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Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE battery life test

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We already reviewed the 5.7″ Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM and it turned out quite light on the battery and thus leading to an excellent endurance rating of 74 hours. That’s the reason we had high expectations for the smaller 5″ Lumia 640, which is based on the same Snapdragon 400 chipset.

The Lumia 640 LTE has a 5″ HD display, Snapdragon 400 SoC with 1GB of RAM, and is powered by a 2,500 mAh battery. It runs on the latest available Windows Phone 8.1 with Update 2 and Lumia Denim, just like the XL model. Read more »

Weekly poll: Oppo R7 and R7 Plus – hot or not

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This week saw the announcement of Oppo’s pair of upper-midrangers, the R7 and R7 Plus, and we had a brief hands-on time with the phones to gather some initial impressions.

We’re now offering you a chance to have your say on the phones’ appeal by asking the usual question “Hot or not?” Read more »

Oppo R7 performance benchmarks

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As you probably noticed we got the chance to spend to quality time with the newly announced Oppo R7. We already gave you live shots, camera samples and our first hand impressions of the company’s latest flagship.

Now we also have a few benchmark tests to try and see what kind of performance the Snapdragon 615 chipset delivers. This might be Qualcomm’s mid-range offering, but the R7 has some great aspirations so it’s important that the company got the most of it. The smartphone will launch on Android 4.4 KitKat, which is what also powers powers our test unit, so we do expect a small boost later down the road when the Lollipop update arrives. Read more »

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM battery life test

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Microsoft Lumia 640 XL turned out quite capable device even though it is running on the modest Snapdragon 400 chipset. The XL flavor packs a big 5.7″ IPS display with ClearBlack technology, there is a snappy 13MP ZEISS camera, plus a beefy 3,000 mAh battery. We had high expectations for the battery life and the Lumia 640 XL lived up to them.

We had the 3G dual SIM version of the Lumia 640 XL, which supports dual-standby where one of the SIMs is hooked on a 3G network, while the other works on GSM mode. There is a LTE-capable dual SIM version, as well as 3G and LTE single-SIM editions. Read more »

Weekly poll results: Metal all the way

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Last week, we asked you, what your material of choice is for a new flagship phone. We were quite interested to see what you, or loyal readers, regarded as most-premium and we definitely got a resounding answer – metal, metal, metal all the way!

It seems that when you talk of a shiny new device, most of you really picture a slick metal exterior and we definitely understand the allure. It was also quite interesting to read through the comments and see your thoughts on the matter. There were some really good points made. Read more »

Sony SBH70 water resistant stereo Bluetooth headset flash review

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The Sony SBH70 is an IP57-certified Bluetooth headset that uses a tried behind-the-neck form factor with in-ear headphones with vented acoustical design (think the Apple EarPods). It is super light (50g) and extremely flexible and overall, a joy to carry and use.

The headset is compatible with Android and iOS and I went through this review using it connected to an Apple iPhone 6. As far as I know there are no features exclusive to Sony smartphones to speak of.
That doesn’t mean to say the Sony SBH70 is lacking in features, just on the contrary. Join me as I explore it in detail. Read more »

‘Grim Fandango Remastered’ for iOS and Android game review

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Grim Fandango is an adventure game released first on PC back in 1998. The game was lauded for its characters, story, and amusing dialogue. With the remastered version, you are back in the shoes of Manny Calavera, a travel agent working in the Land of the Dead, whose job is to send recently departed souls to the Ninth Underworld.

The game is now available on iOS and Android and has been redone with enhanced graphics. Let’s take a look. Read more »

Weekly poll: What is your preferred material for a flagship

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Smartphones slowly became a key part of our everyday lives, but with all the technological advancements and the search for better and faster hardware we sometimes forget that out mobile phone is also a personal accessory, which makes styling and looks an integral part of the final product.

This was a lot more-apparent in the days of the simple mobile phones, when an appealing exterior had a much greater influence on buyers. But, even though we have mostly adopted and grown accustomed to the flat, slate look for our beloved devices, there is still a lot to be considered in terms of exterior. That is why, this week, we decided to ask you what material you deem most-suitable for a flagship device. Read more »

Weekly poll results: LG G4 gets the fan love

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LG G4, company’s latest flagship, went official last week with a 5.5″ Quad HD display, Snapdragon 808 chip with a six-core processor, and improved 16MP rear camera with OIS, F/1.8 and 4K video. This year LG focused on the design and user experience instead of packing just the latest tech available and you can tell it instantly when you see the LG G4.

While the LG G4 didn’t turn out the powerhouse some hoped for, it surely gathered lots of positive first impressions. Last week, in the aftermath of the G4 premiere, we put it against the Galaxy S6, One M9 and iPhone 6 Plus in our weekly poll. The poll is now over and the results are in. Read more »

Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) battery life test

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Motorola Moto E 2nd Gen sales recently kicked off and we were eager to get one and put it through its paces. Our in-depth review is already live and you can read all about the new budget smartphone there.

The new Moto E packs a slightly bigger 4.5″ qHD display and runs on the modest, but modern, Snapdragon 410 chipset with a quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A53 processor, Adreno 306 GPU and 1GB of RAM. It also has a 20% bigger battery capacity at 2,390 mAh and runs on a vanilla edition of Android Lollipop. Read more »

‘Broken Age’ Act 2 for iOS and Android game review

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We reviewed the first act of Broken Age back when it launched on iOS around this time last year. Initially a Kickstarter project by Tim Schafer, creator of Grim Fandango, the game received positive reception from critics and gamers for its first act.

The second act of the game has been in works for a while now and after a long wait it’s finally here. Unlike last time, the game is now also available on Android, and you can download both parts of the game together and those who bought the first part get the second one for free. With that out of the way, let’s get to the meat of the review. Read more »

Weekly poll: LG G4 vs the world

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The LG G4 is the new kid on the block and inevitably faces fierce competition. We invite you to share your thoughts on how LG’s latest and greatest compares to the current crop of premium offerings.

The G4 may be a little late to market, compared to the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9, but that should give it an advantage in technology, right? Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 Plus is in a whole different camp, but no premium smartphone shootout can be complete without Apple taking part. Read more »

Weekly poll results: Apple Watch takes a beating

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Last week, we asked you to tell us what you think about the Apple Watch and how you would size it up against an array of competitors. The results are now in and you definitely made it clear that Apple’s new smart wearable just isn’t your cup of tea.

The Apple Watch took a hell of a beating in our polls and some of your comments seem to show why. Most of you seem to agree that poor usability and high price are major drawbacks to picking up an Apple Watch. But is seems that there one even more-prevailing opinion across the board – that all wearable devices, despite functionality, price, platform or manufacturer come with little actual purpose at this point in time. Cluttering said devices with apps also doesn’t seem to be the answer, as most of you seem to be skeptical of Apple’s “more is better” strategy for the wearable as well. Read more »

Instead of an Apple Watch review

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Each ring of the doorbell sends our editorial staff running to the door with screams “The Apple Watch is here!” I don’t have the heart to tell them the shipping estimate is for mid-May even though we hit the buy button mere seconds after pre-order started.

While the two unladen swallows fly the Apple Watch to our office all the way from Cupertino, we got our resident Jony Ive impersonator to help us relive the thrill of the unveiling event. Read more »

LG AKA battery life test

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LG AKA is one very interesting smartphone not because its hardware, but its exterior. The AKA offers four different personalities, which define both the exterior and the notification eyes.

The AKA’s display is decent at 5″ and 720p resolution, but its Snapdragon 400 chip is rather dated. Still, the phone offers 1.5GB of RAM, which is more than most of the S400 devices, plus there is an 8MP very capable camera with laser autofocus. Finally, the battery for the Asian unit has 2,460 mAh capacity, while the European one comes with a beefier 2,610 mAh. Read more »