Smartphones can't get any bigger. Talking on today's 5-inch-plus models borders on trying to hold a small tablet up to the side of your head. So what's a phone manufacturer to do to differentiate its phones from all the others? Bend them! These new curved phones might seem gimmicky, but if early models catch on, they'll become the next hot commodity.
In an effort to prove that it hasn't forgotten about Dre--er, about its loyal user base, Nokia announced that it's officially rolling out the anticipated Lumia Black update for its line of Windows Phones. The update will begin with the Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925, and then roll out to other Lumia models later on.
Google continues to tout the camera application on its latest smartphone, the LG-manufactured Nexus 5, since it launched more than five weeks ago, but the handset has failed to deliver. Even though the stock camera software is capable of piecing together 360-degree panoramas and snapping HDR+ photos, the overall photo quality remains subpar. As a result, the search giant is coming out with an update to Android KitKat to help address those camera performance issues.
Thin is certainly in, at least where gadget design is concerned, and although other Android-handset manufacturers claim to have the thinnest model, Sony has swooped in with a large phone that really is thin. The company that brought us the Walkman and the PlayStation likely figured that being the thinnest phablet on the market would give the Xperia Z Ultra an edge over its large competitors. Not quite.
It's no secret that HTC is struggling. In the past year alone, the company lost several key players on its executive team and posted a net loss of about $101 million. Based on that criteria alone, the forecast looks grim for the Taiwan-based phone manufacturer, and the plan to get its business back on track is seems to be to just keep repackaging its one phone that made headlines, the HTC One.
LG is having a Nokia problem.
You might be looking to snag a tablet for yourself or for your loved one. But before you venture out to a brick and mortar store or get lost scouring for websites and looking for deals, take a step back. Like everything else in life, tablet shopping is easier if you have a plan.
Nokia certainly wants to find a way into your pants--er, pocket--but the release of the not-very-pocketable Nokia 1520 seems like a bit of a desperate attempt to join the rest of the crowd.
Android has a face only an engineer could love. At least, that's the reputation it has earned over the past few years. Google's mobile OS is a hotbed of mobile innovation and new technologies, but its interface doesn't have the friendly consumer-centric design of iOS or Windows Phone. With Android 4.4 KitKat, Google aims to address this shortcoming, while baking-in a handful of nifty new features.
Well, no wonder we haven't seen too many people sporting the Galaxy Gear since its debut. People keep returning them.
Bet you never thought that in this day and age, you could carry a boomerang in your pocket.
Another day, another device - that's what Samsung makes us feel like with the exhausting lineup of phones and tablets it's debuted in the last year. Its latest release, however, the Galaxy Note 3, is at least worth paying attention to.
It's perhaps unfathomable for diehard Windows Phone users, but Nokia had once considered going the way of Android before Microsoft bought it out.
Even though LG was behind last year's Google-backed Nexus 4, that wasn't enough to launch it into the Android spotlight. What the company needs is a standout phone--something that differentiates it from the Samsungs and the HTCs. It's on the right track with its focus on solid performance and a high-resolution display, but if you took a quick look at G2, you wouldn't find much to set it apart from the crowd.
Some Android faithful may not care too much about fragmentation, but apparently, Nokia thinks it's fodder for jokes/threats on Twitter. The Finnish company has lashed out against the Android's behemoth manufacturer, Samsung.
