There’s more to the “best smartphone camera” than you think | Pocketnow Weekly 167

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Only in the midst of iPhone-and-Nexus season could a week with three reviews, a new smartwatch, and looming launches from huge OEMs be called a “lull.” But we’ll take the breathers where we can get ’em. On the heels of our Huawei Watch review, a new Pebble joins the fray; on the eve of our OnePlus 2 review, LG teases a weird phone with a weirder video; and as Android Pay finally starts rolling out to US smartphones, Samsung’s competitor isn’t far behind.We’ll talk about all that, plus get a lesson in smartphone optics and tackle your listener ...

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Pick me up a six-pack of tablets, willya? | Pocketnow Weekly 166

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Update: Now with more silicon than ever.Hey, do me a favor? Next time you go on down to the Piggly Wiggly, see if they’ve got them there tablet six packs? I won’t have ’em all, I promise; I just want a couple for the road.Yep, things got a little craaaaaazy in mobile technology this week. In the midst of our comprehensive Moto X Pure Edition review and a boatload of hands-ons from CTIA in Las Vegas, we’ve seen Nextbit announce a cloud-based smartphone, Apple allow an ad blocker into the App Store, and Amazon release, yes, tablet six-packs. And on top of all ...

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Hey Siri: let’s talk Moto X! | Pocketnow Weekly 165

Posted on by Michael Fisher

The muddy morass of tech news is seldom tranquil, even in the wake of a trade show as big as IFA 2015. No sooner had our moon boots touched down on US soil than Apple held a two-hour marathon event to unveil its new iPhones and a giant iPad … and our keyboards barely had a chance to cool down from that before a Moto X Pure Edition came a’knockin’ at our door, just begging to be unboxed.Toss in a hefty helping of backlogged review content (yes, we’re still working on that Axon and OnePlus 2 coverage) and we’ve barely got the bandwidth for our regular tech ...

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Careful where you stick that S Pen | Pocketnow Weekly 163

Posted on by Michael Fisher

One of the nice things about the current monoform world of slab smartphones is that there are very few moving parts to break. Until, that is, you decide to defy common sense and stick your brand new Galaxy Note 5’s S Pen into its silo backwards. That’s when life stops getting funny … and starts getting real. Join us for a debate on whether this is an example of terminal user stupidity or inexcusable design flaw, and then stick around for all the news of the week in mobile technology, from the new Nexus to the new Lumias to the old (and now dead) Fire Phone.All that ...

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Galaxy Note 5, S6e+, OnePlus 2: ask us anything! | Pocketnow Weekly 162

Posted on by Michael Fisher

“I am preparing to toast a marshmelon.”That’s a line from the greatest Star Trek movie of all time, and it’s also something we hope to avoid when the official review period for the latest version of Android kicks off. Until then, we’ll have to content ourselves with discussing Android Marshmallow’s funny new name, followed by all the other mobile tech-talk of the week. And if you watch the live edition of the show, you’ll be helping! (See below.)All that plus your listener ...

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The gift of the Nexii | Pocketnow Weekly 160

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Update (8 Aug, 2:00pm Eastern): “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.” – Charles DickensThe latter ain’t the case this week. Enjoy.Sometimes the news comes not in a solid column from a single direction, but as a scattershot shower-spray from every corner of the space. Today’s podcast reflects just such a week in mobile technology, with tech news as far-flung and varied as the menu items on an appetizer mixer from Applebee’s.All that (plus a larger-than-normal helping of your listener mail) is waiting for your ears on episode 160 of your ...

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Flagship-killing phablets and Windows to a new world | Pocketnow Weekly 159

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Update: The podcast has been updated with audio from our Motorola event editorial roundtable. Enjoy!The flagship killer might’ve just gotten killed by a killer flagship! A new phablet might make former phablets obsolete! Windows Update just updated its last Windows! And your gaming tablet’s so hot it’s about to catch fire?! You can’t get much … hotter than that. Amirite?The news of the week in mobile technology is up next, from OnePlus to Windows to Motorola and beyond –plus your listener mail– on episode 159 of the Pocketnow Weekly! So say your ...

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Gallant gadgeteers give great guidance | Pocketnow Weekly 158

Posted on by Michael Fisher

True story: as a high schooler spending the night in a new house, I awoke one morning to find my kitchen flooded with water due to a plumbing problem. My parents were out of town and the family friends who were house-sitting were frantically trying to find the shutoff valve … but due to my terrible academic tardiness record I couldn’t stay to help them find it. To ensure I wasn’t required to repeat my senior year, I had to leave my family friends struggling to save my house from flooding while I sped off to school. I felt terrible. But, they stopped the water. And I ...

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Smartphones just got cool again | Pocketnow Weekly 157

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Yo dudes. This week was gnar, dudes.First we get word from Commodore that they’re (sorta) back and they’ve got a fleshtone phone to prove it. Then we hear that some kind of modern-day Iron Man is building a phone out of a material called “liquidmorphium.” Then we go hands-on with an all-metal, super-stylized ZTE phone, before hearing that Samsung’s new smartwatch is gonna have a digital crown and a rotating bezel control. And that’s not even half of the geekgasm that was this week in mobile tech.All that plus your listener mail ahead on episode ...

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Smartphones just got cool again | Pocketnow Weekly 157

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Update: Warning – peaking audio levels at the beginning and end of this podcast. Enjoy!Yo dudes. This week was gnar, dudes.First we get word from Commodore that they’re (sorta) back and they’ve got a fleshtone phone to prove it. Then we hear that some kind of modern-day Iron Man is building a phone out of a material called “liquidmorphium.” Then we go hands-on with an all-metal, super-stylized ZTE phone, before hearing that Samsung’s new smartwatch is gonna have a digital crown and a rotating bezel control. And that’s not even half of ...

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The 10,000 mAh smartphone | Pocketnow Weekly 155

Posted on by Michael Fisher

There’s an Apple patent that might have us all sharing files with handshakes in the not-too-distant future. Sprint’s new CEO is finally fed up with John Legere and recently said so on Twitter. Android is running on BlackBerry. And there’s a 10000 mAh smartphone out there that, judging from the photos, is not the size of a household refrigerator. All this news demands more than a quick blurb on the front page; it should be immortalized in the halls of podcast history, and that’s what we’re gonna (try to) do today.All of the above, plus a look at the newest ...

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iPad Pro, Pebble Time and a 3D Nexus | Pocketnow Weekly 153

Posted on by Michael Fisher

What does a smartwatch need to succeed in 2015? Is it a color screen? A digital crown? An intuitive UI? Or is it just the right brand name? We’re weighing those factors and more today as we take a look at the latest smartwatch from the people who effectively invented the category. Join us as we talk Pebble Time on the Pocketnow Weekly!The news doesn’t stop at watches, of course, so we’re also covering all the haps from the week in mobile technology. From the iPad Pro to the 3D Nexus to a Samsung BlackBerry, we’re hitting all the rumors as we seek to suss out fact ...

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Galaxy S6 Plus, Moto X 2015, and choosing your next phone | Pocketnow Weekly 151

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Update: Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Actually, more of these two-person convos would work out well for editing! See you next week!Barring any surprises, the next big smartphone launch of the year will come from Motorola – and right on time, we’ve got some potential Moto X 2015 leaks to share. Alongside that sits the Galaxy S6 Plus, a (possible) monster of a Samsung handset recently leaked by none other than MKBHD himself. And alongside all this newness we’re taking a moment to pour a little out for the oldness, with the sixth anniversary of Palm’s landmark launch date, ...

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iPhone wins big while Windows Phone runs on empty | Pocketnow Weekly 133 (Podcast)

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Updated with links to download and stream the HQ audio version of the podcast. We hope you enjoyed this Weekly. And we’ll see you right back here next week!It’s a mighty fine month to be an iPhone, a pretty terrible one to be a Windows Phone, and an interesting one (as always) if you’re an Android. The first month of the new year brought equal parts delight and dismay for mobile users everywhere, and we’ll be talking about both ends of the spectrum –and covering the rest of the mobile tech news space– on today’s podcast.We’re also putting in our ...

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Windows Holographic, BlackBerry’s app entitlement, hackers hacking your calls | Pocketnow Weekly 132

Posted on by Michael Fisher

Windows 10, Windows Holographic, and an 84-inch Microsoft Surface – say whaaaaat? A Galaxy S6 Edge with dual curves and an HTC M9 with a square camera? Get outta town! Hackers hacking the very fabric of the cellular network to listen in on your calls to grandma? Shut the front door.And hold on to your hats, because that’s not all. BlackBerry’s CEO seems to think net neutrality entitles his smartphones to more third-party apps, Google might be dipping its toes in MVNO waters once more, and Sharp –bless it– refuses to let flip-phones die!The techno-world is going plum ...

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