Vodafone Smart ultra 6 review
Not so very long ago each new mobile phone that launched would be smaller than its predecessor whilst packing in more features. In recent years though we’ve come full circle and phones have started to get bigger again, offering more screen real estate for apps and improved image quality for multimedia use.
Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean more expensive though and the Smart ultra 6 from Vodafone appears to offer a lot of phone -- both physically and technically -- for just £125 on pay-as-you-go. Let’s see how well it delivers.
Google discounts Nexus 6
Google has decided to significantly reduce the price of its Nexus 6 models in the UK. The devices are now available on Google Store for as low as £399.
The 32GB model of the Motorola-made handset comes in at that price, while the 64GB version is down to £479. The devices' initial prices were £479 and £549 respectively.
OnePlus has free Google Cardboard VR headsets for everyone!
Virtual reality is making a comeback. Forget the atrocious examples we endured in the 90s, now we have the likes of Oculus Rift to delight our senses, and Microsoft is tempting us with HoloLens. Neither of these are particularly cheap, but Google came up with a cheap alternative in the form of Cardboard.
As the name suggests, this is a foldable cardboard unit which can be used to transform a variety of smartphones into a fully-fledged VR headset. While much cheaper than the likes of Oculus Rift and HoloLens, Cardboard is not free... or at least, it wasn't. Ahead of the launch of OnePlus 2, OnePlus is offering its own OnePlus CardBoard for free.
The 2015 Nexus 5 will be built by LG
The Nexus range of smartphones has proved a popular way to get a fairly high-end handset running stock Android at a decent price. Previous models have (largely) sold well, and there is always eager anticipation surrounding the next release. One thing people are always keen to know is just who is going to be making the handset.
According to a report by AndroidPIT, it is LG who will be responsible for the 2015 Nexus 5. A spokesperson said that the device is to be based on a yet-to-be-seen prototype rather than the LG G4. Based on previous launches, it's safe to assume that the release will coincide with the launch of the next version of Google's mobile operating system, Android M.
Buy a Windows Phone from Microsoft, get Nokia headphones for free
If you are in the market for a new Windows Phone now is the time to pull the trigger. Microsoft is running an attractive promotion, giving customers a free pair of Nokia headphones with the purchase of any Windows Phone from its online store.
And I mean any Windows Phone. This promotion applies to all Acer, BLU, Microsoft and Nokia-branded Windows Phone devices that Microsoft sells, so you are not limited to a certain brand or, most importantly, a certain price bracket.
Your online payments could soon be authorized with a selfie
Make an online payment with your credit card and you're probably used to having to enter a password or PIN. But if a trial scheme by MasterCard takes off, this could become a thing of the past. The finance company is testing out a new payment authorization technique including fingerprint scanning and facial recognition.
MasterCard is working with Apple, BlackBerry, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung to introduce the biometric checks. The initial plan is to trial the system with 500 participants before possibly rolling it out on a larger scale. It's something that MasterCard believes will be welcomed by millennials and should simplify the process of making payments from a smartphone.
Smartphone porn consumption will explode
A wise man once said our phones started getting bigger when we realized we could watch porn on them. If you had the slightest doubt in your mind about these wise words, then the latest research from Juniper should put it to rest.
According to that research, each "each smartphone user (who access adult content) is expected to watch an average of 348 videos this year". That means, more than 136 billion porn videos will be watched this year alone. But don’t worry, it will grow. By 2020, estimates say that number will hit 193 billion, which is a growth of almost 55 percent.
One Plus Two touted to have a better fingerprint sensor than iPhone 6
As you’ve doubtless seen, the sequel to the popular OnePlus One will be revealed at the end of next month, but prior to that information about the handset is slowly being leaked out -- or indeed published by the company in the case of this latest snippet concerning the fingerprint sensor.
In a blog post, OnePlus boasted that the upcoming smartphone will have one of the most advanced fingerprint sensors on the market, in an "Apple eat your heart out" kind of way.
The organizations we least trust with our data
US consumers are most concerned about the ability of retailers and government departments to protect their data according to a new survey.
The Security Insights survey from Unisys shows that 44 percent of American respondents are worried that their personal data held by retailers is likely to be breached in the next year, as many consumers seem to be losing trust in retail data security owing to recent high profile breaches.
iPhone is iconic
Happy Birthday! iPhone is 8 years-old today. Oh my, it seems so much longer ago because so much has changed. Think back. Eight years ago, there was no Android. YouTube was but 18 months available to the public, and Facebook or Twitter only about a year. There was no market for tablets, or smartwatches.
The iPhone marks everything right about the Steve Jobs era of risk-taking design. More changes: He is gone from this world and some of that other-worldly innovation with him. In 2007, the smartphone was a decade-old slow seller that few people owned. Now it's everywhere! Apple deserves credit for the transformation, whether or not anyone wants to give it.
Samsung Galaxy S6 -- Android at its finest [Review]
Samsung is the undisputed king of Android smartphones. Other than Apple, no company commands the audiences of the Galaxy handset maker. Quite frankly, Samsung deserves its attention, as it makes really great smartphones that consumers love -- a simple recipe for success.
This year, however, the company took some arguable missteps, by removing both the removable batteries and expandable memory found on its previous flagships. As an Android purist, I was initially upset with this. Luckily, Samsung was correct to remove these features, since the cloud and USB battery packs are better options. In this case, less is more, as it forces the user to think differently -- a very Apple-esque approach. Amazingly, using Apple's design philosophy, Samsung's device outdoes the iPhone.
Google will eliminate accidental mobile ad clicks
Ads are part and parcel of being online, but they can be particularly annoying for mobile users. When playing games on a phone or tablet, it's all too easy to accidentally tap an ad you have absolutely no interest in, pulling you out of the game you were playing or the site you were reading. If you've cursed when this happened to you, Google hears you.
The company is taking steps to make the "user experience" of ads a little better. It recognizes that advertisements that get clicked accidentally don't benefit anybody. They end up irritating the clicker, and are unlikely to be of value to the company that placed the ad. With around half of ad clicks being made by mistake, Google is now taking steps to stop this from happening -- great news for users and advertisers alike.
OnePlus Two featuring Snapdragon 810 and USB Type-C launching on July 27
Chinese firm OnePlus made a splash last year with its One flagship smartphone. At $299 (now available for $249) off-contract price point, the OnePlus One smartphone offers top-of-the-line hardware specs, which helped it earn the title of "flagship killer of 2014" from critics and users alike. The company announces today that it will be launching a new flagship smartphone called the OnePlus Two next month.
The company says that it will be hosting an unusual VR event on July 27 at 10PM ET to launch the OnePlus Two. "In our industry, product launches tend to be the same. An auditorium, a keynote, and a seated audience. For the OnePlus 2 launch, we didn’t want that barrier between us and you," OnePlus wrote in a blog post today.
Google asks Android developers to show sensitivity to disasters and atrocity
Today Google revealed an updated version of its Google Play Developer Program Policies. There aren't actually all that many changes or additions, but those that are present are quite interesting. Google is clamping down on the problem of impersonation, making it clearer that it is not permissible to mislead users by imitating other apps, making false claims, or suggesting endorsements that do not exist.
One of the more intriguing changes to the document sees Google calling on developers to show sensitivity to evens such as natural disasters, war, and death. Any apps or other content that attempt to benefit by exploiting such events are explicitly banned.
Microsoft brings Office to Android smartphones for free
After a few weeks in preview, Microsoft Office is now available for Android smartphones. Despite Microsoft's mobile-first, cloud-first philosophy, it has actually taken some time to bring the world's most popular office suite to Android phones -- it joins the tablet version of the suite that was released last year.
Just like the tablet editions, the phone versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint won't cost you a penny, allowing for the viewing and editing of a range of files when on the move. There is a cloud focus with support for not only OneDrive, but also Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box, and Microsoft says it has made changes based on the feedback received during the preview period.
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