All Posts by Derek Kessler | Android Central

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All Posts by Derek Kessler

The Best Smartphone Camera, as judged by YOU!

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 19 May 2017 9:00 am
So who makes the best smartphone camera? Here's what you picked. We've long run camera comparisons on our own, but it's hard to remove our own biases — and frankly, it's just our opinion. With some new high-profile phones on the market, we thought it was again time to pit these cameras against each other and see who came out on top. So we showed you 20 sets of photos taken by four...

Which smartphone camera do YOU think is the best?

91 Comments
Posted by Derek Kessler on 8 May 2017 12:00 pm
We're putting the latest and greatest smartphone cameras to the test — and we want you to tell us which one you like best! You might have noticed that there have been a few new and exciting smartphones released recently. As we like to do, we ran out and took a bunch of photos with the biggest players out there to see how they compare — but first we want to get your feedback. Instead of us...

Vertu Constellation Review: The Billionaire's Phone

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 8 Apr 2017 10:00 am
What do you get when you pay $6,000 for a phone? Most of us live in a world where smartphones cost somewhere between $200 and $800. There's a wide variety of phones in that range, from bargain ZTE and Motorola devices to top-end iPhones and Samsung Galaxy handsets. But there's a whole world beyond that, the exclusive and expensive realm of the luxury smartphone. The latest phone to join those...

Oppo's 5x optical zoom camera is like a periscope inside your phone

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 28 Feb 2017 9:53 am
ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! We live in a glorious age of dual-camera smartphones. Huawei uses a color sensor plus a monochrome sensor to enhance detail and contrast. LG has a standard angle camera plus an ultra-wide-angle one. Apple uses a pair of cameras to offer a 2x optical zoom. Oppo is jumping into the dual camera age with their own take at MWC 2017: a two-sensor system that combines a...

Lenovo launches four models of Tab 4, none are weird

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 27 Feb 2017 2:00 am
There's nothing wrong with a basic tablet so you can do basic things. That's the Lenovo Tab 4. Lenovo's Tab 4 is nearly indistinguishable from last year's Tab 3 on first glance. That's not a bad thing — the Tab 3 was a solid, if unremarkable design, and the Tab 4 series builds on that. With a refined exterior and updated interior, the new Tab 4s (Tabs 4?) present compelling options near the...

Alcatel could've made a decent mid-tier phone, instead we got an LED back

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 27 Feb 2017 2:00 am
Moto has their Moto Mods. Alcatel has the A5 and LEDs. Have you ever wished you could see what notification just came into your phone, but it was face down on the table? First off, shame on you for putting your phone face down. But also, maybe, just maybe, the LED back option for the Alcatel A5 is for you. But probably not. Let's start with the phone itself. The A5 is Alcatel's new mid-range...

Hands on with Nokia's new Android phones: the 3, 5, and 6

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 26 Feb 2017 3:49 pm
The rebirth of another storied smartphone brand begins. This time it's Nokia. Nokia is still a company that is focusing on their core business: networking technology. They're quite good at it; there's a good chance you're using Nokia tech on a regular basis through your cellular network, even if it's not a Nokia. But the Nokia brand? That's all about smartphones. And while Nokia knew that,...

CES 2017 Day Three: How many pixels do you really need?

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 5 Jan 2017 11:19 pm
CES 2017 Thursday, 5 January 2017 Three screens are better than one Razer's concept laptop is just… insane. There are the laptops that everybody else is showing off at CES 2017, and there's Razer's Project Valerie. The bottom half is a standard Razer Blade Pro — a powerhouse gaming laptop, no doubt — but the lid contains not one, not two, but three 17.3-inch 4K displays....

CES 2017 Day Two: New laptops, new phones, and old ideas made new

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 5 Jan 2017 3:15 am
CES 2017 Wednesday, 4 January 2017 Update all the laptops Thinner, faster, lighter, stronger. With new 7th-generation Core chips from Intel landing in the months before CES, it was time for a seemingly every PC manufacturer to update their lineup. In the cards for everybody: thinner, lighter, marginally faster, longer-lasting batteries, Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C, and a notable...

Samsung's new Chromebook is a convertible with a stylus

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 4 Jan 2017 5:00 pm
Ready for a Chromebook built for the Android apps era? */ /*-->*/ Samsung made one of the first Chromebooks back in 2011, and has made a few different models over the years, but the new Chromebook Pro and Plus are making a big statement about Samsung's commitment to Chrome OS. Designed in conjunction with Google, these are the first Chromebooks to truly be designed for full...

CES 2017 Day One: Processors, convertibles, and clamshells galore

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 4 Jan 2017 2:37 am
CES 2017 Tuesday, 3 January 2017 Honor 6X goes for the broke A decent enough Android phone for a cheap enough price. Honor is back at it with the new Honor 6X, a phone that offers far more than you'd expect for its low price — just $249. For that you get a 5.5-inch 1080p display, an octa-core Huawei Kirin 655 processor, 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, and a 12MP camera. That main...

Lenovo's making a prettier Amazon Echo and a smarter home NAS

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 3 Jan 2017 3:01 am
Alexa, show me Lenovo's new stuff. */ /*-->*/ In addition to a slew of new PCs, Lenovo's bringing a slew of new connected home accessories to CES 2017. Chief among them are a new smart home network drive, their take on an Amazon Echo-style device, and a handheld keyboard that includes the most sensitive of keys. Lenovo Smart Assistant What if you could make a fancier-...

Take the State of the Mobile Nations Phones Survey for your chance to win $600 towards a new phone!

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 22 Nov 2016 6:30 pm
Silly season for new phones and gadgets is on us — it feels like we can't go a week without a major release as the calendar races into the holidays. There are a bunch of new phones out there and we wanted to get an idea about what's important to you in a phone and in a cellular carrier. Thus, this survey. We get a little detailed, but that's because we want to suss out what it is that drives...

Smartphone Buyer's Guide

Posted by Derek Kessler on 4 Oct 2016 4:13 pm
Trending Phones Samsung Galaxy S8 LG G6 Google Pixel Samsung Galaxy S7 edge](/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-review) - [ OnePlus 3T](/oneplus-3t)--> The experts at Android Central spend hundreds of hours testing the latest phones. Only the best receive the Choice Award. Samsung Galaxy S8 Google Pixel Moto G5 Plus LG G6 OnePlus 5 Honor 9 HTC U11 Huawei Mate 9 carriers Best By...

Smartphone Camera Comparison: iPhone 7 vs. Galaxy S7 vs. LG V20 vs. Lumia 950

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 3 Oct 2016 4:31 pm
So who makes the best smartphone camera? Here's what you picked. We showed you 16 sets of photos taken by four unspecified cameras, with all identifying data stripped away and presented in a randomized-on-load order for each block, all in an effort to ensure that you would be able to judge based on the quality of the photo and nothing more. And so, based on this wide range of photos, it's time...

Mobile Nations Weekly: Pixeling, retargeting, and pivoting

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 2 Oct 2016 3:19 pm
Google ramps up to Pixel, BlackBerry ramps down hardware, and Lenovo's Yoga is coming in hot for landing. Coming soon from a Google near you: Pixel. Tuesday will bring the follow-ups to the Nexus line of "pure" Android phones, but this time Google's making more of a Google phone. There have been some leaks, but there's a lot we don't know and are looking forward to. And we might just get to...

Mobile Nations Weekly: Sequels and successors

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 25 Sep 2016 11:31 am
iPhone 7 takes the world by storm, Forza races onto consoles everywhere, and yet another chat platform says Allo. If there's only one iPhone 7 review you read, make it Rene's at iMore. Diving deep into what makes the new iPhone, both good and bad, it's everything you need to know about the phone you're going to start seeing everywhere. Oh, and there's also a whole new version of tvOS and even...

Mobile Nations Weekly: Sevens

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 18 Sep 2016 8:40 pm
You might have heard about the hot new thing in tech... Samsung's Note 7-shaped hole, err, recall just keeps getting deeper — the recall of the potentially-explosive phone got "now the government's involved" official. If you're still using a recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (if you've not exchanged your phone, that's you), please go to the nearest store for your carrier and exchange it. It doesn...

Mobile Nations Weekly: Seven squared

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 11 Sep 2016 9:19 pm
A new iPhone 7 and a Galaxy Note 7 walk into a bar and things get a little heated. It happens every year — Apple announces a new iPhone and the tech world comes to a halt. This year is was for the iPhone 7 — it's faster, more water resistant, and sporting better cameras than ever before. But it's also not radically different-looking than the previous iPhone and controversially has dropped the...

Mobile Nations Weekly: Recalls, launches, and invites

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Posted by Derek Kessler on 4 Sep 2016 5:31 pm
A week of tech in Berlin, Apple sets the date for the iPhone 7 reveal, and Samsung's Note is maybe a little too hot. The last time a smartphone company was hit with news this damaging about a retail product was Apple's iPhone 4 "Antennagate", and at least that didn't include literally exploding phones. That's the position that Samsung is in with the Galaxy Note 7, which has been recalled...

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