smartphones

Bullitt Group has partnered with Cat in the UK to create the first Android smartphone with a built in thermal imaging camera. The embedded thermal camera from FLIR can detect heat and measure surface temperatures from distances of up to 100 feet. In the press release published today, the company also claims it’s the ‘world’s most waterproof smartphone’.

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A smartphone has been announced in India which, unbelievably, costs the equivalent of just $3.66 USD. The Freedom 251 by Ringing Bell is an Android 5.1-powered smartphone with a 4-inch screen, and it’ll be available to order from tomorrow, Feb. 18. At this price, we’re pretty certain this is the cheapest smartphone available anywhere in the world.

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Sony has unveiled a new mobile camera sensor which could ensure the smartphones of the near future pack way more punch. If Sony’s claims are true, they’ll produce better images with less motion blur, and way faster and accurate autofocusing. All of this in a ‘stacked’ sensor which is smaller than its current version.

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As the Galaxy S7 launch closes in on us, leaks are on the increase. The latest — just like the real-life photos of the LG G5 — comes from Dubai selling-site, Dubizzle. In a listing which claims to be selling imported US models of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, the phone is shown off again.

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With all the hype and abundance of leaks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S7, it’s easy to forget that the other big Korean tech company is due to launch a brand new flagship smartphone soon. LG will unveil the G5 at an event in Barcelona on Sunday, Feb. 21 and is expected to depart from its usual plastic-bodied device in favor of an all-metal flagship.

Just a few days ahead of its launch, a unit has been spotted for sale on Dubai’s Dubizzle website, and seems to show the unit in the flesh for the first time.

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Honor has announced through its official Twitter channel that customers with the Honor 7 should start to see Android Marshmallow land on their devices within the next couple of weeks. Currently, the Huawei brand is rolling out the update to beta testers, and will push the software to all other users once that staged roll-out is over.

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Samsung has announced officially — at long last — that its Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge is rolling out from today. This news follows weeks after the company made it available for some Galaxy Note 5 beta testers on AT&T and some UK beta testers with the S6/S6 Edge.  The rollout will begin in Korea from today, with other markets and carrier-locked models to come in the near future. Samsung also notes that the software update for other Galaxy models is “soon to follow”…

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Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s global VP, hasn’t been shy about teasing features for the upcoming Mi 5 smartphone. Xiaomi’s next flagship is being unveiled at an event in Barcelona, at MWC 2016. He’s already told us that the phone will come equipped with Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor, the Snapdragon 820.

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LlabTooFer, who’s slowly building himself something of a reputation for leaking reliable HTC-related information, is back with another nugget today. According to the leaker, the HTC ‘Perfume’ One M10 will feature a Sony IMX377 camera sensor on the back. This is the same 12MP 1.55um camera with laser autofocus and PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) found in the two new Nexus smartphones…

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While mobile photography keeps on improving thanks to the advancement of tiny camera sensors and image processors, it’s still nowhere near as fully-fledged as DSLR or Micro 4/3rd photography. You can’t swap out interchangeable lenses for different types of imagery, and have to rely on third party manufacturers producing clip-on accessories. That’s where the Aukey 18mm HD wide angle clip-on lens comes in.

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When the original iPhone was announced 9 years ago, the smartphone market landscape was very different. One of the pre-iPhone champions, of course, was BlackBerry. Its physical QWERTY-equipped devices were fast, efficient and productive. Next to the iPhone, they looked old within a few weeks of Apple’s first smartphone launch.

After that came Android, and with it, the slow-demise of the once-giants of the mobile world. The Canadian company had to try and reinvent itself after years of trying to bring its own platform back to life.

As iPhone went from strength to strength, BlackBerry has had to start again with its very first Android handset. But just how does the company’s first Google-powered phone compare with what many regard to be the best phablet around?

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A couple of fresh leaks this morning suggest the Samsung Galaxy S7 range will see a return to a more traditional color scheme. A press render from oft-reliable Evan Blass reveals a dark gray model, while a retail dummy phone unit leaked by Pisapapeles shows a gold version of the device.

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A couple of months back, it was rumored that Samsung was going to launch a number of new official first party cases for its upcoming flagship smartphones. That list of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge accessories included a keyboard cover and the usual S View cover, as well as a ‘Glitter’ cover and a ‘Clear’ cover. If a recent leaked list is anything to go by, however, there could be many more to add to that list…

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