Tag: Smartphones

The smartphone era hasn’t been kind to Microsoft. From their clunky early Pocket PC-based devices, to the stillborn Microsoft Kin, to their too-little-too-late Windows Phone tie-up with Nokia, the company has tried and failed many times to stake a claim in a world dominated by Android and iOS.

A couple of years ago we checked out the Popslate, an iPhone 5 case with an E-ink screen. Turns out it can only display images, which while still cool doesn’t make it that useful. The inkCase for the iPhone 6 on the other hand promises to display a variety of information on its E-ink screen.

Last year, Canonical unveiled its mobile operating system, which can launch the Ubuntu desktop OS when its mobile device is plugged into an HDMI display. An upcoming system called Andromium OS aims to give existing Android phones similar capabilities.

If you’re like me, you’re probably champing at the bit to get your hands on some sweet VR action. Smartphone-based VR is the quickest to the market, and the Carl Zeiss VR One has now launched with support for the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S5.

After months of speculation, and numerous leaks, Apple finally took wraps off the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. From the exterior, the most notable changes are the 4.7″ display on the iPhone 6, and the 5.5″ display on the iPhone 6 Plus.

Mobile phones went from big to small, then back to big again when smartphone-slash-tablet hybrids hit the market. People with small hands had a hard time using phablets with one hand because their thumbs couldn’t quite get to the other end of the screen.

It’s not a myth that everyone uses Google all of the time. If you’re constantly using Google, then you’ll like the fact that it might soon be possible to access the “OK, Google” voice assistant feature from anywhere on your Android phone.

Back in January, we heard about the mobile variant of the Ubuntu operating system and Canonical’s plan to launch phones that double as Ubuntu desktop PCs when docked. Now the company is launching the most ambitious crowdfunding campaign yet.

Smartphones are definitely smart and come with a lot of neat features, but sometimes I just wish it were smarter on the physical attachment category. Some apps are great to use when driving, cooking, or exercising, but there are few stands and clip-on accessories that’ll help you keep your phone in place.

Last year we heard about the YotaPhone, a smartphone that has two screens – the usual full color touchscreen and an E-ink screen. A small company has come up with a case for the iPhone 5 that gives Apple’s smartphone a similar set up to the YotaPhone.

Earlier this year, Canonical threw its hat into the mobile arena when it announced Ubuntu for Android, a variant of the open source operating system that can be installed on phones already running Android. But today the company unveiled Ubuntu for Phones.

We saw a couple of dual-screen smartphones from major electronics companies last year, but neither are as practical as the YotaPhone, a prototype smartphone from Russian company Yota Devices. Instead of having two colored touchscreens, the Android phone has an LCD touchscreen on front and an E-ink display at the back.

There are times when our mobile devices reduce our face-to-face interaction with people. A new mobile interface called ‘Pinch’ could change that. It lets multiple mobile devices link their screens together to form a larger display.

We’ve all seen keyboards made for tablets, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a display made for tablets. It’s called the Monitor2Go, a 15.6″ display with a built-in slot for the iPad 2 and the new iPad.

With all of the gadgets people are carrying around these days, it makes sense to keep some cables with you, just in case you need to connect some of them together. This new kit from Incase looks pretty sweet, and the fact that the cables come color-coded makes them even easier to find in the provided handy case.

We’ve seen a handful of gadgets that incorporate LCDs or touchscreens to keyboards to add functionality and eye candy, the most recent one being Razer’s madly overpriced Blade laptop. Now, a company called Roccat could make Razer and other gadget makers bang their heads on their wall for not thinking of this more elegant solution – an app that uses your smartphone as a secondary display and control panel.