Items tagged with smartphones
We doubt that there will be many tears shed as we wave goodbye to Google's inventory of Play Edition devices, a series of expensive handsets that came with the stock Android experience. The last of these was the HTC One (M8) Google Play Edition, and while you can still find it lingering at the Google Play Store...
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While we've seen data to suggest that tablet growth is slowing way down, the same can't be said for smartphones. Just the opposite, market research firm TrendForce pegs the number of global smartphone shipments in 2014 at 1.167 billion units, representing a 25.9 percent year-on-year growth rate. As expected, Samsung...
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If it's a low cost, entry-level handset you're after, Microsoft's Lumia line is quickly becoming the obvious choice. At the very least, it's one of the more prominent options, as Microsoft continues to breed an increasing number of lower end smartphones into its Lumia family, including two new devices announced today...
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The funny thing about the mobile industry is that the landscape can change in the blink of an eye. Just ask HTC, the once dominant company that helped popularize Android and reaped multiple record-breaking quarters for its efforts, only to be rendered an also-ran against the likes of Samsung and Apple. There's a...
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Last week, we brought you a review of the Galaxy Note Edge, Samsung's new Galaxy Note derivative with a curved edge display along one side. Reviews on the device have been generally strong (we're fond of it, if the form factor and capabilities meet your liking), but one common complaint about the Note Edge is that the...
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Faced with disappointing sales and plunging profits, Samsung found itself making some tough decisions, like handing out pink slips to high-level executives. The company also put in motion a major restructuring effort that will see a reduction in the overall number of smartphone models it offers, and we hear now that...
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Samsung announced today that it has begun volume production of its 8Gb LPDDR4 memory chips, with expected commercial shipments in 2015. The announcement is noteworthy for a number of reasons. First, one of the most important characteristics of a modern mobile device is its battery life, and moving to a new memory...
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Out of all the things you carry on your person, a smartphone is likely to be the most valuable item, or at least one of them (a concealed weapon or a Rolex watch could trump your handheld). The high dollar value of any given smartphone is part of what makes them so attractive to thieves, hence why it's not all that shocking to discover that
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A look around the market should have revealed to Apple that there would be rabid demand for larger screen iPhone models, yet the Cupertino outfit is still struggling to ship the necessary number of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets in a timely fashion. Granted, being short on supply of a new product isn't unusual, especially for an Apple
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It seems that smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and other companies have violated Taiwan’s privacy laws by collecting and sending back user data to company servers. Back in September, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission launched an investigation regarding cyber security threat concerns over products...
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It feels like only yesterday that we were whipping up last year’s holiday gift guide, but somehow a full year has passed and we’re staring yet another winter in the face. Don’t fret, though — just because you haven’t prepared for this season doesn’t mean that you’re hung out to dry. As the technology behind smartphones, tablets, and laptops...
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When Phonebloks visionary Dave Hakkens began evangelizing the idea of a modular phone with interchangeable components, many scoffed at the idea saying it couldn't be done or wasn't commercially feasible, that is until Google stepped up and backed a team of engineers for Project Ara. Ultimately, Project Ara's proof of...
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Are you ready for your facepalm moment of the week, and perhaps the year? Bear selfies are now a thing on social media. Not only are tourists taking selfies with bears in the background, but it's happening so frequently at South Lake Tahoe that officials with the U.S. Forest Service have had to issue a warning against...
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Samsung's quarterly operating profit is headed for a cliff and there's nothing the South Korean electronics giant can do about it at this point. After two consecutive quarters of annual declines in global smartphone share, Samsung stated in a regulatory filing that it expects a 59.65 percent drop to 4.1 trillion won...
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Google is getting ready to unveil Android L (or Lemon Meringue Pie or Lollipop or Licorice or whatever tasty treat will serve as the next build's namesake), and one of the big features is that it will optionally support 64-bit processors. Of course, it will be up to smartphone and tablet makers to take advantage of...
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Governments have long worried that foreign device manufacturers could use their products to spy on users, but proving that it’s actually happening has been notoriously difficult. The Taiwanese government is the latest to investigate claims of Trojan horse devices, after receiving complaints accusing Chinese...
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AT&T is rolling out a new promotion for its AT&T Next service, and it has to make you wonder if the carrier is prepping for the iPhone 6. With Apple holding its big event on September 9th and rampant speculation that the iPhone 6 will be making its debut there, it seems to be the perfect time to unveil a $100...
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Did you ever go on a big family road trip where there were two or more cars in the caravan, and you brought along walkie-talkies so you could communicate on the drive? Now, of course, nearly everyone has cell phones to accomplish the same thing more easily, but there’s a problem: When you don’t have...
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Earlier this week we covered a deal between Intel and Rockchip that will combine Intel's Atom with Rockchip's graphics IP and considerable share of the Chinese market. I'm returning to the topic because there are some interesting big-picture facets to this move that we didn't cover with the initial announcement. Over...
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When Google unexpectedly sold off Motorola to Lenovo after investing heavily in the Moto X and Moto G smartphones and owning the Motorola brand for less than two years, the fate of the Project Ara modular smartphone seemed doomed, but it appears that the project is very much alive and well. According to Time’s...
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Intel is announcing its new tablet and smartphone designs this week at Mobile World Congress, alongside a major push to drive adoption of its 28nm XMM 7160 and XMM 7260 modem technology. It's been two years since Intel launched its first serious Atom-based smartphone platform, codenamed Medfield, and it's safe to say that those two years haven't...
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Intel is announcing its new tablet and smartphone designs this week at Mobile World Congress, alongside a major push to drive adoption of its 28nm XMM 7160 and XMM 7260 modem technology. It's been two years since Intel launched its first serious Atom-based smartphone platform, codenamed Medfield, and it's safe to say that those two years haven't...
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