Mobile Devices - Page 98

Samsung just can't catch a break. A day before the official launch of the Galaxy S8 and S8+, the Korean company is filling the headlines yet again, and once again the cause is - fire.

After the Galaxy Note7 fiasco which involved faulty batteries, and the fire at their factory in China, Samsung's store in Singapore has suffered the same fate.

Samsung has confirmed that their store caught fire in the early morning hours and fortunately no one was injured during the incident.

Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android, has teased a photo of a smartphone on which he is working at his new company Essential Products.

Rubin worked at Google until 2013, and he was in charge of the OS. His latest business adventure is the recently founded company which should unveil their first smartphone somewhere around the middle of the year.

The photo which Rubin posted to Twitter reveals that the smartphone rocks an almost bezel-less design, something similar to the Xiaomi Mi MIX. Rubin wrote that he is eager to see the smartphone in more people's hands.

A couple of days after Samsung announced that they will issue a new update to end the charging of all the Note7s still in operation around the world, the company has announced more information about the future of the faulty devices.

It was previously rumored that the Korean giant might return the refurbished Galaxy Note7 devices to the market, and now the company has issued a statement that clarifies that the Galaxy Note7 isn't quite dead yet.

The company noted that the Galaxy Note7 "devices shall be considered to be used as refurbished phones or rental phones where applicable." This means that the company plans the fix the devices, clearly by putting new batteries, and offering them in selected markets as refurbished devices.

IHS Markit has announced the list of best-selling smartphones for 2016 and Apple is the clear winner.

According to the report, the iPhone 6s is the best-selling smartphone last year with around 60 million units sold. Apple dominated the top of this list and the second place belongs to iPhone 7, followed by iPhone 7 Plus. Fourth place on the best-selling smartphone list belongs to yet another iPhone - 6S Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and S7 ranked fifth and ninth. Sales of these two devices have outperformed their immediate predecessors, S6 and S6 Edge: the combined shipments of S7 and S7 Edge in 2016 were 10 million higher than S6 and S6 Edge over the same period.

As of October last year, the Galaxy Note7 is officially dead. Due to faulty batteries, Samsung stopped the sale of this smartphone and welcomed all of their users to return the devices.

However, just recently I saw a user bragging on Twitter that his Note7 is still alive and running. Samsung said that around 97% of the devices had been returned, meaning that there are still 3% of the Note7 units running in the wild.

The Korean company limited the charging on some Galaxy Note7 devices to 60%, but now they have decided to put an end to all the remaining Note7 units around the world. Samsung will issue a new update to end the charging of all the Note7s around the world, making them useless.

Xiaomi Mi 6 has been rumored for a while now, and it seems that the company will unveil the device in the second week of April.

Of course, before the official launch come the leaks. We already know that the company should unveil two devices - the Mi 6 and a more powerful Mi 6 Plus.

The latest leaks reveal the variants and pricing of the phones. According to the report, both phones will have three versions, with a different combination of RAM and internal storage.

After numerous leaked photos of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have flooded the internet, the photos of the retail boxes for the devices have leaked.

The leaked photos show the Samsung Galaxy S8+ retail box, which isn't anything special, to be honest. However, the back of the box shows details of what the package contains.

With the phone, you will get a micro USB connector and a USB connector, which is likely the same pair of adapters that came with the Note7.

Apple recently launched a new color option for its iPhone 7 lineup - red, and the color has proven to be extremely popular in, where else other than China!

Over 350,000 people have registered their interest in them on Chinese retailer site. Have in mind, these are registrations, and people didn't have to leave any deposit for them, so the actual number might be different once the phones hit the market.

The phones will be available from March 24th, and every purchase will contribute to the Global Fund to support HIV/AIDS programs and help deliver an AIDS-free generation.

Tomislav Himbele, Head of Marketing for Eastern Europe at HMD Global, recently stated that the company aims to see Nokia in the top three in the next three years.

Read also: HMD Global wants Nokia in the top 3 phone manufacturers

To achieve that, or come anywhere near that result, the company will have to invest a lot of money, but also make their phones available globally.

Oppo has launched their new 'selfie expert' - the F3 Plus.

The F3 Plus has double front cameras for perfect selfies. The device has dual front cameras - one 16MP camera and one 8MP 120° wide-angle cameras. The rear camera has 16MP and Sony IMX398 sensor behind a bright f/1.7 aperture.

The 6-inch display phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 and comes with 4GB of RAM an 64GB of internal storage, expandable with a microSD card.

After seeing numerous photo leaks of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, a new day brings a new leak but this time in the form of a short unofficial video.

The video shows a working Galaxy S8, and it is clear that the device doesn't have a front button. The fingerprint reader is now relocated to the back of the phone, next to the camera.

Both devices will have curved edges, minimal bezels, and an additional button on the side for virtual assistant Bixby that the company officially announced and confirmed that it would be featured on the upcoming devices.

Less than four months after the launch of the Xiaomi's most ambitious phone so far, the Mi MIX, the company's CEO Lei Jun confirmed that they are working on its successor.

The company is reportedly aiming for 93 percent screen-to-body ratio this time, and it has been confirmed that Xiaomi is once again developing the phone with the help of French designer Philippe Starck, who worked on the design of the original Mi MIX.

A new leak on Chinese Weibo shows what is supposed to be the Mi MIX 2. Although it looks very similar to the original device, some differences are obvious.

Apple has introduced a new color option for its iPhone 7 lineup - red.

For the past ten years, Apple has offered a line of RED products, including red phone cases, whose sales have contributed to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.

From March 24th, both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in red color, and every purchase will contribute to the Global Fund to support HIV/AIDS programs and help deliver an AIDS-free generation.

First of all, I think we can all agree that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the most leaked phones in a while. Now that that's been said, a new day brings a new leak, this time in the form of promotional photos that Samsung will use to market their latest devices.

The images don't show anything we haven't seen before, just confirm previous rumors. Both devices will have curved edges, minimal bezels, and additional button on the side for virtual assistant Bixby that the company officially announced and confirmed that it would be featured on the upcoming devices.

Read also: Samsung officially unveils virtual assistant Bixby

As most of you probably know, the iconic Nokia 3310 is coming back. HMD Global decided to launch a modern version of the popular devices. It will still be a pretty basic phone, but re-designed.

Of course, to keep the integrity of the device, the Nokia 3310 will come with the Snake game.

The future of batteries could be similar to what scientists from IBM and ETH Zurich university are showing off, with the scientists building a new "flow" battery that both powers, and cools a processor.

The new "redox flow" batteries use "liquid electrolytes are normally used on a large scale to store energy", reports Engadget - with Harvard researchers recently creating one that can last over 10 years with little degradation, making it perfect for storing solar/wind energies. ETH Zurich and IBM found two liquids that work with both "flow-battery electrolytes and cooling agents that can dissipate heat from chips in the same circuit", Engadget continues.

Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby has been rumored for a while, and now the company has officially announced it.

In the official announcement, InJong Rhee, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D, Software and Services, explained that Samsung wants the machines to adapt to customers, instead of the other way around. He went on the elaborate that the interface of the smartphones has to be natural and intuitive, which will enable users easier usage of the phones. This is where Bixby jumps in.

Rhee explained that completeness means that Bixby will be able to complete a multitude of tasks, meaning that the virtual assistant will be able to do almost anything that the user can do via touch. Context awareness refers to Bixby being able to jump in to assist at any point. The virtual assistant will understand the current context and state of the application and will allow users to carry out the current work-in-progress continuously.

Less than ten days before Samsung will officially launch the Galaxy S8 and S8+, famous leaker Evan Blass has unveiled the European pricing and color options of the devices.

According to Blass, the devices will come in black, gray, and silver. Earlier rumors suggested that the phones would be available in gold and purple, but even if those colors aren't available at the launch, it is possible that Samsung could introduce them in the following months.

As for the pricing, Blass claims that the Galaxy S8 will start at 799 euros (around $860) while the Galaxy S8+ will be priced at 899 euros (around $966).

Last week, HTC teased an "unexpected" announcement. Many jumped to the conclusion thinking that we would see the new HTC 11, but as we reported, the chances of that were almost non-existent.

HTC has announced their surprise today, and it may leave some a bit...disappointed. The Taiwanese company has unveiled a limited edition of the U Ultra with a sapphire glass screen, something that they had already mentioned in the past.

The limited edition also comes with 128GB of internal storage.

Qualcomm recently announced a major strategy shift with its Snapdragon branding, and we're seeing the first results of those big changes with the new Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform.

The new Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform is designed to deliver 4G connectivity and 4G services to entry-level feature phones, yeah - not smartphones, but the more basic handsets. The new Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform is powered by the Qualcomm 205 (which you'll now notice it's not Snapdragon, but Qualcomm 205) - featuring 4G baseband, RF front end, Wi-Fi, power management, audio codec, speaker amplifier, and software - all inside of the one chip.

Qualcomm's new processor will provide 4G and other advanced features to emerging markets like India and Southeast Asia - providing 4G technologies and more to small businesses, meaning they can offer tech-based financial transactions in-store. It's something we take for granted, but in emerging markets, Qualcomm can rapidly change the everyday things in India and Asia - thanks to the new Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform and its entry-level feature phone market.