Gadgets

By Matt Burns Waterproof phones have been around for ages. But to be waterproof, there are little flappy covers on the ports. Like the MicroUSB card port. And these covers always break off. Always. But now there’s the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua, an Android smartphone that’s waterproof without those annoying caps. The microUSB port is…

By Matt Hanson This is a flash hands on review to give you the chance to see what the phone is all about as soon as possible. Stay tuned as we’ll be expanding and upgrading this review very shortly with more info. Microsoft used its presentation at MWC 2015 to announce the launch of the…

By Natasha Lomas Sony isn’t done with mobile hardware yet, despite its recent talk of an exit strategy from smartphones. Here at the Mobile World Congress tradeshow in Barcelona it’s showing off a new 10.1 inch Android tablet, the Xperia Z4, coming this June, and a new mid-tier 4G/LTE smartphone, the Xperia M4 Aqua —…

By James Peckham This is a flash hands on review to give you the chance to see what the phone is all about as soon as possible. Stay tuned as we’ll be expanding and upgrading this review very shortly with more info. Microsoft took to MWC 2015 to announce its next addition to the mid-range…

By Jay Donovan We first reported on Metaio’s Thermal Touch concept for Augmented Reality (AR) interface control last spring. Still in its infancy, the concept relies on thermal imaging cameras to track residual heat your body leaves on surfaces that it touches and uses those heat signatures to control AR interfaces. The next concept version…

By Natasha Lomas A sequel to last year’s pro-privacy Android smartphone Blackphone has just been announced, here at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, along with a tablet device, called Blackphone+. Read More …read more Source: TechCrunch Gadgets

By Gareth Beavis The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is another midrange from the Japanese brand, which, on paper, might not seem that exciting. However, it’s in the design that the interest lives, offering a premium disguise for a phone with middling specs. Sony’s decisions with phone creation are interesting, mimicking Microsoft’s Lumia range in a…

By Jon Russell Xiaomi is back with another reminder that it doesn’t just make phones. (Despite dethroning Samsung as China’s top smartphone company in 2014.) Xiaomi’s latest device is a GoPro-like camera which, as we’ve come to expect, is selling for a fraction of its U.S. rival’s price. Read More …read more Source: TechCrunch Gadgets

By Anthony Ha Livestream is planning to make it even easier and more affordable to (you guessed it) livestream video with the launch of a new product called the Broadcaster Mini. The Mini is part of a two-pronged refresh of the Broadcaster, which launched about three years ago and allows customers to livestream from any…

By Matthew Panzarino Apple has never led market share in worldwide phone sales. Ever. And yet, the iPhone has held the (according to Flickr) title of world’s most popular camera for years. Today, Apple is capitalizing on that by launching a new ad campaign dedicated to images shot by iPhone users. Apple’s driving point is…

By Darrell Etherington And for those who wondered what a Samsung smartphone using premium materials might feel like, the Galaxy S6 edge in particular is a very promising result. But how did Samsung, of all companies, ever launch a device where design was the primary tentpole feature? Zero To get to the Galaxy S6 and…

By Darrell Etherington Samsung continues investing in the future of mobile virtual reality, with a brand new version of Gear VR designed specifically to work with the new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones. The Gear VR still carries the ‘Innovator Edition’ tag that means it’s aimed primarily at bleeding edge tech enthusiasts and developers…

By Darrell Etherington Samsung has a new mobile payment solution it announced today, though it will require a few more months before it arrives on the new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones this summer. It’s called Samsung Pay, and it uses the magnetic secure transmission (MST) tech that Samsung acquired via its purchase of…

By Darrell Etherington The resulting experience was impressive in both cases, and while the biggest changes were on the design front, Samsung’s software shifts also came out as very promising overall. Hands On Video Design Galaxy S6 The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge both eschew the usual plastic Samsung has favored for flagships in the…

By Gareth Beavis Introduction and design I’ve often wondered how a brand like Samsung could have messed up so badly in the smartphone space. When I saw the Galaxy S4, I sighed. When the Galaxy S5 rolled around, my shoulders sagged further. How could a brand with so many hyper-intelligent researchers and well-paid designers make…