of flashing lights, loud music, and a hazy, dry ice vapor-filled atmosphere all intended to hype the product unveils that would follow, like the much anticipated Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.Be sure to check out our just-postedHands-On Video Demo Of The Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge & Gear 360 VR Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - Platinum GoldMr. Koh and company wasted no time getting right to it. After...
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Lenovo is no stranger to Mobile World Congress, and today the Chinese OEM announced a revised family of convertible notebooks and tablets that are aimed at the consumer market. The new reveals include devices in the YOGA, Flex, ideapad and TAB product families. Kicking things off, we have the new YOGA 710 series, which includes convertible notebooks available in 11-inch and 14-inch form-factors (both with a FHD resolution). The 11-inch model can be equipped with up to an Intel Core m5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, while the larger 14-inch model can accommodate up to an Intel Core i7, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and an optional NVIDIA GeForce discrete GPU.11-inch YOGA 710 The 11-inch and...
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Chinese manufacturer Huawei trotted out a 2-in-1 device at Mobile World Congress 2016, one that looks like a less expensive alternative to Microsoft's Surface Pro line. Called the MateBook, pricing starts at a comparatively affordable $699/€799 for a configuration that's similar to an entry-level Surface Pro 4. All MateBook configurations sport a 12-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) multi-touch display with a 2160x1440 resolution. It has an ultra-narrow frame and an advertised screen-to-body ratio of 84 percent. According to Huawei, the display's color gamut reaches 85 percent—not top of the line, but also not too shabby for a lower cost 2-in-1 device. Huawei's pitch is that its MateBook combines...
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Hewlett-Packard was almost able to make it to MWC 2016 without its badass Elite x3 leaking for all to see, but it wasn’t meant to be. Late last week, images of the smartphone leaked onto the web along with its full spec sheet. The good news is, the images and the specs were accurate, which means that the Elite x3 is a powerhouse flagship that can easily go toe-to-toe with the best Android and iOS flagships out there. HP’s return to the mobile sector is truly a remarkable one, as the Elite x3 is just a small piece of a truly expansive Windows 10 experience that touches phablet, desktop and laptop use cases. The Elite x3 is a premium phablet device with plastic and metal construction, and has been...
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Rather than just bring another boring smartphone update with the typical yearly iterative updates, the folks at LG have really done something transformative with its next generation G5 flagship. But first, let’s get to the stuff that we expect to hear about when a new flagship is released: its specs. The aluminum unibody G5 brings with it a 5.3-inch QHD display with an Always One mode. And like most new Android flagships that will be unveiled this year, it is powered by a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor that it paired with a generous 4GB of RAM. 32GB of internal storage is standard, and you’ll find a microSD slot that accommodates cards up to 2TB. On the rear of the device you’ll find...
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"Gentleman, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.” We first heard word that Hewlett-Packard was looking to get back into the smartphone game with a Windows 10 Mobile device back in late December. Codenamed “Falcon,” we were only greeted with some GFXBench results and accompanying specs for the device and little more. However, a Hungarian site has actually uncovered images of HP’s Windows 10 Mobile smartphone prototype, and it’s called the Elite X3. We must say, this is one sleek looking device thanks to its plastic and metal construction and the groovy speaker cutouts below the massive display. More importantly, if you thought that the Lumia 950 XL was a premium Windows 10 Mobile,...
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Samsung isn’t set to reveal the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge until this Sunday, but that didn’t stop the company’s Indonesian division from posting a teaser site and a promotional video which confirms some of the rumored specs that we’ve been hearing about for the past month. Taking center stage in the promo alongside the Galaxy S7 Edge is Indonesian archer Dellie Threesyadinda. Threesyadinda keeps her Galaxy S7 Edge close by in the video, showcasing the smartphone’s returning wireless charging support and prowess as fitness tracker. Later on in the video, we see Threesyadinda using the Galaxy S7 Edge in a downpour without a care in the world, which goes a long way towards confirming that waterproofing...
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If you ask 10 different people what they value most in a smartphone, you might get up to 10 different answers. You'd certainly get a handful—some would point to screen size as the most important feature, while others might place a higher priority on camera quality or speed. It all boils down to personal preference, and with that in mind, LG is taking a bit of a unique approach to its newest Android smartphones. Dubbed the X series, LG's approach to its new line of handsets is to offer "one exceptional feature at a price that rivals mid-range smartphones." It's kicking things off with the X cam and X screen, both of which the company lightly detailed today with plans of more fully disclosing at...
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