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Asus PadFone X unboxing and hands-on

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Announced during this year’s CES, the Asus PadFone X for AT&T finally got its pricing and launch date detailed. The high-end Android KitKat phone and its 9” docking station will be available to purchase tomorrow for $199.99 with a two-year contract, or $22.92 per month with AT&T Next 18 plan.

Earlier this week, the gadget got an international version as well – the Asus PadFone S. Just like it, the Asus PadFone X packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU. Read more »

Panasonic HC800 noise cancelling headphones review

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The Panasonic HC800 sits on top of the Japanese manufacturer’s range of headphones in the United States. At a quick glance, the over-ear, noise cancelling headset is designed primarily with iPhone and iPad-toting road warriors in mind.

In regards to headphones, Panasonic has established a reputation for offering high-quality, keenly-priced headsets. The HC800 appears to fit the same mold as its price tag undercuts some of the heavy hitters in the segment. Read more »

Best new features in iOS 8 that you should know about

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Yesterday, Apple took the wraps off iOS 8 at its WWDC keynote. Considering the paucity of leaks before the event, no one really had any high hopes from the update as far as new features were concerned, which is why everyone was pleasantly surprised when Apple started firing one great new feature after another during the event that would have made even users of other platforms sit up and take notice.

Today, we are compiling some of the truly great new features that Apple introduced with iOS 8. Note, when I say “new”, some of these may not be new in general but just new to iOS. Still, for current users of iOS, this is the kind of stuff that will keep them interested in the platform and for those on the fence or looking to switch over, these are the features that could serve as the final push. Read more »

Sony Xperia M2 battery life

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Our review of the Sony Xperia M2 is live at our homepage and it’s time we share the full battery breakdown with you. The Xperia M2 has a 4.8″ display that needs to be lit up, but it also comes with a energy-efficient Snapdragon 400 chipset and a big enough 2,300 mAh Li-Ion battery unit.

We’ve already seen the 6″ Xperia T2 Ultra, also powered by the Snapdragon 400 SoC, do great in our battery test, so we’ve expected decent results from the Xperia M2 too. Without further ado, here are our battery impressions. Read more »

Motorola Moto E hands-on

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Motorola Moto E has just arrived at our office bringing KitKat experience on the cheap. Google’s latest version of the OS lowered Android’s minimal system requirements thus retiring the good ol’ Gingerbread.

So, the Moto E is running on a low-end Snapdragon 200 chipset with a dual-core Cortex-A7 processor and 1GB of RAM. This should be more than enough to handle the Android 4.4 KitKat hassle-free on the 4.3″ qHD display. Read more »

Don’t miss these LG G3 camera samples

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We’re hard at work on our full review of the LG G3, but in the meantime we’ve taken the 13MP shooter out for a spin.

The LG G3 features a proprietary phase/detection laser autofocus sensor, image stabilization, and dual tone flash. But is it all its hyped up to be? Take a look and decide for yourself. Read more »

Check out these fresh LG G3 video samples

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LG touts the camera on its just-announced G3 flagship as its best yet, thanks to its optical image stabilization, 2160p video recording, and even slow motion video recording.

We’ve got our own samples taken with our in-house LG G3, so you can get a firsthand look at just how capable the camera is. Read more »

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra battery life

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Our in-depth review of the 6″ Sony Xperia T2 Ultra has been around for a while and it’s time we give you the full battery breakdown. The phablet packs a huge 3,000 mAh battery to power the massive 6″ IPS 720p display, plus it’s quad-core Cortex-A7 processor should be lightweight on the battery.

We were disappointed from the battery performance of the Sony’s previous phablet – the Xperia Z Ultra – so we didn’t expect miracles from the T2 Ultra either. We couldn’t have been so wrong. Read more »

Gionee Elife S5.5 hands-on

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We met the Gionee Elife S5.5 back at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and we were absolutely impressed by its build quality. While the brand may not be terribly familiar with most people out there, it’s going to quickly gather traction if it continues to make such extraordinary smartphones.

Why this fuss? For starters, the Elife S5.5, along with the Allview X2 Soul, is the slimmest smartphone in the world right now and measures just 5.55mm thick. It features a metal frame which gives it a premium feel, while the glass back panel improves the feel in the hand even more. Read more »

Nokia Lumia 630 battery life

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Nokia Lumia 630 is the first smartphone to run Windows Phone 8.1 out of the box. It is also the first WP handset ever to offer dual-SIM support, but we had the single-SIM version at our disposal.

We weren’t particularly optimistic about the phone’s 1,830 mAh battery, but the quad-core Cortex-A7 processor should be quite energy-efficient. Anyway, Nokia promises 600 hours of stand-by or half a day on 3G talks in one charge. Let’s check if we can squeeze the same from our Lumia 630. Read more »

HTC One (M8) Harman/Kardon edition mini review

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Announced late last month, the HTC One (M8) Harman/Kardon edition brings enhanced audio abilities to the Taiwanese company’s already excellent smartphone flagship. The latest addition to the M8 lineup is exclusively available for Sprint Wireless in the United States.

In addition to its solid audio credentials, the Harman/Kardon edition M8 also comes with a brand new, exclusive paint job. To top things off, the handset comes bundled with a high-end Harman/Kardon in-ear headset and six months of free Spotify Premium music streaming. Read more »

HTC Desire 816 battery test

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The HTC Desire 816 has one of the smaller batteries of all 5.5″ smartphones, 2,600mAh. There are a couple 2,500mAh but that’s hardly an excuse. Great battery life is one of the key selling points of phablets, second only to the large screen (actually those are the two selling points), so has this hurt HTC’s second phablet?

The answer is not so much, even without the use of HTC’s power saving modes. Read more »

Nokia Lumia 630 hands-on

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The first smartphone to run Windows Phone 8.1 out of the box – Nokia Lumia 630 – was released officially on May 14. Today we finally managed to grab a retail unit and we are ready to take it for a spin.

Nokia Lumia 630 is not only the first WP8.1 device, it is also the first ever released Windows Phone headset with dual-SIM support. The single-SIM Lumia 630 is super cheap at about €140, while its dual-SIM flavor goes for €20 more. Read more »

‘Thomas Was Alone’ for iPad game review

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Thomas Was Alone is a popular indie game title that was first released on Steam back in 2012. The game went on to win many awards, including the BAFTA Games Award, and was praised for its gameplay, narration and the superb soundtrack.

After being released on the PS3 and the PSVita last year, Thomas Was Alone was released on iPad this month. This is the first time the game is being released on a full touchscreen device and as such, features brand new controls for the new platform. We decided to take it for a spin and see how Thomas’ story plays out on the iPad. Read more »

HTC Desire 816 hands-on

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The HTC Desire 816 is the company’s second phablet after the HTC One Max from last year. Unlike that one, the Desire 816 is a mid-range device with specs similar to the new HTC One mini 2. Not an aluminum unibody though it does have front-facing stereo speakers and a 13MP camera.

So, why hasn’t HTC entered the phablet market the way Samsung, LG and Sony has, not to mention the countless smaller brands? Read more »