Articles about Smartphone

In what might be a last ditch effort to regain some of its former glory, BlackBerry is planning to release three new smartphones running Google’s Android OS.

Last year, the Canadian company launched its first smartphone running Android, the BlackBerry Priv. While it was well-received by critics for its implementation of Google’s OS, the smartphone with a slide-out keyboard was unable to sell well enough to turn the tide for BlackBerry, which has steadily declined since the release of Apple’s original iPhone.

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Earlier this year Google announced that Family Library -- previously only available in Google Play Music -- was making its way to the Play Store. Now the rollout is underway, meaning that it is now possible to share your purchased apps and games with members of your family.

This new feature means that a family need only buy one copy of an app rather than several if they all want to use it. It also means that there is no longer a need to create a shared 'family account' through which to download apps and games that need to be shared.

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Samsung introduced unlocked versions of its Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge flagships right from the start in major markets across the globe. That's because there are large contingents of potential buyers in markets like Europe who prefer to buy their smartphone off-contract, and use it with whatever carrier and plan they choose. In US, however, consumers have only been officially treated to carrier-branded models.

However, that finally changes today, as Samsung is now introducing unlocked versions of Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in US. The company says that they will work "on most US GSM and CDMA networks", which is good news for those who may want to change carriers.

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Google is rumored to be working on a smartphone of its own that would help it "tighten its grip on mobile software and see it compete directly with the iPhone", according to a report from The Telegraph. The information comes from the usual "sources familiar with the discussions", who are all too often making the news because some fellow writers have no filters whatsoever.

To folks completely unfamiliar with the mobile space this report would make sense. It has all the right ingredients for that, but fortunately using just a small dose of common sense one can immediately call this report for what it is -- rubbish. Here's why.

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The OnePlus 3 is the first 'flagship killer' that has been available to buy without an invite. Reviews (and we'll have one written up soon) have been overwhelmingly positive, but a couple of issues have surfaced.

Some users have been disappointed to find that their handset does not take full advantage of its 6GB of RAM, while others bemoan poor color calibration of the Optic AMOLED screen. We've already shown you how to manually tweak memory settings, but an official update is on the way to address not only memory and color issues, but also to increase performance of the OnePlus 3.

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There's quite a lot to get excited about with regard to the newly announced OnePlus 3. After lots of teasing, the 'flagship killer' handset was revealed earlier this week as a 5.5-inch, dual SIM beast packing a Snapdragon 820 and 6GB of RAM.

But among all the specs that seem familiar, or at least make sense, there is the display. This is a 1080p panel powered by an Adreno 530 chip, with protection coming courtesy of Corning Gorilla Glass 4. It's described as being an Optic AMOLED, but what does that actually mean?

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Apple's annual developer conference is underway in San Francisco. Yesterday's opening keynote was the best since before cofounder Steve Jobs' death nearly 5 years ago. While pundits poo-poo what's missing (shiny gadgets), new and improved software and services matter more—and they showcase priorities properly placed.

CEO Tim Cook kicked off the event, by asking attendees to stand and offer a moment of silence for the mass murder victims the previous day in Orlando, Fla. Forty-nine people are confirmed dead and as many hospitalized from the nightclub shooting. He then went on to lay out a clear agenda for the keynote and the conference—four platforms: iOS 10, macOS "Sierra" (formerly OS X), tvOS 10, and watchOS 3.

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Saving the location in photos you take with your smartphone, tablet or camera is a good idea if you want to keep track of where you've captured those moments. Some services, like Google Photos, will do that for you automatically, showing a history of places you've been based on their coordinates. However, when it comes time to share your photos online, you may want to remove the location data.

The location data, alongside other types of identifiable information, will also be shared alongside them, potentially exposing you and your loved ones to all sorts of complications as a result. Fortunately, you can remove the location data from your photos. Here is how you can do that.

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It looks like the next big movement in smartphone design is going to be physically customisable handsets. The latest company to do more than just add bigger screen, ramp up the processor speed and chuck in a bit more RAM is Lenovo. Today the company announces the Moto Z family with Moto Mods.

At the moment, the 'family' comprises just two phones: the Moto Z, and the more powerful Moto Z Force. Things get off to a promising start with the handset boasting impressive specs, and measuring just 5.2mm thick (which Lenovo boasts is 'The world's thinnest premium smartphone'). Which is just as well because, as you'll see, the available Moto Mods -- snap-on modules that clip to the rear of the phone to add functionality -- make it a whole lot thicker.

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An Android update is rolling out that makes it easier to take full advantage of location-aware apps. You might be somewhere for which there is the perfect app to enhance your visit, but if you don’t know of its location-specific capabilities, you just might never use it. Enter Nearby from Google.

Google offers a number of example scenarios in which Nearby might be useful. Walk into a CVS, and you could be notified of the in-store photo printing service. Visit a key landmark, and you could enjoy a virtual tour, or learn more about it. Developers are being encouraged to deploy 'beacons' which, when triggered, will either call up a web site, fire up an app, or offer an app download when users are in particular locations.

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As we are getting closer to the launch of the OnePlus 3, we are learning more and more about the new flagship killer. Today, OnePlus reveals exactly when and where prospective buyers will be able to get their hands on its latest smartphone.

The OnePlus 3 will officially launch on June 14, and that is when we will also find out how much it will actually cost. OnePlus says that it will be released on the same day in major markets across the globe, and, unlike in the case of its predecessor, you will not need an invite to buy one.

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It is amazingly sad that in 2016 consumers still must face a major dilemma -- battery anxiety. Laugh all you want, but the fear of running out of juice is a legit issue. Yes, this is partly due to concerns about trivial things like being disconnected from social media and texting, but more importantly, it can be scary to lose the ability to call 9-1-1 in an emergency. Hopefully battery life in future smartphones will last weeks, not mere hours.

If you are constantly worrying about battery life, a portable USB battery pack is a smart purchase. There are countless models available nowadays -- Amazon is chock full of them. Today, SCOSCHE releases its goBAT 4400. As the name implies, it is 4,400mAh -- not the largest such capacity. While it doesn't stand out much from the crowd, its price tag and integrated flashlight make it fairly interesting.

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Tinder is updating its terms of use, preventing people under the age of 18 from using the app. The dating app experimented with allowing teenagers from 13 to 17 to hook up with people from the same age group, but as of next week this will no longer be possible.

This sub-section of user represents just 3 percent of Tinder's user base, but the company feels that tightening up on access is "the right thing to do".

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One of the most stifling trends in modern times -- from a technology standpoint -- is the death of unlimited mobile data. Now that customers must monitor how much data they use, it can be argued that progress -- especially regarding the cloud -- is negatively impacted. As someone who still clutches to a grandfathered unlimited Verizon plan, I feel for my fellow smartphone users.

Thankfully, Google's Project Fi cellular service largely takes the worry out of data overages. While it is not unlimited, it offers affordable tiers -- you won't have to claim bankruptcy for using too much data. The most brilliant aspect, however, is that it aggregates multiple carriers -- Sprint and T-Mobile -- so that it can switch to the one with better coverage when needed. Today, Google welcomes a third carrier, U.S. Cellular, to the Project Fi family.

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It looks like 2016 will be the first year when smartphone sales will only increase by a single digit. Gartner expects 1.5 million units to be moved by the end of December, which would translate to a seven percent rise over 2015. And things aren't looking much better down the line either.

The difference in sales between 2016 and 2020 is only expected to be 300 million units, which is a sizable increase only if you do not look at the average growth year over year which is a tad over six percent. Question is, why is growth slowing?

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