Samsung unveils new Series 9 ultrabook, Series 7 AiO

Samsung slipped in two new computers in 2014 even though New Year’s Eve is less than 48 hours away. One is an updated Series 9 ultrabook, the other a Series 7 all-in-one PC.

Interestingly, both lack the ATIV branding that Samsung used for its Windows/Windows Phone devices.

Samsung Series 9 2015 Edition

The Samsung Series 9 2015 Edition ultrabook measures just 11.8mm thick and tips the scales at 950g (a bit over 2 pounds). The screen is 12.2″ big with 2,560 x 1,600px resolution and Adaptive Display (a feature borrowed from Samsung’s Galaxy series and not the only one).

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime review: Core values

The Galaxy Core lineup represents Samsung's take on the essential smartphone. The Galaxy Core Prime updates the base formula in two areas - a slightly better camera and slightly better chipset - and it serves as a smaller alternative to Galaxy Grand Prime.

  
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime official photos

The Core Prime was announced mere months after Galaxy Core II (not to mention Core LTE, Core Lite LTE and several others), but brings definite improvements over all members of the family, even if most specs are shared among the Cores.

For one, the 64-bit capable Snapdragon 410 is definitely a first. The 5MP/720p camera has been done on other Cores, but it is still the best in the lineup. The front-facing camera is the best one yet - a 2MP/480p shooter - that goes over the low bar of having no selfie camera at all or a 1MP one. It defiantly lacks the ambition of the Galaxy Grand Prime's selfie camera but it's also not very ambition when it comes to pricing so it all sounds fair.

The Interview becomes Sony’s no. 1 online film of all time

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has revealed that its latest release The Interview has become the studio’s top grossing online film of all time. Made from a budget of $44 million, the movie managed to pulled in more than $15 million in online sales through the first four days of the holidays alone.

“Through Saturday, December 27, including all of its online distribution platforms, The Interview has been rented or purchased online more than 2 million times,” SPE said in a statement. This compares with the estimated $2.8 million the movie made over the same time period in theaters, although that was a limited release.

Minnesota ISP is now fastest in the world, offers speeds 10 times faster than Google Fiber

Some residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota will soon have access to superfast Internet, thanks to US Internet, which has recently announced that it will offer a mind-boggling 10Gbps broadband speed to both residential and small-business owners in the city. Just to give you an idea, this is 10 times the speed of Google Fiber, which is currently available in Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas.

“The launch of our 10 Gbps Internet service will make Minneapolis the first city in the world to receive access to the Internet at speeds never before experienced in our country, or any other country for that matter,” U.S. Internet CEO Joe Caldwell said in a statement. The service will be available for $400/month — there’s also a $99 installation fee.

The Minnetonka-based ISP, which has around 30,000 customers in southwest Minneapolis, already offers 1Gbps broadband service for $65 per month to those customers. Local residents can sign up for the new 10Gbps service here.

BlackBerry Classic hands-on: First look

BlackBerry Classic looks a lot like its Bold 9900 sibling, intentionally of course, as the company wants to keep it this time as close as its best-selling phones from the glorious past. The modern upgrades are easily noticeable as well - you get a high-res touchscreen, capable camera department and stylish exterior.

The BlackBerry Classic features a 3.5" 720p touchscreen with 294ppi density and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It runs on a dual-core 1.5GHz Krait processor with 2GB RAM, just like the popular BlackBerry Z10, and offers an 8MP rear cam with a LED flash.

   
BlackBerry Classic

The front look as a traditional BlackBerry - there is the beloved four-row QWERTY keyboard with ergonomically-shaped keys, a square display and the brought back to live helpful trackpad. The control deck is here to stay too - you get the familiar call buttons plus the menu and back keys.

The phone revolves around a silver metal frame, while the non-removable rear is made out of high-quality plastic with grippy dotted pattern for extra pleasurable handling. Indeed the BlackBerry Classic feels great in hand, as all its predecessor did, compact and comfortable to use for typing or browsing.

Oppo N3 review: Motor head

The formula for the smartphone to top all others is the industry's elusive philosopher stone. Being complete newbies, but keen as a bean, Oppo's take is perhaps the weirdest. Yet it seems to work.

The standard ingredients include the latest chipset, a robust screen, and a high-megapixel camera. But why not try something crazy like a rotating camera that can do the best selfies in the industry? That seemed to be last year's brief. This year the module is motorized and can rotate all by itself. The camera has also seen a substantial upgrade.

   
Oppo N3 official photos

Last year's Oppo N1 had a rotating 13MP camera, a 5.9" 1080p display and a CyanogenMod ROM, as an alternative to Oppo's very own Color OS. This year the camera is 16MP, the sensor and pixel size have gotten bigger but that's about it as far as bigger goes. The phone is tangibly more compact, which has a simple explanation: a slightly smaller 5.5" 1080p IPS display.

Oppo R5 review: One to remember

The world's thinnest smartphone record is as fragile as a piece of china. It was broken three times in the last couple of months alone. The Gionee Elife S5.1 was first with a ridiculously slim 5.1mm profile, but its moment of triumph was just that - a moment. The 4.85mm Oppo R5 snatched the prize right out of Gionee's hands but didn't hold on to it long enough either. Out of nowhere, the 4.75mm shadow of a Vivo X5 Max took it home. Though obviously, the record stayed in China the whole time.

Our luck isn't any better - we usually miss the record-holder by mere days. OK, the upside is we can concentrate on the important things. That said, the Oppo R5 may not be the thinnest anymore, but it's pure class - and mind you, it's the second time we meet it in person.

    
Oppo R5 official pictures

The Oppo R5 is made of hand-polished aluminum alloy with special liquid-metal phase-shifting cooling elements inside taking the heat off the processor cores. Speaking of, there's eight of them on the Snapdragon 615 chipset (four 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 cores and another four at 1GHz) with a new generation Adreno 405 graphics accelerator.

Lenovo Vibe X2 review: Rainbow of colors

The Motorola acquisition will put even more wind in the sail of outward bound Lenovo but blockbuster smartphones carrying their own brand are needed just as much, both at home in China and internationally. The QHD Vibe Z2 Pro is undoubtedly the top-of-the range offering, but what about the midrange? The Lenovo Vibe X2 reporting for duty.

The Vibe X2 looks stunning in its layered magnesium alloy body and that's exactly the impression Lenovo was after. It's hard to get noticed in this particular segment of the market, but the Vibe X2 has nothing to worry about. The layered design of the Vibe X2 is not unlike the Jolla phone, but there's an extra layer, for a total of three, whose different colors complement each other nicely.

   
Lenovo Vibe X2 official photos

Underneath the flashy outfit, the Vibe X2 offers equally impressive innards. We are talking one of MediaTek's latest True8core chipsets, where four of the CPU cores are 2GHZ Cortex-A17s. The Vibe X2 offers a solid 5" IPS display of 1080p resolution too. Complete with the 13MP camera at the back, the Vibe X2 is tiptoeing close to premium territory.

But Chinese phone makers are known for offering more than the usual for the price bracket. Let's see what the Vibe X2 has to say about it.

Moto 360 review: Eye catcher

Announced back in March, Motorola's Moto 360 is undoubtedly one of the hottest wearable devices of the year. The Android Wear flagship is the first device of its kind to effectively blur the lines between a smartwatch and a regular mechanical timepiece in terms of design.

We call the Moto 360 an Android Wear flagship for a good reason. The gadget is the first and will probably remain the only smartwatch developed with direct input from the search giant. Motorola only recently changed ownership from Google to Lenovo.

Moto 360 is unique not only because of its appearance, but internals too. Motorola's creation is the only Android Wear device to swap Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 for a Texas Instruments chipset. Check out the device's key features below.

HTC Re camera review: Ready to roll

Reactions to the first news of HTC venturing into action cameras may have ranged from a few raised eyebrows to "GoPro or go home" chants but the Re camera isn't one to get easily upset. Cool-looking and friendly, the little gadget is the exact opposite of the tough, heavy-duty look of one of the potential main rivals.

It's a bold move anyway by a maker who isn't among the industry's standard-setters in terms of image quality. Worse yet, a company that has been struggling to cope with tough competition lately.

Then again, HTC insists on doing things their own way and haven't given up trying to innovate despite a few attempts that backfired. But while we're paid to be skeptical, we must admit there's something about the Re that makes us curious. Of course, there is the simple, friendly looks and the funny shape, bordering on stupid. But that's until you've held one and you have fired a few shots with it.

The peculiar curved tube ends on a f/2.8 aperture 146° wide-angle lens, with a Sony-made 16MP 1/2.3" CMOS sensor behind it. HTC has equipped the Re camera with a standard and wide angle option setting for images - both in the maximum 4:3 aspect ratio at 16MP.

The Re camera can capture FullHD videos at 30fps as well as 720p at the same framerate. It can also do slo-mo 720p at 120fps. Here go the highlights.

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime review: Mirror shot

The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime has an ambitious name, but behind it is an ordinary midrange phone. It puts functionality ahead of screen fidelity, throwing all the pixels they could afford at the front facing camera instead. As with other Galaxy Grands, dual-SIM is an option, this one though is the first 64-bit phone in the line.

   
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime official images

The Galaxy Grand Prime is headed for developing markets where affordable phones with large screens with underwhelming pixel density are in high demand. In this case we're talking a 5" TFT of qHD resolution (540 x 960px) boiling down to 220ppi. 720p has become common in the midrange these days, but don't let tech geeks and sales people overstate how important it is - most laptops and desktop monitors have half that.

Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM review: A first of many

It's a Lumia like the rest of them. A new youth player promoted to the first team, which will have no trouble blending in. It's just a different name on the familiar kit. Microsoft is starting from the bottom up - an entry level handset, no redesign to speak of. Lights will soon be out on Nokia Devices but Redmond isn't in a hurry to challenge the Finnish-made flagships just yet.

Yes, the Lumia 535 is just like the rest of them. Sensible, reliable, affordable. The closest thing to a risk it's taking is screen size. Five inches of screen diagonal isn't unheard of at the low end but it's still a massive step up from the Lumia 520, which is the obvious predecessor.

The Microsoft Lumia 535 does well to up the resolution accordingly. qHD isn't ideal on a 5" screen but the pixel density is effectively matching that of a Lumia 520 - it's what matters after all from a user perspective.

   
Microsoft Lumia 535 official pictures

The Microsoft Lumia 535 probably uses the Nokia Lumia 520's camera and adds an LED flash to it. The predecessor had no front camera whatsoever and the Lumia 535 boasts a wide-angle, high-res selfie cam, as seen on the Nokia Lumia 735. The CPU has got an extra couple of cores - true, it's Qualcomm's cheapest but Windows Phone is known for running smooth on all sorts of hardware.

Here goes the Microsoft Lumia 535 complete package.

Gionee Elife S5.1 review: Johnny Slim

Last time we met, Gionee had quite a flagship to show off with the S5.5. Looking extra sharp and more than decently equipped, we deemed it capable of getting users interested well beyond the traditional Asian markets. Some months later, Gionee has toned some of the specs down but their next phone is looking even more impressive.

The Gionee Elife S5.1 may have lost some screen and camera resolution but it managed to shed some grams and millimeters off the waistline along the way too. It briefly held the world's slimmest smartphone title until Oppo slipped a note under the door, in the form of an R5.

But even without a world title on its resume, the Gionee Elife S5.1 makes a fantastic first impression. An AMOLED screen within an all-glass shell reinforced by a metal frame - a premium combo and a weight of the unbelievable sub-100g.

    
Gionee Elife S5.1 official pictures

On the inside, the Gionee Elife S5.1 is powered by the same Mediatek chipset as the Elife S5.5, with an octa-core processor and a quad-core graphics accelerator. The camera department is more than reasonable too - an 8MP rear and a 5MP selfie cam. Unlike its premium predecessor, the Elife S5.1 launches straight on Android KitKat, skinned with the Amigo launcher we've already seen.

Samsung Galaxy A3 preview: First look

Today, we get to enjoy the company of the most junior representative of the Samsung's metal-clad A team - the Samsung Galaxy A3. Just like the Alpha smartphone, the A3 offers an aluminum frame, which highlights a lightweight design, built around a Super AMOLED display. And let us tell you, this baby does look as nice as it sounds.

    
Samsung Galaxy A3 official pictures

Samsung has been known for churning all-plastic smartphones across its entire portoflio. Pressured to evolve its product design, the company came up with the Galaxy Alpha, a super slim smartphone with an angular metal frame. But Samsung surely likes to spread its design concepts across the entire portfolio and thus the Galaxy A3 and the Galaxy A5 were born.

LG G Watch R review: A full circle

Smartwatches have been around for a long time now, ever so reluctantly trying to infuse the tech spirit into one of the oldest accessories in the history of the world - the time piece. But a wrist watch is meant for more than telling the time - it's also a fashion statement. And as cool as the square smartwatches may be, they can only get you so far. With that in mind, Android Wear has inspired the introduction of the first wave of round smartwatches - the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R.

   
LG G Watch R official photos

Unlike Motorola, LG has managed to make the display on its round smartwatch perfectly round, without the "flat tire" visual effect.

And even though there is no mechanism inside, just like a classic watch, what's on the inside matters. The G Watch R makes use of an interesting combination of parts. If they sound familiar to you, that's no coincidence. Check out what we mean below.

HTC Desire Eye review: Undercover flagship

HTC Desire Eye is the most capable member of the company's mid-range family of smartphones to date. Announced in early October, the smartphone features a rather peculiar camera setup, which consists of a duo of 13MP sensors, each flanked by a two-tone LED flash.

  
HTC Desire Eye official photos

HTC Desire Eye surely looks like a member of the Taiwanese manufacturer's mid-range lineup, though its hardware specifications tell an entirely different story. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, 5.2" 1080p display, IPX7 certification, and BoomSound stereo speakers to go with the unique camera setup, the newcomer is as well-equipped as some of today's Android flagship devices.