Samsung Galaxy Note7 has the best smartphone display ever
It is easy to mistake Samsung's new Galaxy Note 7 for a stretched-out Galaxy S7 edge with an S Pen at the bottom. After all, the two flagships have quite a few things in common, like the waterproofing, processors and cameras. Even the display resolution is the same.
The display, however, is not. On top of being bigger, it is also better. In fact, DisplayMate now says that the Galaxy Note7 has the best display in the business. It just goes to prove that you cannot judge a smartphone by its specs.
Google can already protect most Android phones from the QuadRooter threat
The discovery of QuadRooter is one of the biggest security threats to Android users since Stagefright. Security firm Check Point Software has released a tool to help people determine if their phones are at risk, but Google says that it is already able to block apps with the QuadRooter exploit.
The Verify Apps feature of Google Play Services is able to detect and block any apps that feature QuadRooter. As the exploit has to be delivered via an app, this effectively protects the vast majority of handsets that are threatened.
Google Maps gets data-saving Wi-Fi-only mode and the option to save maps to SD cards
Google Maps is a great tool for helping you get from A to B -- until you find yourself in an area with no data reception, that is. To help combat the problem -- and fighting expensive data charges at the same time -- Google is introducing a new Wi-Fi only mode which forces Google Maps into offline mode.
As well as preventing the app from struggling to download data over a rubbishy or non-existent connection, the update means that Google Maps relies entirely on your saved maps -- something Google says could boost battery life. But there's more!
Check if your phone is at risk from QuadRooter vulnerability
The latest vulnerability for Android handsets is QuadRooter, and there are an estimated 900 million devices at risk. Just shy of a billion phones and tablets is undeniably a lot, but how can you know if you are affected?
While a list of devices that are definitely affected has been published, it is far from exhaustive. Thankfully the good folk at Check Point Software have put together a special app that will test your phone or tablet and let you know the risk.
Apple sees disappointing iPhone sales in India
India is the third-largest smartphone market worldwide, after China and the United States. In the second quarter of the year, vendors shipped just over 30 million devices, the vast majority of which run Android. That is no different than what is happening in the other leading markets, China and United States, except for one thing: iPhone sales.
Apple is a major player in both China and United States, where its market share is well into double digits. However, in India, the iPhone is not as appealing to local shoppers, as only 2.4 percent of the smartphones shipped in Q2 2016 feature Apple's logo on the back.
Google previews faster search results with Accelerated Mobile Pages
Google's AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) project aims to speed up the web for mobile users. The company has just announced that the technology is being previewed in mobile search results to help searchers get to the content they want faster.
As the name suggests, this is something that is only rolling out to the mobile side of Google search, and it works in a similar way to Facebook's Instant Articles. As AMP is still in fairy early stages of development, the technology is not yet perfect and site support is a little limited, but it all bodes well and the preview period gives the likes of you and I the chance to see what all the fuss is about.
Meet Samsung Galaxy Note7
Samsung today unveils one of the most hotly anticipated smartphones of 2016 -- the Galaxy Note7. As the latest flagship in the popular series it builds upon the success of the Galaxy S7 line, featuring similar top of the line hardware, while boasting software enhancements that accommodate the now-famous S Pen.
Quite frankly, no one would blame you for saying that the Galaxy Note7 looks like a stretched out Galaxy S7 edge that has an S Pen at the bottom. Many of the specs are basically the same and, as a first for a device in this series, even the body is waterproof. So what does it bring to the table?
It's official: Windows 10 Mobile is irrelevant
If you still think that Windows 10 Mobile has a future then you must not have yet seen just how many Lumia smartphones were sold last quarter. We have known for quite some time that the operating system has no place in today's landscape, and now Microsoft is officially confirming it.
Microsoft has not provided a sales figure for the Lumia line when it announced its earnings results earlier this month, like it has done previously, but the software giant has revealed how many units it moved during the whole fiscal year 2016, giving us just what we need to complete the puzzle.
Google brings add-ons to Docs and Sheets on Android
With a desktop word processor and spreadsheet, you have great power to create a range of documents. The move to the cloud and mobile means that popular Office suites have been ported to mobile platforms, and this usually means missing out on key features -- like add-ons.
Today, this changes as Google has announced that Android add-ons for Docs and Sheets are now available. This means that Google's mobile office tools can be extended with add-ons like DocuSign, Scanbot and Zoho CRM.
BlackBerry claims its second Android smartphone is 'world's most secure'
BlackBerry's Priv, hasn't quite been a huge hit with consumers, but the company is not ready to give up just yet as it has introduced its second Android handset, called DTEK50. The selling point? BlackBerry claims that it is the "world's most secure Android smartphone".
The market for privacy and security-focused smartphones seems to be quite small -- insignificant, really -- if we are to look at how poorly Priv and Silent Circle's Blackphone have been selling so far. And it is hard to see how the new DTEK50 will change that.
Xiaomi's new Redmi Pro is an affordable phablet with a dual camera setup
Xiaomi has been busy. On top of introducing its first laptop, the Mi Notebook Air, today the company also unveils the Redmi Pro. Its newest phablet has an attractive price and an impressive specs sheet, which includes a dual camera setup.
Xiaomi has been betting on specs to attract consumers and the Redmi Pro is yet another solid example of its strategy. The device has specs that would not look out of place on a premium phablet, yet the $225 starting price puts it at the lower end of the mid-range segment. It is a combination that is sure to get phablet enthusiasts' attention.
Apple revenue and iPhone sales are down
Apple today announced its financial report for Q3 FY2016 (Q2 CY2016), revealing a drop in revenue and falling iPhone sales compared to both the previous quarter and this time last year.
Apple posted quarterly revenue of $42.4 billion and a net income of $7.8 billion, with the bulk (nearly $18 billion) coming from the Americas. This revenue is compared to $50.5 billion in Q2 FY2016 and $49.6 billion in Q3 FY2015, drops of 16 percent and 15 percent respectively.
Total iPhone sales will exceed one billion mark
Just days after it was reported that Facebook has a billion people using Messenger, a similar thing will happen with Apple.
The company has either already, or will very soon, sell its one billionth iPhone. In the last reported quarter (Q1 2016), it was unveiled that the company had sold a total of 987 million iPhones in the seven years since its inception. Some 40 million had been sold in the quarter alone, and according to Financial Times, analysts expect at least another 40m quarter ahead.
CyanogenMod: reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated
Rumors started to circulate in recent days that all was not well at Cyanogen Inc. Reports suggested that the company was not only shedding a fifth of its staff, but was also moving away from its Android-based CyanogenMod to focus instead on apps.
After a few days of silence, the company has now come forward to set the record straight. Cyanogen Inc wants to make it clear that its operating system is here to stay, and there are no plans to become an app company.
Cyanogen ditches a fifth of its staff and switches focus from OS to apps
Cyanogen Inc -- the cheeky little upstart behind Android-based CyanogenMod -- is reportedly laying off 20 percent of its workforce. The company is a fairly small operation with just 136 employees, but the lay-offs are significant as they are mostly from the OS side of things.
It seems that the open source Android-inspired operating system has failed to generate quite as much interest as hoped, although it does have a very dedicated cult following. It is not clear quite what the future holds for CyanogenMod, but things are not looking good at the moment.
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