- Tuesday, June 28, 2016
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As we mentioned the day of LG’s CES 2015 press event, we planned to take a day and let the hype calm down before going hands-on with the newly announced G Flex 2 to hopefully form a decent opinion on the curved beauty. Well, that day has come and we spent some time with it. In short, this phone is really cool.
As a recap, we are looking at a curved 5.5-inch FHD P-OLED display, Snapdragon 810 64-bit processor, 2GB or 3GB RAM (depending on the model), 13MP camera with OIS+ and Laser Auto Focus, a self-healing back, and Android 5.0.1.
In terms of in-hand feel, that curve is glorious. Even though the phone has a big 5.5-inch display, it certainly doesn’t feel big or out-of-reach, thanks to the curve. The back panel is a bit of a fingerprint, sticky mess, but it also has a really nice texture. It just feels very usable, which is saying something for a phone that – at least on paper – comes off as being large.
The software is a different animal. The units we used (all of them) were quite buggy. It was painfully obvious that LG hasn’t finished off their skin with Android 5.0.1, which is fine. The phone isn’t due out until some time later this quarter, so they have time to get the performance fine tuned and the bugs squashed.
The skin is still very LG-like, though. You do get Lollipop, but you definitely know that the G Flex 2 is made by LG. As rough as the software may be, this is Android, so you can customize most of it.
Overall, in the time we spent with the G Flex 2, I can tell you that both Tim and I are very impressed and can’t wait for final software to arrive with review units. This is currently the best new phone of 2015. Of course, it doesn’t have any competition yet, but even if it did, I think it would hold up nicely.
- Monday, January 12, 2015
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According to a report out of The New York Times, Google will soon push an update to Google Translate, a service which currently sees 500 million active users every month. In the update, which is expected soon, the Google Translate app will be able to listen to any supported spoken language, then automatically translate the language in real time to whichever language you desire. Again, that is if the language is supported.
Not only did NYT dive into Translate, but the report also states that Google will soon unveil a service which allows users to hold their phone up to a foreign street sign and have it translated for reading. There are already services such as this available, but most of them we would place in the unusable category due to poor implementation.
No exact date was given on when this update would be available, but with the information now available, we expect there won’t be too much more waiting.
Of course, when the update starts rolling out, you can expect us to let you know.
Via: The New York Times
- Monday, January 12, 2015
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This week, Google is making an updated MDK available for Project Ara, the modular phone platform, with a developers conference conveniently scheduled for January 14 in Mountain View. The new MDK brings hardware and software upgrades, but a few changes seem much more headline-worthy than others.
First, the Project Ara team has unveiled a new software protocol called Greybus, which handles the communications between the endoskeleton and the modules. Second, the team has developed a new contactless connection system between modules and the endoskeleton to save space and cost.
Lastly, this MDK includes an overview of a new “Ara Module Marketplace,” an e-commerce portal that enables users to purchase modules straight from the source. Google will handle all transactions, while also making sure modules are safe for consuming on the phones.
As stated, the second developers conference is set for January 14 in Mountain View. There will be a livestream, so count us in.
Via: Phonebloks
- Monday, January 12, 2015
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Falcon Pro 3, the much anticipated re-write of one of the most popular, well-put-together Twitter apps in Android history, has arrived. At this time, you have a UI that will look somewhat similar to users of the previous app, in terms of the color scheme. Outside of that, though, the column-based navigation is completely different this time around (think Tweetdeck), there are no settings to be tweaked (yet), DMs are completely missing, and overall, it seems pretty barebones at this time.
The developer of Falcon Pro, Joaquim Verges, promises that more features are coming, along with direct messages in future updates.
- Monday, January 12, 2015
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