Smartphones

The First Microsoft-Branded Lumia

  • PDF

Lumia 535Following the dropping of the Nokia name Microsoft reveals the first own-brand Lumia smartphone-- the Lumia 535, an entry-level device featuring a 5-inch display and a 5MP front-facing camera.

It carries a 960 x 540 resolution display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB storage (expandable via microSD slot) and 1GB RAM inside plastic casing complete with colourful removable back cover. The OS of choice is, obviously, Windows Phone 8.1, and Microsoft includes features such as the Action Center, Word Flow, Cortana, Skype and One Note.

Read more...

LG's Thinnest Smartphone Bezel yet

  • PDF

LG Display presents what it claims is a 5.3-inch 1920 x 1080 resolution smartphone LCD panel with the narrowest bezel in the world-- 0.7mm, narrower than the 0.8mm thickness of a credit card.

LG Narrow bexelIt features what the company calls "Neo Edge" technology, which uses an adhesive (instead of double-sided tape) to attach and seal the area and edges of the panel's circuit board and backlight unit. LG says this allows for a narrower bezel, blocks light leakage, water- and dust-proofs the display, prevents the corrosion sometimes caused by double-sided tape and even "dramatically" improves panel durability.

Another LG Display technology inside the panel is "Advanced In-Cell Touch (AIT), a means of embedding the touch panel inside the LCD module.

The good news for customers is the display is not simply an advanced company prototype-- mass-production is set to start from November 2014, probably (certainly) for use in the next LG flagship device.

Read more...

iPhone Sales Reach 10m Amidst Bendgate, iOS Woes

  • PDF

It should have been a perfect launch. With positive press and genuine customer excitement, it came to no surprise iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales reached a 10 million record just 3 days after the 19 September launch. However the mood surrounding the new iDevices soured, with news that the oversized iPhone 6 Plus suffers from easily bendable construction.

BendgateReports of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus getting bent started emerging just a few days after the launch. Dubbed "Bendgate" by social media and the press, the issue involves the larger-than-usual (for an iPhone) display, super-slim profile and aluminium construction. The combination might sound desirable, but also leads phones bending-- and staying bent-- when put through the rigours of staying in users' pockets.

A video by Unbox Therapy showing a reporter bending an iPhone 6 Plus with his  bare hands quickly became viral (views clock at over 45 million at time of writing), while similar complaints come from the likes of Wired, among others.

Read more...

LG Intros Wine Smart Flip Smartphone

  • PDF

LG goes retro with the Wine Smart, an entry-level Android smartphone inside flip phone stylings, a device designed for elderly or disabled customers perhaps unfamiliar with or unable to use touchscreens.

LG Smart WineIt carries a quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage, high-power 1W speaker, FM radio and a removable 1700mAh battery. The 320x480 display also handles touch, meaning users can use their fingers on either the screen or the physical buttons.

Being designed for the elderly the Smart Wine also features "safe keeper" functions to automatically make calls to family members or emergency services in case the user is injured or has not used the phone for a long while.

Read more...

iPhone Day: Apple reveals iPhone 6, 6 Plus, Apple Pay

  • PDF

Apple has what CEO Tim Cook describes as "a very key day" at the Flint Centre-- one where the company launches the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus together with Pay, the company's take on mobile payments.

iPhone 6As rumours suggested the iPhone 6 comes in two sizes, namely 4.7- and 5.5-inch. Both feature next-generation displays the company calls Retina Display HD, with the regular iPhone 6 display handles 1334x750 resolution and the 6 Plus featuring 1920x1080 resolution.

To take advantage of the larger display size the iPhone 6 Plus features a new landscape view, one providing extra functionality from a bigger keyboard. A desktop-class scaler allows apps to take advantage of the different sizes, while Apple's Phil Schiller promises legacy apps will "just work."

Read more...