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Mobile Phones

Lenovo to Make Project Tango Smartphone

13 January 2016 Marco Attard Mobile Phones

Lenovo announces it is working on a Project Tango-enabled smartphone at CES 2016, a collaboration with Google in consumer mobile devices equipped with depth perception.

Google revealed Project Tango back in 2014. A brainchild of the search giant's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group, the project involves granting devices “human-like understanding of space and motion" through sensors and camera vision co-processors. So far it has only been seen in the wild in the shape of a couple of prototype devices-- a 5-inch smartphone and a 7-inch tablet, both carrying 2 back cameras, IR depth sensors and software handling 3D image capture.

Details on the Lenovo Tango-enabled device are lacking, since the company is still working on the final design. However it does say the device will be "less than 6.5-inches" in size and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

The Smartphone With a 10000mAh Battery

17 December 2015 Marco Attard Mobile Phones

Customers demanding a smartphone with a longer-lasting battery? Chinese vendor Oukitel might have a solution with the K10000, a device packing a 10000mAh battery.

According to the company the gigantic battery allows for around 10-15 days of use per charge. It also supports reverse charging, turning it into a battery pack of sorts for the charging of other devices.

Galaxy S7 Gets Pressure-Sensitive Display, USB-C?

17 December 2015 Marco Attard Mobile Phones

Galaxy S7 Gets Pressure-Sensitive Display, USB-C?

The Wall Street Journal claims to know about a couple of features in the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone-- specifically a "pressure-sensitive display and a new high-speed charging port."

The addition of a "pressure-sensitive display" to the flagship handset might not be too surprising, even if it involves the Korean giant unashamedly following on the "3D Touch" feature seen in the iPhone 6S. Meanwhile the "high-speed charging port" consists of a USB Type-C port reportedly allowing users to fully charge the device in "under 30 minutes," if not "significantly faster than that."

Mozilla Gives Up on Firefox OS Smartphones

10 December 2015 Marco Attard Mobile Phones

Mozilla Gives Up on Firefox OS Smartphones

It was alright while it lasted, Firefox OS-- Mozilla announces an end to development and sale of smartphones running on the operating system at the "Mozlando" developer event.

Further confirmation of the news comes through TechCrunch and a company statement reading "Firefox OS proved the flexibility of the web, scaling from low-end smartphones all the way up to HD TVs. However, we weren’t able to offer the best user experience possible and so we will stop offering Firefox OS smartphones through carrier channels."

Xiaomi Presents Redmi Note 3, Mi Pad 2

26 November 2015 Marco Attard Mobile Phones

China's Xiaomi takes to Twitter to announce a trio of product additions-- the Redmi Note 3 smartphone, the Mi Pad 2 tablet and one oddity, the Mi Air Purifier 2 "smart" air filter.

The Redmi Note 3 is similar to the previous model, being a mid-range Android handset with a 5.5-inch 1920x1080 resolution display. However it does feature a couple of Xiaomi firsts with a full metal body and a fingerprint sensor integrated with Mi Wallet, the company's take on mobile payment services.

Further spec details include an MTK Helio X10 processor (the same found in the Redmi Note 2), 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB storage and a 4000mAh battery with fast charging promising to power the device to 50% capacity in 1 hour.

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