Mid-Range and Water-Resistant Samsung Galaxy A Unveiled

Posted on by Brighthand Staff

Samsung Galaxy A smartphones

Samsung has announced its latest smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy A series. These are the first smartphones the company has introduced since the battery problems with the Note 7 in 2016.

The Galaxy A is a premium smartphone available in 4.7, 5.2, and 5.7 inch screen sizes. It also comes in four colors, including black, gold, blue, and peach. Design-wise, the outside of the phone has a metal frame with a “3D glass” backing.

A front- and rear-mounted camera is a major feature on these new smartphones. Both have autofocus capability, and are designed to work well in low-light conditions. For low-light selfies, the camera uses its screen to act as a flash. The camera even has a new “Food Mode”, to enhance the look of whatever you’re eating.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 in Peach Cloud

The Samsung Galaxy A carries an IP68 rating against water and dust resistance, matching the company’s flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone. This rating means the Galaxy A is fully resistant against dust, and can be submerged in water up to 1.5 meters deep.

The Galaxy A has a microSD card slot, with support for cards up to 256GB in size. The expandable storage is a notable advantage over the competing Apple iPhone 7, which offers internal storage only.

The Samsung Galaxy A uses the reversible USB Type-C port for charging. (Take a look at our features: USB Type-C: Do You Need It Now?). This is a feature we’d expect to see in a new smartphone. The Galaxy A also has an always-on display so you can see the time and calendar without waking the device. This should help preserve battery life. In the event you need to charge it, the Galaxy A supports Samsung’s Fast Charge, at least some models. Samsung didn’t specify how long it takes to charge the device.

Last on the Galaxy A’s major feature list is support for Samsung Pay, a Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology, a competing alternative to Apple Pay.

The Galaxy A will be available in three models, all of which will be powered by the Android 6.0.16 Marshmallow operating system. Other common features include 802.11ac and Bluetooth v4.2 wireless support, plus a fingerprint reader.

The smallest Galaxy A model is the A3, with a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED screen. It’s powered by a 1.6GHz Octa Core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of onboard storage. (As noted, all of the Galaxy A series smartphones have a microSD slot for cards up to 256GB, should you want to expand the storage.) The front-facing camera on the A3 is 8-megapixels, while the rear is 13-megapixels. A dual SIM card capability is also available on all models.

Besides a larger 5.2-inch display, stepping up to the A5 model nets you a faster 1.9GHz Octa Core processor, 3GB of RAM, and double the onboard storage to 32GB. The cameras are also higher-resolution than they are on the A3, with a 16-megalpixel rating for both the front and rear.

The flagship A7 model has a 5.7-inch display, and most of its other features and specs carried over from the A5. The A7 has a larger 3,600mAh battery, relative to the A5’s 3,000mAh.

Samsung Galaxy A Availability and Pricing

The Galaxy A will be available in Russia starting in early January, and become available in global markets after the fact, but Samsung didn’t say exactly when it would hit other shores. Pricing also hasn’t been disclosed.

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‘Hold your breath’ for water-resistant 2017 Samsung Galaxy A-series releases

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Instead of shortening the window between mid-range Galaxy A smartphone releases, as is often the case for high-end models, Samsung appears to once again be taking its time after waiting more than a year to refresh the original A3, A5 and A7.

The second-gen trio saw daylight in December 2015, but it seems 2017 editions of premium-looking, non-flagship Galaxy A3, A5 and A7 handhelds will be “delayed” until, well, 2017. The very early stages of next year, presumably, and we wouldn’t rule out formal announcements happening in a matter of days at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Bizarrely enough, only Samsung’s Malaysian branch is currently teasing a breathtaking new beginning, leaving out any timing or location clues. All we’re told is to “hold our breath”, as “something Awaits” us, and “it all begins with A.”

Subtlety is obviously not this company division’s strongest suit, and in case you won’t take a hint or two, here’s another: a #A2017liveunplanned hashtag. Also, a few drops of water splashed around. What does it all mean?

Even the world’s worst detective could probably deduce the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017), A5 (2017) and A7 (2017) are coming soon, with water-protected bodies across the board. Or maybe just one or two of those will withstand liquid interaction. Odds are we’ll find out as early as next week.

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It’s not very ‘smart’, but LG’s Levitating Portable Speaker hides some tricks up its sleeve

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Bluetooth speakers capable of floating in mid-air aren’t entirely new, and as cool as they look and (occasionally) sound, they’re far less exciting and trendy than so-called “smart” speakers like Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo or Tap families, or the recently debuted Google Home.

Some may even deem a quirky product such as LG’s aptly titled new Levitating Portable Speaker gimmicky, although the Korean company does vow to “deliver high-quality audio” in addition to “making a lasting impression” with an “eye-catching design.”

Hardly striking at a first glance, the minimalistic cord-free accessory for your smartphone, tablet, laptop or essentially anything Bluetooth-enabled leverages “powerful electromagnets housed within its Levitation Station” to, well, magically defy gravity.

The truly interesting thing about it however is probably that it automatically descends to its docking station when the 10-hour battery starts to dwindle, charging wirelessly without you needing to lift a finger or pause music playback.

Carrying model number PJ9, the surprisingly intelligent “dumb” speaker can also withstand “adverse weather conditions”, courtesy of IPX7 standard compliance, while Dual Passive Radiator technology reproduces “flush mid-range tones and crisp highs for enhanced sound quality.” Oh, and you can connect it to two devices simultaneously via Bluetooth.

LG will further detail the PJ9 Levitating Portable Speaker at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, filling out pricing and availability blanks when also properly unveiling updated K Series phones, as well as the Stylus 3.

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Verizon may get BlackBerry Mecury

Posted on by Jules Wang

BlackBerry may get network carriage for what’s expected to be its third DTEK-branded phone to be manufactured by TCL.

Leaks man Roland Quandt tweeted that the device, so far as we know it to be codenamed “Mercury,” is indeed headed to the United States in an unlocked GSM form as well as a variant for Verizon bands. He also says that the “BBB100” is designed by BlackBerry, which accounts for CEO John Chen’s desire to put out at least one more device with a physical keyboard on it.

The Priv was BlackBerry’s last phone made in-house and to have widely spread among carriers, especially in the US. The newer DTEK50 and DTEK60 phones were mostly dealt from BlackBerry and its partner retailers.

Benchmarks have shown and Quandt can confirm that the phone’s display does have a resolution of 1080 x 1620 or 2:3 in the phone’s vertical orientation. Renders and leaks have portrayed the phone to have an intractible keyboard, so it’s expected that for dimensional considerations, the screen has to shrink in real estate.

The Mercury is expected to arrive at market as the DTEK70 and will likely be revealed at CES 2017.

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TCL vows the BlackBerry ‘brand legacy will live on’, more details at CES 2017

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

After pretty much taking over the BlackBerry mobile hardware division just last week, China-based TCL concisely teased the looming CES 2017 announcement of #TheNewBlackBerry on its North American President and GM’s Twitter feed.

The manufacturer behind all those super-cheap Alcatel-branded handhelds of recent years, as well as the DTEK50 and 60, is still not ready to share many details on exactly what’s coming to Vegas early next month.

But we now know for certain the “BlackBerry brand legacy will live on in a new generation” of TCL-made smartphones. Yes, that’s smartphones (plural), and an entire new “generation”, although we’re merely promised a “first look” at the “evolutionary” addition of the new BlackBerry brand of smartphones to the company’s “current portfolio.”

If we were to venture a wild guess therefore, we’d expect the physical QWERTY keyboard-sporting DTEK70, aka Mercury, to get a full announcement between January 5 and 8, with general (and generic) plans of what comes next also likely to be further discussed.

TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited (TCT) aims to transition from the “number four handset manufacturer in North America to a tier one portfolio brand” with this “business update”, trusting BlackBerries to work as “building blocks of our new growth strategy.” And yes, “additional announcements” are on schedule for later in 2017, so we’re definitely looking at a partnership for the long haul.

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Google has two Android Wear 2.0 launch devices in the wings and a list of devices to update

Posted on by Jules Wang

How will Google steer itself in a post-Nexus era? Where it could call its phones its own (despite us knowing the original device manufacturer)?

Well, the answer is to make a couple of smartwatches and do business like it has done with the Nexus brand.

Product manager of Android Wear Jeff Chang spoke to The Verge about Google’s first two Android Wear flagship watches that will be made and solely branded by a manufacturing partner familiar to the platform — no “Google” or “Pixel” here.

In fact, he alluded to the Nexus smartphone program when talking about Google’s plot for smartwatches and argued against working with more partners for more wearables.

“We’ve enabled a lot of diversity with our hardware partners to target different types of consumers and preferences,” Chang said.

To that point, Google recently picked up staff from one of its newfound competitors, Cronologics.

That said, there’s definitely more to come from these partners in 2017. The “first-party” watches which will launch with an updated Android Wear operating system have a target launch time within the first quarter. Other OEMs will make announcements at CES in Las Vegas and at the jewelry-focused Baselworld in Switzerland late in March. We suspect that there will be a split between announcements from our “meat and potatoes” manufacturers and the more traditional and luxury watch brands. Google will back these releases as best it can.

For the rest of us waiting for Android Wear 2.0 on our current smartwatches, you can expect an update for the following products right after Google’s flagship announcement:

 

The update will also follow a fifth Developer Preview for the platform coming in January — a package that will feature Google Assistant and Android Pay on select NFC-enabled devices (take the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE). Android Wear 2.0 feature compatibility will be different between Android and iOS, but Android Pay will work universally.

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LG Stylus 3 and updated K series announced ahead of CES 2017

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

The 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is still a good couple of weeks away, but faced with increasingly heated mid-range smartphone segment competition, LG wastes no time making a number of recently rumored non-flagship models official.

The most interesting of the new budget-minded bunch is probably the LG Stylus 3, aka Stylo 3, what with its natural-feeling 1.8mm diameter fiber-tip stylus, improved writing experience, fingerprint scanner, and pre-loaded Android 7.0 Nougat.

The pen-wielding 5.7-inch phablet also packs a respectably large and removable 3,200mAh battery, 3GB RAM, and octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor. Its 13 and 8MP cameras aren’t half bad either, though we can’t help but disapprove the low-ppi HD screen.

Hopefully, it’s all for a noble cause, i.e. reasonable pricing, and the same goes for the many compromises of the updated LG K10, K8, K4 and K3. Generally very similar in terms of exterior design, these aim to borrow a few popular, “best-in-class technologies” from premium LG phones.

Indeed, the 5.3-inch K10 comes with a fingerprint reader in tow and 120-degree wide angle front camera, as well as Nougat software goodies, a metallic “U-frame”, and 2.5D Arc Glass construction.

The 5-inch LG K8 will also run Android 7.0 out the box, sport 13 and 5MP shooters, with 1.5GB RAM under the hood. Finally, the FWVGA 5 and 4.5-inch K4 and K3 are really nothing to write home about, Marshmallow, laggy quad-core SoCs, 1GB memory, 8GB storage, modest cameras and all. But let’s wait for availability announcements “in the weeks to come” before totally writing them off.

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Stop asking “what’s next” for T-Mobile, and just wait until January 5 at CES in Las Vegas

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Sad to hear Samsung will absolutely not unveil its “next big thing” sooner than usual, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas next month, likely skipping the late February/early March Mobile World Congress too in favor of a dedicated NYC Galaxy S8 announcement?

Well, we don’t expect many other exciting CES 2017 smartphone introductions either, but you can count on America’s top “Un-carrier” seizing the spotlight as far as mobile enthusiasts go, at least on Thursday, January 5.

“Sin City” is where T-Mo’s charismatic CEO John Legere presented back in 2014 the big Un-carrier 4.0 move, known as the “Get Out of Jail Free Card”, with Early Termination Fees paid off for AT&T, Verizon or Sprint switchers.

Magenta shook up the cellular industry several times since, reaching the 11.0 wave of promotional stunts this past summer, though there was oddly nothing to show off at CES 2015 or 2016. Ergo, you have to figure something truly game-changing is now “next” for T-Mobile.

No point harassing Legere about what’s coming however, in person, online, down at the barbershop, coffeehouse, dentist’s office, on billboards, banners or via skywriting. You’ll just have to wait a couple more weeks.

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HTC has “something big” up its sleeve “for U”, coming January 12

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Why are mobile tech companies so shy about unveiling exciting new products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas these days? We honestly can’t remember one decent gadget premiered last year to go on and rack up respectable sales numbers, and now once again the expo is shaping up rather uneventful as far as we’re concerned.

What’s odd is that HTC has just begun teasing “something big” coming mere days after CES 2017’s conclusion. Specifically, something “for U” to be announced Thursday, January 12. Unfortunately, that’s still not very specific, with venues, names and even product categories tough to crack based solely on HTC’s awfully cryptic image above.

Are we looking at a new smartphone here? Perhaps the “real and alive” Ocean with Sense Touch? A more conventional HTC 11 flagship model? How about the Taiwanese OEM’s fabled, oft-delayed first ever smartwatch? A revised Vive virtual reality headset?

It’s way too early to call it, especially lacking any shred of concrete evidence, but our money is on a slightly lower-profile UA HealthBox sequel. U may well stand for Under Armour, and the connected fitness system’s first edition did see daylight back in January 2016, ironically during the previous Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Other guesses?

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TCL is bringing “The New BlackBerry” at CES 2017

Posted on by Jules Wang

The age of licensed manufacturing has come back strong for 2017. Whereas it was HTC, ZTE and a ton of Chinese players putting out phones for other brand names in the past, this time around we have a Finnish startup led by old Nokia executives to build phones for today’s Nokia.

And then, there’s the case of TCL, known for its Alcatel brand of devices, and BlackBerry. The former has already delivered two phones for its client. Now, as the main contractor for the Canadian enterprise brand, we figure there’s a third on the way. But will CES 2017 reveal what that phone is?

President and General Manager of TCL North America Steve Cistulli is definitely piquing the intrigue. He’s teasing #TheNewBlackBerry to come out during the big trade event.

Cistulli makes mention of the Remington No. 2 typewriter from 1878, the refined sequel to the overly floral and semi-functional original version. It featured a shift button. In case you’re wondering, BlackBerry’s first Android phone, the Priv, had a retractable keyboard with a shift key on it.

We don’t know if what’s to come will be marked as the “DTEK70,” but we’ve also been calling a recently leaked device by its supposed codename, “Mercury.”

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LG Stylo 3 among several K-series and X-series devices rumored for early 2017

Posted on by Jules Wang

Evan Blass of VentureBeat has learned that LG has a slate of new devices to come in the CES and MWC trade events in 2017, just as the company introduced a whole bunch of them this year.

Marketing materials show that the mid-range LG K3 2017, the K4 2017, the K8 2017 and the K10 2017 will all appear at CES 2017. In the specialized mid-ranger category, LG X calibur will be there, too, and it will feature MIL-SPEC or similar durability, IP68 protection and a 4,100mAh battery.

Also ahead in early January is the LG Stylus 3 — the Note-like is told to have a 5.7-inch display, a fingerprint reader, rear volume and power buttons, front and rear photo flash units to complement their respective 5-megapixel and 13-megapixels and 32GB of storage. The device will be marketed in the US as the Stylo 3 plus.

The LG X power 2 will hit MWC in Barcelona with a 5.5-inch display, a 4,500mAh battery and a wide-angle selfie camera.

LG will pre-announce the devices starting next week. Here’s how shipments will break down:

  • K-series: mid-January
  • Stylus 3: mid-February
  • X calibur: mid-March
  • X power 2: late April

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Weekend fun: Readers, help us out here

Posted on by Adam Doud

Being a member of the media, inboxes start to get inundated around this time. There are a multitude of products being showcased at CES, and PR reps are hard at work fighting for your attention. In principle, I enjoy these pitches. There are some really neat products out there, and I love to hear about them. And every once in a while, a product really grabs you and captures your imagination. Sometimes it inspires a story or an editorial. Sometimes, it makes you want to go hands on. And then there are times that…well, let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

I recently received a pitch for a Bluetooth speaker. I’m not going to name names in this article, because I’m not here to embarrass anyone. But this speaker has a lot going for it. It’s rugged. Awesome. It’s waterproof – excellent. It’s solar powered. I’m sorry, say again? Yes, the speaker is solar powered. And if it stopped there, I might’ve just hit the reply button and called it a day, but then there was this picture:

surfin_safari_email

Lolwut?

Now, I don’t think I have to tell you, that this photo set off just a host of questions all spinning around in my brain. Here’s just a rough sample:

  • What phone is she using to play music from?
  • Where is she keeping it? This is a legitimate question – she’s in a bikini and I don’t see a fanny pack.
  • What do you suppose she is listening to? My money’s on “Surfing for Dummies” the audio book.
  • Does the speaker come with a suction cup or some other surf board attachment?
  • Does the speaker float?
  • Why is she surfing in such calm waters?
  • Will she be able to hear the music once the wave comes?

And this is just a small sample. To be perfectly honest, I have lost sleep contemplating this photo. And so, I ask you, the readers. What does this photo do for you? What questions does it evoke? Can you answer any of my questions? Please, dear reader, help me through this valley of levity and confusion. I can’t wait to read your comments. Cheers!

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Blass: Huawei Mate 9 sales in US to begin January 6

Posted on by Jules Wang

Shortly after the new year begins in the United States, expect a New Year’s Resolution from Chinese manufacturer Huawei, according to the guy behind the reliable @evleaks, Evan Blass.

The Huawei Mate 9 is said to debut on January 6. Blass complements his word with a render of the phone in its glory. The date and time along with the on-screen location mention of Las Vegas strongly suggest that the launch will center around its CES 2017 showcase.

If the claim backs up, the Mate 9 will be the first Huawei-branded flagship smartphone that the company will have put for sale in the US. Its sub-brand, Honor, launched its top-tier Honor 8 a few months ago. Huawei and Honor opened the year with mid-ranger releases while the former’s 2015 debut into America was characterized by the release of the P8 lite.

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Upcoming Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom revealed to feature dual rear cam, huge 5000mAh battery

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

While we certainly hoped we’d ultimately find out a bit more about the “Zennovation” star of next month’s CES 2017, China’s Tenaa and the Bluetooth Special Interest Group have just unveiled inside information on the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

Yes, even that product name is already confirmed as part of regulatory Bluetooth SIG documents published the other day. Plus, a Z01HDA model number, and alternative ZE553KL designation. That’s awfully close to ZenFone 3 Max’s ZC553KL denomination, and the two are actually quite similar as far as external designs go.

But somehow, the soon-to-be-released ZenFone 3 Zoom squeezes a gigantic battery with a capacity of around 5,000 mAh (“just” 4,850, according to the Chinese FCC equivalent) into a 170-gram, 8mm-slim metallic package.

That sounds like a breathtaking engineering feat (if it pans out), given the comparatively small 4,100 mAh cell under ZenFone 3 Max’s hood, and the super-chunky body of the original 5,000 mAh juicer-hauling Asus ZenFone Max.

But wait, there’s more. This “most creative” ever ZenFone will apparently have a dual rear-facing camera setup going for it too, as well as up to 4GB RAM, and sadly, a middling octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor replacing the ultra-high-end SD835 we know you were all so badly craving.

Back to the trendy dual main shooter expected to grace ZenFone 3 Zoom’s elegant behind, this may sport 12.2 and 13MP sensors, sitting flush with the rest of the chassis instead of forming an unpleasant bulge.

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Asus heads to CES 2017 for cryptic ‘Zennovation’ event possibly starring Snapdragon 835 phone

Posted on by Adrian Diaconescu

Let the CES 2017 teasing games begin. Xiaomi actually got the ball rolling by saying “hello Vegas” a couple of weeks back in anticipation of a mysterious “all-new” global product launch, and now Asus follows suit with a similarly cryptic “Zennovation” invite and countdown webpage.

We’re a little over 27 days away from a January 4 press event happening at the Caesars Palace in Vegas, where the media will “experience” the multitasking Taiwanese company’s “latest innovations that will expand your vision and stretch the imagination.”

In addition to the more than obvious Zen clue regarding the branding of these fast-approaching “innovative” new Asus devices, we’re also told to expect Qualcomm Snapdragon processing power inside.

It’s hard not to jump to conclusions and hope for the best, dreaming of an extremely early Snapdragon 835-packing ZenFone 4 announcement, but let’s keep in mind there are many other chips included in QCM’s industry-leading roster.

The ZenFone 3, as well as its numerous derivations, are also far too young to already prompt sequels, though the ZenFone Zoom isn’t. The photography-focused 5.5-incher was in fact unveiled at the previous Consumer Electronics Show before launching stateside at $400, and a follow-up effort should be right around the corner. With even greater optical zoom, presumably, and perhaps SD835 muscle after all.

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