Xiaomi unfortunately has yet to make its smartphones global, but the smartphone maker was at CES and we got to handle the MI-3.

It’s an Android-powered phone but Xiaomi uses a custom interface – MIUI v5 built on Android 4.2. It looks and feels quite different. Read more »

The Alcatel One Touch Hero is a 6″ phablet with a stylus to boot that aims to win the hearts of people who can’t afford the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. We were pleasantly surprised at how well put together the device is – solid build quality, small bezels and good materials bring the Hero well out of Alcatel’s usual entry-level range.

The phablet also has an intriguing accessory system that promises to be among its biggest assets. Read more »

Do you love your iPhone 5s or 5, but want it to be more like the Predator? Then FLIR has just the product for you.

The FLIR One is a case for the iPhone that comes with both thermal imaging and visible light cameras. The thermal imaging unit allows for some pretty cool night vision viewing and snapshot opportunities that are currently unavailable on smartphones. FLIR calls their thermal imaging camera technology Lepton. Read more »

A Bluetooth SIG listing that popped up today suggests that HP is planning on releasing its own phablet: the HP Slate 6 Voice Tab. Deemed a “voice tablet”, and with a screen measuring 6 inches, it’s safe to assume that HP is trying to get into the gigantic smartphone game.

The speculation becomes more interesting coupled with stories of HP purportedly working to distribute two tablets, 7 and 6 inches respectively, in developing markets for under $250 each. If HP does indeed sell a 6-inch Android phablet for under $250 SIM-free, it could certainly perk up some ears in the smartphone world. Read more »

Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel debuted the Edison, “a full Pentium-class PC” at CES and here’s the kicker: it’s the size of an SD card.

What’s even more impressive is the list of specs for the computer’s tiny size: it has a dual-core Quark SOC, Bluetooth, and WiFi all jammed into the tiny package. Read more »

Are you looking to have metrics for every aspect of your life? Measurement of the amount of time you spend sleeping, the amount of time you spend walking around, exercising, text messaging, browsing the web, or talking on the phone? Then you’ll be happy to know that Sony plans to make all of this data available to you via their new wearable: the Sony Core Smartband.

Named a “life-tracking” device, the Sony Core connects with your smartphone via bluetooth (no word yet on whether or not this will exclusively work with Sony devices) and tracks every aspect of your life: from workout routines to social interactions, the Core presents the data in a grid to show you how much time you spend on each activity you partake in. Read more »

If you find yourself constantly running out of space or juice on your iPhone 5 or 5S, Mophie’s Space Pack could be right down your alley.

The creators of the popular Juice Pack line of battery cases have released a new model for the latest Apple smartphones that helps boost battery life while also adding more storage space. Read more »

We all know that Apple’s App Store makes lots and lots of money, but every now and then it still manages to surprise us. The app repository has shattered previous records, generating the whopping $10 billion in earnings in 2013.

What’s so impressive about this number is that it pretty much doubled 2012′s revenue estimate of $5 billion. December 2013 proved to be the most lucrative for the App Store, with over 3 billion app downloads and $1 billion in sales. Read more »

Asus Zenfone 6 is the last and biggest of the newly announced Zenfones. It comes with a 6″ IPS 720p display and runs on the same Intel Atom Z2580 chipset as the Zenfone 5.

As we mentioned before, all Zenfones are dual-SIM devices, and the Zenfone 6 phablet makes no exception. The rest of the specs include a 13MP rear camera, 8 or 16GB expandable storage, and a massive 3,200 mAh battery. Read more »

As we were making our trip around the CES 2014 grounds we stopped at the Lenovo booth to check out the latest offerings by the Chinese company.

The Vibe Z was the real star there, featuring a robust 5.5-inch display and bringing Lenovo into the LTE phablet game. Powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset, the handset is a real powerhouse too. Also present were three new competitively priced midrangers, ranging from 4.7 to 6 inches. Read more »

Asus Zenfone 5 is the second smartphone from the company’s latest Zenfone trio. As the name suggests, the handset comes with a 5″ screen, which is a 720p unit of the IPS+ variety. The smartphone runs on the fastest available Intel chipset – the Atom Z2580, which gives you a dual-core 2.0GHz Atom processor with hyper-threading, PowerVR SGX 544MP2 graphics and 1GB of RAM.

Zenfone 5, just like the other two Zenfones, is a dual-SIM device. The rest of its specs highlights include 4, 8 or 16 GB expandable storage, 8MP Sony BSI rear camera and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with a KitKat update being in the works already. Read more »

Android in cars has suddenly become a hot topic with the foundation of the Open Automotive Alliance by Google, but who know how long it will be until the first Android-enabled car hits the showrooms. Sony has a simpler solution – a double-DIN smartphone dock.

If you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, double-DIN is basically the standard for car head units. Read more »

Alured by Google’s success with the Chromecast, Alcatel has decided to make its own plug-n-stream device for TV sets. It’s called the Alcatel Home V102, which isn’t really as snappy a name as the Chromecast.

Nevertheless, it can play 1080p videos at 30fps and supports 5.1 channel surround sound audio. Similarly to the Chromecast, the Home V102 connects to the TV via HDMI and gets its power from a power outlet. Read more »

Better late than never. That’s what T-Mobile and Sony must’ve thought when they decided to help the Sony Xperia Z1 swim across the ocean and hit the US carrier’s domain. Dubbed, the Sony Xperia Z1S, the phone isn’t too far off from its international brother and we’re here at the showroom floor at CES 2014 to tell you what has changed.

On the outside, Sony has kept the beautiful exterior of the Z1 and has made tiny alterations to the overall design. The Xperia Z1S is still built around the same 5″ full HD TFT LCD display and packs the gorgeous glass-body of its surrogate. The water- and scratch-resistant capabilities remain intact as well. Read more »

Alcatel has become known for its low- to mid-range Android phones lately, but with the One Touch Idol X+ the manufacturer attempted a higher-end product.

The Idol X+ was previously announced in China, but now Alcatel has brought it worldwide and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to take it for a quick spin. Read more »