The most iconic cell phone from the distant past has returned with some upgrades. The 2019 Motorola RAZR ($1,500) shares a lot with its pre-smartphone ancestors, including a flip-open design, pronounced "chin", outward-facing screen, this time touch-enabled for quickly responding to messages and controlling music, and even the same radii on the curves. But instead of a keypad and tiny screen, it opens to reveal a 6.2-inch plastic OLED panel running Android 9 Pie. Its specs aren't overly impressive — it has a Snapdragon 710 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a single 16mp front-facing camera, and a fingerprint reader. The specs are nice but the world can't bring the joy of flipping the thing closed to end a call. For the truly nostalgic, it also has a "Retro RAZR" mode that apes the original's interior design, from the interface and boot sequence to the iTap text entry. It will be available exclusively on Verizon in the US and will start shipping in January 2020.
Long-rumored, Microsoft's first post-Windows Mobile phone isn't really a phone at all. Sure, it makes calls, but that's just one feature of the Surface Duo ($TBA). This book-like device has a pair of thin 5.6-inch screens that unfold to form an 8.3-inch computing surface. It can be used as a tablet, like a mini-laptop, or as something altogether different when the 360-degree hinge is bent so both screens face outwards. It runs Android, instead of Windows 10X like its big sibling the Surface Neo, and will available for the 2020 holiday season.
Who doesn't like to air drum? Now it is an air drummer's dream come true, Pocketdrum ($69+) lets you play a complete set of drums on the go with nothing but a pair of sticks and their phone. The force-sensitive sticks connect via Bluetooth and use haptics to recreate the feeling of real drums. They run for up to 10 hours per charge and work in three modes: tutorial, free mode, or game mode, with the former and latter designed to increase the user's skill. Not even the LED beam of the standard version there's also a Lite model. So get your air drumming on in style now!
Since it seems that companies are coming out with folded phones lets take a look at this one. The Huawei Mate X, which keeps its screens on the exterior of the phone. The result is a logical design that lets both 6.6-inch "sides" of the screen function when folded, yet serve as an 8-inch tablet when unfurled. It also promises high-speed 5G wireless connectivity, excellent image chops thanks to the Leica-engineered camera, and plenty of battery life thanks to a purpose-designed 4500 mAh cell. The cost, however, is up to $2,600 compared to the Samsung Fold which is $2,000.
It's a smartphone when folded, a tablet when unfolded, the Samsung Galaxy Fold aims to create a new product category. It has a 4.6-inch AMOLED front display for normal use and a hidden hinge that opens for access to the 7.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex display for when you want to watch a video, multitask (app continuity), or just view your content on a larger screen. Six cameras with three on the back, one on the front, and two on the inside — allows you to snap photos from any angle, and a 7nm Octa-Core processor, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, two batteries, and an available 5G modem ensure nothing slows you down. Coming April 26 with a whopping price tag of $1,980.
If this doesn't get your friends talking then well that can't be helped. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has no micro SD slot. No user-accessible battery. Guess they took that from Apple. It delivers a metal and glass phone that's made even more interesting by the signature dual-curve, 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display. Other specs include an octacore processor running Android 5.0, a 16 megapixel, f/1.9 rear camera with optical image stabilization, a 5 megapixel front-facing camera, 3GB of RAM, and support for both WPC and PMA wireless charging, meaning your wall charger is needed but can still be used.
So what do you think of this new Samsung phone? Check out the link for more info or check out the video below.
If anyone out there is like me, you're driving the chilluns around, heading to work, and focusing on the everyday life... Suddenly, "uh oh...what's that sound? Why's my car making that sound?" You try to block it out by turning up the radio, but it's too late... panic has taken hold. You feel every weird shimmy the car makes and deep down, you start to think about the very limited car knowledge that you possess trying to figure out what the friggin problem is with this stupid car, how much it's going to be, and when was the last time you had it serviced (you're pretty sure it wasn't THAT long ago). Every single detail of your mutual love/hate relationship with your car stands out in stark contrast from the amazing day you had planned.
Luckily, I have found a solution that will ease all of your slowly growing stress ulcers... meet Drivebot. Drivebot is a dongle that connects to your OBD-II (On Board Diagnostic port) that monitors your cars health and alerts you on your smartphone via Bluetooth when there's a problem. Upon detection, it provides simple instructions of possible quick fixes. Plus, it monitors your driving behavior and how to save gas with driving suggestions on how to save. Who doesn't like that idea?! Oh! And before I forget, for those of you who go on business trips and/or have to log your every move with your vehicle, Drivebot can export the data and email it to you as a report. Knowing what's wrong in advance can give you that much needed leg up when you bring your car to that scheister mechanic (who you totally know is trying to take you for a ride), and can help in avoiding the possible douchebag all together. Yay to that! With the proper mental preparation and new knowledge that you now possess, all your bad little thoughts and worries can ease away.
I can't tell you how many times I have gotten through half the day on the go, only to look down and and gawk at the dreaded "less than 10% battery" signal. NNNOOOOOO!! All I was doing was texting, streaming music, scrolling through my instagram feed... OK... maybe a little Facetiming... but come on! Only half the day!?! Aaaaand my charger is at home. Awesome.
Well, now I can sit back, breath and calm my mania because I have a saving grace sitting right on my wrist.
Having handy a cable that is portable, durable and comes in two pretty dern cute unisex designs, many colors, and is too convenient to pass up for both iPhone and Android. Peace of mind, thy name is "The Bracelet Charging Cable." Heck, you may even forget that it's a charger when wearing it. And yes, bracelets on guys can be sexy too (sometimes). So don't be shy... go ahead and check it out.
This product sounds like something Taco Bell would sell, however it's not even close. The Chargerito ($19 Pre-Order) claim's to be the world's smallest charger. This charger attaches to your key-ring, and provides everything you need to power up your devices. It has a fold-out prong and a flip up Apple or Andriod connector depending on which one you purchase. As a bonus, the designers also included a built-in dock and bottle opener. Can your charger do that? Check out the video below for more information.
Since May is "Bike Month" let me introduce the Skylock ($159), its a smart lock that has a theft alert system that sends a message to your phone when someone touches your lock for an extended period of time. Messages are sent via bluetooth or via Wi-Fi. "Using Bluetooth Low-Energy, Wi-Fi, and an accelerometer.
Skylock pairs itself with a smartphone to be contextually aware. Through this connectivity Skylock can keep cyclists safer by comparing accelerometer data from a smartphone to its own and determine when a rider has been in an accident. In the event of a severe impact Skylock will send a push notification to see if the rider is ok. If they fail to acknowledge the notification within a set number of seconds, Skylock will automatically determine that the rider is seriously hurt and alert emergency responders so they can come to the rider's aid as quickly as possible."
The Lunecase is a smart iPhone case that has the capacity to receive notifications from the iPhone and display an icon accordingly to the back to let you know when you've got a new message or incoming call. The geekest part is that it’s powered by electromagnetic energy, which is emitted and surrounds most devices, including your iPhone. In short, it doesn't need any batteries and it doesn't need to be charged to power up. The Lunecase Eclipse is currently up on Kickstarter, where a minimum pledge of $39 will get you one of these. Get more info from Kickstarter.
No more waiting to get a plug in the airport or the coffee shop. Why not use this GoPlug Bag? The GoPlug Charging Bags($130+) which are currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. The GoPlug is not just an ordinary set of bags that can be used to carry your travel essentials and gadgets, it also comes with a battery pack that has enough capacity to charge your phone up to six times and your tablet up to two times, and doubles the life on an average laptop on a single charge. Find out more information here.
How would you like to customize and build your own phone? Google recently announced the Project Ara MDK (Modular Developer Kit), which is expected to launch in January 2015. The device will be called the "Gray Phone". "It’s called the Gray Phone because it’s meant to be drab gray to get people to customize it," It's scheduled to go on sale in January 2015 for around $50.
Google is looking to shake up the smartphone industry with Project Ara, the idea behind the project is that you will not need to buy a new device when you want the latest hardware inside your smartphone.
Instead you swaps components on the modular device, and this allows people to get the latest components they want to suit their phone needs. Would you get one of these?
If the watches are not doing it for you in the mobile sector then how about a ring? The Smarty Ring ($275) free you from searching for you phone all the time, just to find no new notifications. The average person reaches for their phone 150 times a day. This decrease it by 60%. Its Bluetooth 4.0 technology lets you always control your phone remotely and get real time updates. It is compatible with iOS and Andriod and comes with it's own app to control your features. Check out the video below for more information.
- Real time updates from your phone -- not just phone calls, and texts, but all social media!
- Program which alerts you receive (Facebook, Twitter, Skype, etc).
- Control your phone without ever touching it (silence calls, play music, etc).
- Simple plug and play setup.
- Suitable for day & night use.
- Not only will it control your phone but it has a clock, countdown, alarms, and more!
- Waterproof.
- 24 hour run time.
- 3 year battery life.
- Unisex.
- Comes in multiple colors.
- And more!
We all love our fire alarms in our houses right? Well how about this alternative that brings out the tech side of a fire alarm. The Nest Protect($130) is a smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector that won't wreck your ear drums if you left the pizza rolls in the oven too long. It features a glowing status ring (green means everything is okay, yellow gives you a warning about a potential problem, and red means there's an emergency), real voice alerts, and with a simple wave of the hand the detector knows to not go into full red alert mode. It can also give you updates to your phone or tablet if the detector goes off or needs its batteries changed. Would you replace your outdated alarm with one of these? Find out more info from the video below.
We have all been in a situation it seems where we have no outlet but we need to charge our smartphone, tablet, or camera. Well Dark Energy Reservoir ($129) makes this a thing of the past. This slim, portable charger holds enough power to charge the average smartphone for an entire week, and it does it as fast as a wall outlet. With the ability to charge two devices at once, and compatibility with any USB charging device, you'll never have to worry about charging again.
Looking for the buttons on the side of the phone? Flip the phone over - the LG G2 Smartphone ($TBA) changes things up a bit by moving them to the back of the device, making the phone more ergonomic so you're less likely to drop it. They've also upped the ante with a 5.2-inch full-HD display (the largest of any smartphone in its class), a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. It sports some exciting user experience features like a pared-down guest mode, a programmable remote that can operate devices in your home, and a phone that answers automatically when you raise it to your ear. It also uses Graphic RAM (GRAM) technology. GRAM reduces the display’s energy use by up to 26 percent on a still frame and increases overall usage time on the device by approximately 10 percent. And with a generous 3,000mAh battery that is thoughtfully designed to take maximum advantage of the interior space, the LG G2 is more than ready for a full day’s work or play.
Key Specifications:
- Processor: 2.26GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 featuring quad Krait CPU
- Display: 5.2-inch Full HD IPS (1080 x 1920 pixels / 423 ppi)
- Memory: 32GB / 16GB
- RAM: 2GB LPDDR3 800MHz
- Camera: Rear 13.0MP with OIS / Front 2.1MP
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
- Size: 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9mm
- Colors: Black / White
Pocket Tripod is a Kickstarter project that has some actual use in which it fits in your wallet and can transform into a 360 degree iPhone stand. The portable credit card iPhone stand is so convenient that you can always have it with you in your wallet. Check out the video below and if you want more information check out there Kickstarter page.
HTC unveiled their new flagship Android smartphone, the HTC One. With a sleek aluminum body, the phone features a 4.7 inch full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 468ppi, a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with a clock speed of 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM and a choice of either 32GB or 64GB of built in storage. And it also included HTC’s new Ultrapixel camera with a dedicated HTC Image Chip2, dual front-facing speakers, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and 4G LTE. The HTC One measures 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm/4mm (max/min) and weighs in at 143 grams. HTC One will be available March 15th of 2013 and its pricing shouldn't go over $600. You planning on getting one?
Let's continue are gaming experiences with a little bit of high tech added in. In the world of evolving games for your smart phones, gaming console's and PC's let me introduce the Drone Controller ($65 and up) by Evolution Controllers. This sleek, open-source controller will link up with your iOS, Android, or PC device via Bluetooth, and will offer dual analog joysticks, a digital G-Pad, six face buttons, two shoulder buttons, a rechargeable battery, and an open source SDK for developers to take advantage of this advance controller. Happy game play my friends.
