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Xiaomi Mi Mix review: Lose The Bezel

16 Comments
Posted by Justus Perry on 3 Jan 2017 10:30 am
Bezel. It's a mainstay of phones everywhere. Heck, you need it to put in things like an earpiece, right? Or do you? (dun dun dun!) The Xiaomi Mi Mix has figured out a way to push its display all the way to the edge. Is it worth it? MrMobile brings the Xiaomi Mi Mix to the U.S. and sees what it's like to live life all the way to the edge. How will it respond to our networks here?...

Can a phone finally replace a computer?

58 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 15 Dec 2016 12:30 pm
Phone and computer
Have we reached the point where the things we do because we want to do them all can be done on our phone? Six years ago, the late Steve Jobs said that a PC was like a truck. He was comparing tablets to traditional computers the way you would compare a car to a truck, claiming the PC was for work and to do the "heavy" things while a tablet was all we needed to do everything else. That always...

Qualcomm introduces new Clear Sight dual camera system

10 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 14 Sep 2016 8:12 am
qualcomm
Qualcomm is taking the wraps off their latest imaging product today, and the new Clear Sight system promises "astonishing results that mimic human vision." We've seen dual-camera setups on phones before, and Qualcomm has been at the front of the pack with phones like the LG G5 and its excellent dual camera configuration. Today's news promises to improve the next generation to make things even...

How to insure your phone or tablet on T-Mobile

0 Comments
Posted by Drew Kozub on 22 Feb 2016 2:21 pm
How to insure your device on T-Mobile
You can protect your new phone against drops, loss, or theft, but is it worth the cost? When you purchase a new phone in person or online, you'll likely be asked whether or not you want to add optional insurance. T-Mobile offers a comprehensive protection plan called Premium Handset Protection, but is it worth the extra charge on your monthly bill? What is phone insurance? What is covered on...

This week's sidebar poll: Who hasn't upgraded their phone in 2014?

340 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 17 Jul 2014 1:31 pm
The LG G2 is still one hell of a phone
Sometimes, you just love what you already have We're more than halfway through July, which means we're more than halfway through the year 2104. We've seen some amazeball new phones from all the big names, and sales predictions and analyst speak aside, millions and millions of new Android phones have already been sold in 2014. Chances are, about half of the folks reading this were part of it,...

Buying an Android device over the holidays? Check out our reviews!

78 Comments
Posted by Alex Dobie on 26 Dec 2013 12:26 pm
Android phones
Read Android Central's reviews of top Android devices With Christmas a slowly fading memory, we're beginning to enter the post-holiday shopping season. And in the days ahead, many outlets will be offering discounts on some of the top Android devices of the moment. So what's worth buying and what should you leave on the shelf? We've got links to all the information you could possibly need after...

Comparing the new Moto X camera software to other Androids

76 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 28 Sep 2013 2:48 pm
Android cameras
The new software improves the Moto X camera, but how does it compare to other Android phones? The Moto X camera got quite an update last week. It looks as if focus, color compensation, and the magic algorithms that turn data into pictures was tweaked pretty heavily, too. There were some really good comparisons between the old and the new when the update rolled out to T-Mobile customers. The...

Sprint to introduce local FM Radio on selected smartphones later in the year

39 Comments
Posted by Richard Devine on 8 Jan 2013 6:26 pm
Android Central
FM radio may not be top of the shopping list when shopping for a new smartphone, but nevertheless it's a feature many want to have. Sprint is jumping into the FM radio space having today announced a preliminary agreement with the American radio industry. It will enable Sprint customers to listen to local FM radio content on a range of their new smartphones starting later this year.  All this is...

ZTE take 4th place in the smartphone manufacturing wars - but for how long?

7 Comments
Posted by James Richardson on 30 Oct 2012 12:00 pm
Android Central
ZTE has today announced that it is ranked as the 4th biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world as of Q3 2012, superseding HTC. Shipping 7.5 million handsets in a quarter is not to be sniffed at, but we suspect they're still a long way off the top spot. It'll interesting to see how things change over the next couple of quarters. In Q3 this year ZTE were only 0.1% in front of RIM who are still...

AT&T releases Q3 earnings, 'record sales quarter' for Android devices

9 Comments
Posted by Richard Devine on 24 Oct 2012 8:36 am
AT&T One X
AT&T has released their Q3 earnings this morning, and among all the numbers they reported a "record sales quarter" for Android devices. Good news indeed, but we should still remember that of the 6.1 million smartphones sold in the quarter, a big portion were iPhone's.  Overall, AT&T reported 678,000 new subscribers for the quarter, putting them at a total of 105.9 million subscribers....

Hands-on with ZTE's flagship Android 4.0 smartphones

22 Comments
Posted by Anndrew Vacca on 9 May 2012 3:54 pm
ZTE PF112.
Chinese manufacturer ZTE made a nice impression in New Orleans this year, bringing with them a host of high-end smartphones and tablets proving that they're playing in the Android market for keeps. ZTE introduced these devices in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, but this marks the first American appearances of its high-end PF112, seen above. And high-end is an understatement indeed. The PF112...

AT&T breaks own smartphone sales record in Q1, iPhone still dominates

18 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 24 Apr 2012 8:58 am
AT&T
AT&T this morning announced its first-quarter 2012 earnings. The carrier sold a Q1 record 5.5 million smartphones -- 78 percent of them iPhones. That leaves 1.2 million Android and BlackBerry smartphones to make up the difference. AT&T didn't give a breakdown of non-iPhone sales, but it is worth noting that the heavily marketed Samsung Galaxy Note wasn't available until Feb. 19, so it...

Tripit gets significant redesign for Android tablets, phone version tweaked, too

1 Comment
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 20 Mar 2012 12:39 am
Tripit for Android
Tripit easily is our favorite app for frequent travelers, and it's just gotten an pretty significant update for tablets as well as phones. On the larger screens, there's a new layout that includes interactive maps and multiscreen views. Trips and points accounts all share space on the main screen. There also are larger (and scrollable!) widgets available if you're running Android 3.0 and up. On...

5-inch devices - a great half-way to tablets, or a phone only a giant could love?

89 Comments
Posted by Simon Sage on 19 Feb 2012 9:53 am
A giant in Skyrim holding a Samsung Galaxy Note and a club/stylus
I'm 6 feet, 8 inches tall. For our metric friends, that's 203 centimeters. I have, on more than one occasion, been called the tallest blogger in the world. (And may well be.) I can palm a basketball without any trouble. I cheer on the giants in Skyrim when they punt my lackey into orbit. Sometimes I imagine them doing cute little drawings on the Samsung Galaxy Note, mapping out the...

Huawei breaks out two new smartphones, including world's thinnest

18 Comments
Posted by Sean Brunett on 9 Jan 2012 9:24 am
Huawei
Huawei has announced two new smartphones, the Ascend P1 S and the Ascend P1. They will be unveiling them at CES at 8 a.m. PST (we'll be there live blogging!) The Ascend P1 S will be the world's thinnest smartphone, measuring in at 6.68 mm thin. The P1 is the same phone, just a tad thicker (most likely for the LTE markets). The specs for the P1/P1 S sound very intruguing: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED...

Motorola Mobility announces two new smartphones, the MOTOLUXE and DEFY Mini

13 Comments
Posted by Sean Brunett on 5 Jan 2012 12:40 pm
DEFY Mini
Motorola Mobility has added two new smartphones to their lineup, the Motoluxe and the DEFY Mini. Both devices will come with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but that's about all that they have in common. The Motoluxe sports a 4-inch screen, 8-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing VGA camera. Meanwhile, the DEFY Mini is, you guessed it, a smaller version of the rugged Motorola DEFY.  It's got a 3....

Samsung announces 300 million handsets sold in 2011

20 Comments
Posted by Anndrew Vacca on 12 Dec 2011 1:01 pm
Samsung
Samsung announced today that it has reached a major milestone in global sales, with 300 million handsets sold in 2011. Driving the momentum, Samsung says, is its Galaxy S line, which includes the original Galaxy S devices as well as the Galaxy S II smartphones, the latter having reached 10 million units sold faster than any device in the company's history. With the American release of the Galaxy...

New Google Music and Google+ apps found in Ice Cream Sandwich build

28 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 7 Oct 2011 3:31 pm
new ICS apps
The fellows at Android Police have their hands on a couple new apps from the Ice Cream Sandwich build that's floating around out there (how 'bout a dump for the community, Mr. Anon?), and with it comes with new Google Music and Google+ apps.  The new music app has a bit of a UI makeover, with more sleek (and less screen real-estate wasting) controls, most noticeable in the "now playing" screen,...

Phillips and Company launch Blue Marble -- transform your roof into a giant QR code

9 Comments
Posted by Jerry Hildenbrand on 6 Oct 2011 2:51 pm
Vegas baby
PR firm Phillips & Company has unveiled Blue Marble, a new service that will allow you to mark your roof with a giant QR code, snapping an aerial picture, then integrating it into Google Maps or Google Earth. Hot damn. Space is not just a destination – it is a platform for applications and services. Our use of satellite imagery in day-to-day applications is proof that our ‘big blue marble...

Microsoft announces licensing deals with Acer, Viewsonic over Android devices

10 Comments
Posted by Phil Nickinson on 8 Sep 2011 8:55 am
Microsoft
Microsoft this morning announced it has reached licensing agreements with Acer and Viewsonic over the companies' Android devices. Terms of either agreement were not announced, but Viewsonic will pay royalties to Microsoft. No royalties were mentioned in Acer's deal, which could point to some sort of reciprocal licensing.Microsoft VP of IP and general counsel Horacio Gutierrez issued the following...

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