Android News and Tips
Times are changing, tides are shifting, trends are passing, and drifting, and priorities are rearranging. The thing is the way device manufacturers set their priorities straight doesn’t always align with the wishes of the overwhelming majority of mobile consumers. Take smartphone battery capacity. Literally everyone who’s ever owned a half-decent Android with web access, a
The world’s thinnest smartphone title has become a thorny affair in recent years, as new contenders pop up out of nowhere once every few weeks. Most of the time, no-name Chinese manufacturers are behind these designs that defy gravity common sense, and the goal is to score free publicity for future products with the better
If you like singing in the rain, swimming in shark-infested waters (literally), and just generally exposing yourselves to various types of liquid interaction while packing Android “heat”, then chances are you’ve been on the prowl for the perfect waterproof phone. First of all, sorry to break to you, but there’s no such thing. Secondly, even
Fingerprint scanners. Can’t have a flagship smartphone without one in this day and age, but the Android handhelds that do support the futuristic method of biometric authentication are often accused of shoddy, gimmicky execution. Even when done properly, the technology continues to stir up controversies, although Apple fans were very quick (and proud) to adopt
They say the new iPhones could easily break the mind-blowing sales records posted by their forerunners, both for the first week-end of pre-orders and as far as total shipment numbers go, though of course that latter tally is much harder to forecast. And why shouldn’t they? Because they look identical to last year’s 6 and
The back to school discount season is effectively over, IFA 2015 feels like a distant memory, the new iPhones and iPad Pro are official, and most Android device manufacturers have themselves debuted their holiday weapons. Except for HTC, that is, possibly LG too, plus Google and Huawei, not to mention Microsoft, and whoever might be
Oh, this is so going to piss off the hordes of already insecure, delusional iFans irritatingly navigating the interwebs to find and insult anyone who doesn’t share their distorted world view. Why delusional? Well, because it only takes a modicum of common sense to realize Apple’s “it’s not about specs, it’s the user experience” rhetoric is
Just when you thought Sony’s mobile branch was doomed to follow the recent ill fate of Nokia, and BlackBerry’s probable future downfall, the Japanese device manufacturer threw a Hail Mary pass at IFA 2015 in Berlin which may well end up in a spectacular last-second touchdown. Of course, one swallow does not a summer make,
Now that things are crystal clear on the internal storage front as far as both the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ are concerned, and we also know exactly where the former is headed, it’s time we matched up the new S Pen flagship to its forerunner. It’s not a matter of which is best,
Originally, we intended to take things very gradually when explaining Samsung’s new high-end smartphone roster, first spelling out the differences between the just-announced Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+, then pitting the latter against the “standard” S6 and S6 Edge, and finally comparing and contrasting the Note 5 and its faux leather-clad predecessor. But we
We realize you probably don’t want to think about this yet, but the start of the school year is nigh. There’s still time to have some fun, lie under the scorching sun all day and party all night, but sooner or later, you’ll need to deal with the reality of the sweet dream coming to
After making the world wait a little longer than initially anticipated, Android’s 2014 breakout star finally entered the second chapter of its rapid and captivating evolution. Now that OnePlus isn’t exactly an underdog anymore, a wild card or question mark, the expectations are set much higher, which is why some folks believe the 2 is
After (hopefully) helping you better understand the “deal” with LG’s far too similar mid-range G4 derivations, our mission of clarifying convoluted Android smartphone families enters a new phase. Today, we’re all about praising the Samsung Galaxy A roster’s full-metal diversity. Yes, for once, you’ll see us endorse so-called “brand dilution” instead of bitching and complaining.
You can defend plastic handheld construction all you want, but like it or not, “polycarbonate” is a word mobile enthusiasts will soon forget. And thank God for that, since this writer became tired of being fed the most ridiculous excuses from lazy, profit-driven manufacturers years back. Admit it, everybody, metal is better, and the only
The Weather Channel is currently forecasting another adequately warm week on both the East and West Coast of the United States, with the occasional drizzle likely to interrupt your sunbathing enterprises from time to time. But it’s legitimately raining deals over at Amazon, and the emphasis mostly falls on Android gear that was already fairly
The rumor is not new. In some shape or form, we’ve been expecting BlackBerry to reach to the dark Google side for salvation for several years now. It seems to be the Canadians’ only shot at a hardware business revival of sorts, and by extension, the company’s survival as a whole. Granted, John Chen could
Typically, we’d wait a little more than nine months to bring an old listicle up to date. But Android device release cycles in general have shortened lately, and when it comes to trendy smartphones endowed with skillful front-facing cameras, a year changes everything. Even six months flip over selfie hierarchies, which is proven by the
Call us rash, call our efforts premature and the venture into speculation territory pointless, with so many unknowns to the Galaxy Note 5 vs LG G4 Pro equation. Nothing to argue there, given one phone’s ETA remains up in the air, while another’s very identity and existence can’t be authenticated at the moment. But someone
Some say 4 GB RAM is overkill for today’s smartphones. Others feel they don’t even need 3 gigs. After all, Android Lollipop was specifically optimized to work smoothly on 1 GB memory systems, right? Yeah, well, that didn’t quite go as planned, based on rampant recent reports of 5.0-induced memory bleeds, but nonetheless, you’ll hear
According to official Android distribution numbers harvested by Google during the week leading to May 4, a measly 9.7 percent of all devices with the world’s most popular mobile OS inside run 5.0 or 5.1 Lollipop. That’s certainly disappointing, given 5.0 source code was freely disseminated back in early November 2014 and Android M’s “final”