Category: exclusive

OnePlus announces a Colette edition 3T. Blue box anyone? #Oneplus #Android

We were expecting a new colour option when we first saw OP teaser a blue dated invite, and that’s “somewhat” what we got yesterday with the Colette Edition.  To the disappointment of fans around the world we got a blue box. Yes a Blue Box folks and that did not go down well on social..

I said “somewhat” because, it’s a new colour, yes, but not an actual new option.

But only 250 phones will be made, that you can’t buy online.

The only way to get one, will be be in Paris on March the 21st when the store open at 11am local time. So what we have here is a new phone no spec bump An in-store only option that will not be on sale online which is kind of bad form..Big hype for nothing really..

If you want to know the difference between this All-Black version and the other two colour variants, First is of course the “stealth” look and second will be the logo on the back.

Yep, that’s pretty much the selling point of this Colette Edition, inside you’ll find the exact same internals as before on the 128GB models.

And those Two “extras” will cost you €479 plus the ticket to Paris if you’re not there.

But if you are, Will you get one? What do you think of this “Special Edition” device.. Let us know..

As is, owners of the OP3 owners feel shafted with the OP3T launched not so long after but the hype over this model leaves a lot to be desired. Hey if the phone was Blue, it would have went down better…. 

Additional commenting by TBI admin..

 

The LG V20 will be loved by audiophiles thanks to a Quad DAC system. #LG #LGV20 #Android

In case you missed it, LG is going to unveil the V10 successor in an event in San Francisco on September 6th.

The V10 was LG flagship until the G5 came out, despite the low sales, the company is aiming a hit with this gadget.

The V10 was an already excellent device and recently was updated to Marshmallow. With a build-in 32-BIT HI-FI DAC the audio quality of this phone was the best of 2015, but this time, the revamp model will come with a quad arrangement that promise to produce 50% less ambient noise that’s comparable to a “Live Performance“.

The company behind this technology will be ESS Technology, the same who brought the outstanding sound to the V10.

Here’s what Juno Cho, LG’s president thinks about it:

 As smartphones mature, we’re seeing more and more customers looking beyond just fast processors and big displays in their devices,” said Juno Cho, president of LG Electronics and Mobile Communications Company. “Higher quality audio is simply the natural evolution of the smartphone, as the industry moves toward a more holistic multimedia consumption experience. We’re pleased to continue this long-term partnership with ESS and bring best in class audio to LG V20 users.

The V20 is said to sport the same dual selfie cameras at the front, and well the secondary display found on its predecessor. An improved rear camera, SD 820 and 4GB of RAM among other interesting things.

Another important feature to have in mind is the premier release of Android 7.o Nougat, LG already confirmed that the phone will come with the latest version of Android right out of the box.

What do you think about this? Will you be getting the new LG flagship? I would if I can!

Let us know your thought below or join the twitter conversation.

Source

 

Samsung to offer a Game Pack for #GalaxyS7 and #S7EDGE owners By @VicenteA_George #Samsung #Android

Not so long ago we brought to you our unboxing and impressions on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 EDGE

But if there’s something we have to accredit Samsung for is all the offers to giveaway when a new device launches, this time around things were a little different, as aside from internals and beautiful screens, Samsung decided to make an emphasis on their new Game Launcher by offering a bunch of “freemium” games to enjoy.

The Game Launcher is a neat feature that pretty much everyone is going to enjoy, no matter if you spend tons of hours playing or just a couple of minutes. For disabling notifications to record yourself while playing for YouTube, is a “must have” for sure.

This Game Pack Samsung is giving away with the new Galaxy range really is a sweet deal, even better they are easy to find.

You’ll need to check the Galaxy App Store and that’s all!

In there you’ll find the whole list of titles available with bonuses to download to your new flagship.

They extras you’ll get may vary from one app to another, example :

Badland (a personal recommendation as the game is beautiful and challenging) will just save you the multi-player mode, usually you need to pay or play lots of hours to have it, but in Gods of Rome the only thing you’ll get is a bag of gems to invest on what you think is best.

The pack contains 16 titles to choose from, all of each with their own extras.

But fear not! You won’t need to install each app or go through the whole app store finding them and reading why they offer.

If you want to have the entire list just go HERE

Have you had the chance to try the game launcher? Will you be getting one of these games?

Let us know in the comment section below, stay tuned

The LG G5 with a downside within #LatAm By @VicenteA_George #LGG5 #Android

Every time a new device is launched, we expect them to come in different variants depending on the market they’re going.

Usually these variants are an option in most countries, but this particular year LG made a change to that, and will offer a downgraded version of their flagship for the Latin America Market.

During MWC16 LG showed up they new flagship phone, the first “Modular Smartphone” and lots of us fall in love with the idea.

They made the entire presentation and announced all the details about the device and what it offers, but one thing they didn’t mention was a particular variant for L.A

The model presented last week comes with an Snapdragon 820, four Kryo cores, two clocked at up to 2.2 GHz and two at 1.59GHz, 4GB of RAM and for GPU an Adreno 530.

This is the model that will be shipped to U.S, E.U and Asian markets, but the version for Latin America is another story.

With an Snapdragon 652, four ARM Cortex A72 and four Cortex A53 clocked at up to 1.8GHz, just 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 510 this model is what you could consider a upper mid-range phone.

But if you thought it can’t get worse, it can.

Alongside the new flagship, LG also announced their new “friends” ecosystem, which aims to attract more people with some appealing options, within which are the LG 360VR

But these devices will not be available for South Americans either, something we haven’t seen a reason yet, as the S652 is perfectly capable of handling VR as we have seen on devices with the same processor like the Idol 4S

The reason behind this is even weird as is the first time something like this happen, the announced was made by LG’s Sales manager for Chile, Cristián Correa who said:

Latin American version will be the Snapdragon 652, based on the feedback we had from several operators in the region to probe the accessory alternatives we had, and where the VR was not very appealing. That is why, in addition to the situation of currency appreciation in our countries, we seek a way of saving so the product were not so expensive and we had a better proposal for LatAm without sacrificing performance and only potentially non-use of VR.

We still have to wait and see if this will apply to the entire region and not just Chile, so stay tuned for any updates on this subject.

Do you think this is a good move with Samsung offering their full flagship? Let us know in the comment section below or tweet us at @VicenteA_George or @jimboireland

Source: Pisapaleles.net

@vodafone_es announces #4GFI project for MWC16 By @VicenteA_George #4GFI #LTE #MWC16

It looks like yesterday when we were covering  CES2016 and then MCW2016 is just around the corner,

We are expecting to see a lot of things there, but if you thought OEMs were the only ones making announcements you were wrong, as Vodafone has just give us a glimpse on what’s to come with they new tech called 4GFI

Is a really normal thing to suffer connection loss when covering or attending these kind of events (Which is really funny if you ask me)

Thinking about it Vodafone has release today during a press conference their new project called 4GFI which will improve the connection on 2G and 3G phones using an updated 4G hotspot from your phone your house and even your car.

The 4GFI is an autonomous app the will be automatically turn on if just in optimal conditions, without the need of the user intervention or any kind of passwords, using Vodafone networks, so even if you use your phone as hotspot for your other devices or friends your date is going to be safe.

Image courtesy of ADSLZone

 

This will enhance other connection services, so this will be really useful if you or your friends have a 2G or 3G phone, the one with a 4G capable device will provide faster data transfer in 15x on 3G devices and 3000x on 2G ones.

Right here you can see an example on how it would work thanks to our friends at ADSLZone

All this advances and more will be showcase at MWC2016 next week, where we-ll see also Vodafone 5G project aiming to a 1Gbps.

Are you ready for all the incoming tech? What do you think about this 4GFI? Find it useful? Let us know in the comment section below

Source: ADSLZone (Spanish)

Apple has its own #VR headset now on the App Store By @VicenteA_George #iPhone #Apple

Every day more and more companies are joining the VR wagon, but some of the most promising ones like Oculus are too expensive, some others just go an choose the Google cardboard which is way cheaper.

But today we have just discovered that now Apple has its own VR headset, the View-Master Virtual Reality Starter pack (hope the name changes )

Putting the name aside, this is and actual step into the right direction from the fruit company.

This headset was created following the same principles as he Google cardboard, using your iPhone’s screen, you’ll get two split images that when seen through the cristal on the device will simulated the 3D impression on your brain.

Unlike the former, this model is made of plastic, but with a strong resembles of those little toys we use to have when kids, the ones that came with a reel of different images. It even comes with a lever to control your phone.

Well, actually is practically the same as this device works with the same kind of mechanism, the app to control everything on your phone is totally free on the store, but its just a sneak peak of the entire content, such as Space and NATGEO wildlife and destinations.

Something that we did see coming, was a way to charge more for something that should have come ready, in order to unlock the full VR experience, customers will have to buy a separate reel that will free the true power of the app.

And although the device is compatible with iPhone 5 and up running iOS 8.1 or later, there’s a warning saying iPhones 5 and 5c may have issues as the app is not totally optimized.

The View-Master Virtual Reality Starter Pack it in pre-order stage at $29.95

And you can have yours HERE

Stay tuned for more info

 

 

Windows10 will be the only fully supported OS for newer hardware By @VicenteA_George #Intel #AMD #W10

As the year is starting many of you are planning on upgrade you PC’s or laptops but if you’re thinking of getting the latest and greatest specs the only version of Windows you can use is Windows 10

Although as today, there’s more than 200 millions devices running Windows 10 there’s also millions of other that still prefer to use the old but reliable Windows 8/8.1 or even Windows 7, (specially companies)

And given the fact this versions of the OS are going to get updates ’till 2020 and 2023 is not a bad idea at all, but there’s a catch.

After CES las week, Microsoft has made official their commitment to Windows 10 as a “One OS to rule them all” therefore, they want to W10 to be on more and more devices.

So with the announcements of the upcoming silicon such as :

Intel’s “Kaby Lake”

Qualcomm’s “8996” 

and AMD’s “Bristol Ridge”

Microsoft is planning on rely on this manufactures “a better integration between software and hardware to improve performance” on every device.

How? There’s going to be limitations on how the devices will perform under certain OS, if you have W7 or W8 your system is not going to be well optimize, but if you have W10 you will get up to 30x better graphics and 3x battery life (which is certainly unfair as it’s a really big difference in graphics)

You still are going to be able to install any of the former versions but without the proper optimizations your system will be very vulnerable.

Actually, even the recently announced Skylake silicon is going to have a downfall as those who are still on W7 or W8.1 just going to get security updates until July 17th of 2017.

So this is one of those situation in which you have to choose between to two worst options.

But, what are your thoughts on this matter? Are you happy with this decision?

Or do you think is worth the risk keeping up the old W7 or the not so old W8.1 around?

Let us know in the comment below or tweet us at @jimboireland or @VicenteA_George

Source: Microsoft

 

Meet Yu Yutopia the new king of budget By @VicenteA_George #Android #Cyanogen

This has been the year of budget but powerful devices, like the One Plus X or the Moto X 2015

But, what is a truly “bang for buck”? For me is that device that offers the best specs possible within the smaller price tag, and this time that gadget seems to have come from India

Meet the Yu Yutopia

The Yutopia was officially unveiled  last week and right now is exclusive to Amazon India, offering and really attractive price and outstanding specs

But don’t take my word, look for yourself

Display Size:  5.2 inch
Resolution:  QHD (2560×1440 pixels)
Dimensions:  146.6 x 72.66 x 7.22mm (Camera bump thickness 9.07mm)
Operating System:  Cyanogen OS 12.1 on top Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
CPU:  64- Bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Octa-core CPU  (2.0GHz x 4 / 1.GHZ x 4)
GPU:  Adreno 430
RAM:  4GB
Storage:  32 GB
Sensors:  Fingerprint, Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Barometer.
Battery:  3000mAh Li-Polymer battery with Quick Charge
Speakers:  Rear facing speakers
Microphones:  Dual-microphone with noise cancellation
Ports for Data & charging: USB 2.0
Audio:  3.5mm
Buttons:  Power Button, Volume Rockers, On-Screen Buttons
SIM: DUAL:  Micro & Nano
Camera
Sensor:  21 Megapixel
Lenses:  6 lenses
OIS:  Yes
Flash:  Dual
Front Camera:  8 Megapixel
Video:  4K resolution Video
Connectivity
GSM:  850/900/1800/1900MHz
WCDMA:  B1/B8
FDD-LTE:  B3/B5/B7/B20
TDD-LTE:  B40
Wi-Fi:  802.11a/b/g/n/ac(2.4G and 5G), 1×1 stream
Bluetooth:  Bluetooth 4.1

 

As you can see there is an impressive device, specially if you consider the full metal body surrounding all of that, have an eye to the full video is really well made:

Price at ₹24,999 or $376 USD (which is just a tip over the OnePlus 2) is incredible what you can get for under $400
And although it looks like the Nokia Lumia 830 especially from the back, the fingerprint sensor and the brilliant 2K display will immediately change your mind.
Plus the Cyanogen base guarantee  you’ll get Android 6.0 with all the goodies only the guys a Cyanogen can deliver.
Something worth noticing is the fact this is the first Indian phone to come with a Snapdragon chipset instead of the MediaTek one they always use to reduce costs moreover we-ll see how they handle the heat problem.
The device can be Pre-order right now here: Amazon.in and is going to star shipping on December 26th
 If you want to take another look you can go here: Yutopia
What do you think of this new trend of budget but awesome phones? Will you get the Yutopia if you have the chance?

 

 

 

Sony has just updated the Camera App on the Z5 Line up By @VicenteA_George #Sony #Camera #XperiaZ5

Today is a great day! After several years Sony has finally decided to update their Camera App but for now, just for the Z5 Line-up

The version has jump to 2.0.0

This is something most of the reviewers and users have been begging for since quite a time now, though I personally found the Sony camera UI really clean and simple is truth that now maybe is “too simple”

Well, apparently the complaint made it to Sony’s ears and now we have this.

Now you can now simply swipe to switch between the main camera modes like Superior Auto, Manual, Video and Xperia Camera apps.

 

According to some users the start-up time has been reduce, but apart from that, there’s no such a different in quality or processing speed.

So if you are expecting manual controls like Lumia or LG you’ll have to wait another update (in the best scenario)

As a bonus, we have now check that if you are rocking a Z3+ you’ll also be able to install this new version, but previous generations will need root.

For updating, just go to “What’s new?” on your devices and look for the update.

Or simple click HERE

Source: Sony Mobile Blog