If you found Mozilla’s OS efforts curious, though not quite enough to buy a Firefox phone or try flashing a ROM on an old Android, here’s a painless way to try out the HTML5-based OS. It’s called b2gdroid, a reference to Boot2Gecko, the basis of Firefox OS.

It’s a 65MB APK that puts a sort-of working, mostly complete implementation of the Firefox OS experience. Read more »

Nokia’s post-Microsoft foray into Android apps began with the Z Launcher, a launcher that is built entirely around the less is more principle. The dev team took it slightly too far though and there was no support for Android widgets – until now that is and this was the most requested feature.

The team still stayed true to their mantra in how the widgets were integrated. Read more »

All Xperia Z devices are waterproof, but the new Sony Xperia Z3+ goes beyond surviving the elements, its touchscreen is happy to continue working even when wet. Capacitive touchscreens and water are like oil and, well, water – they don’t mix that well.

You’ve probably seen the UI start jerk around when even a single raindrop lands on the screen. Not going to happen with the Xperia Z3+ though, Sony made sure of it. Read more »

MediaTek took the lead in CPU core count with the Helio X20 chipset, which packs a whopping 10 cores. That’s good for computing power, but what does it do for power usage? The chipmaker promises lower power usage for various tasks.

MediaTek likens it to driving a car uphill – conventional big.LITTLE has two gears, while Helio X20′s tri-cluster design has three, so it can more closely match the demands of the software. Read more »

SanDisk is usually the one that sets microSD capacity records, but this time it got scooped. Microdia unveiled an unbelievable 512GB microSD card, wiping the floor with SanDisk’s current top offering of 200GB.

And no, the Microdia Xtra Elite will not be cheap. Read more »

It’s not iFixit, but it168 took apart the new Meizu m2 note and gives a guided tour of its internals. The phone seems easy enough to repair, most things coming apart easily with some encouragement from a screwdriver.

The m2 note is an low-cost, highly capable phablet. CNY 999 ($160) gets you a 5.5″ 1080p IGZO screen, octa-core processor (A53) running customized Android 5.0 Lollipop, global LTE and a 2160p-capable 13MP camera. Read more »

Huawei unveiled the second generation TalkBand. The TalkBand B2 now integrates with the Jawbone UP Smart Coach app and is smarter about tracking your exercise.

It will be available very soon in three styles – black and white sports versions, plus a classier gold-tone and leather model. Read more »

It has been over half a year since Amazon unveiled the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition and now you can almost buy one in Europe. US users have been able to grab one for months now, but now kids across the pond get to pre-order one of these as well.

The tablet is based on the Kindle Fire HD 6 (which is even cheaper), but the Kids Edition has been ruggedized to survive the hardships of being a child’s toy. Read more »

Samsung rounded up a selection of popular designers and luxury companies to create exclusive cases for its beloved Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge flagships. Swarovski, Montblanc, Romero Britto, Rebecca Minkoff and Burton were tapped to produce signature designs.

Fair warning – your sense of good taste might feel a little dizzy. Read more »

Best Buy in the USA is having a sale on the Galaxy Tab Pro tablets, each is $100 off. The most affordable model is the 8.4″ version, which currently goes for $200. That’s for the 16GB Wi-Fi version.

The same model goes for $255 on Amazon.com. Read more »

Sony just can’t shake the two flagships a year habit and now we have the Xperia Z3+. A bit thinner, no more annoying flap over the USB port and for better or for worse a Snapdragon 810 chipset.

But what about the true 2015 flagships, can a warmed over 2014 model compete? Read more »

Last week Oppo unveiled a couple of highly capable mid-rangers, with slender metal bodies, octa-core processors and advanced camera hardware and we asked you – hot or not?

While both fall under the R7 name, the Oppo R7 Plus got a much warmer reception. Read more »

The LG G4 has grown a bit compared to the G3, but kept the battery capacity at 3,000mAh. Actually, that number hasn’t changed since the LG G2, but the company is promising that display and chipset advancements help expend battery life.

Except the growing number of screen pixels and CPU cores make optimizing for power efficiency a tough proposition. Read more »

Nvidia finally launched the Shield console, you can snag one in the US or Canada. The elusive Shield Pro version with a 500GB drive is also available right out the gate.

The Android TV-based console can play games on its Tegra X1 chipset, currently there are 200 Android TV games. Read more »

Google Cardboard was introduced at last year’s I/O, this year it’s getting a refresh though not as big as you might have hoped. Still, the viewer was redesigned and it now supports devices with up to 6″ screens.

They are also easier to assemble, taking just three steps instead of twelve. Read more »