Most unconventional Android devices of all time
Android fans are all about choice, so we like when manufacturers build unique, innovative products with a slightly crazy touch. Who doesn’t marvel over geeky technology?! Of course sometimes they think so outside of the box they get totally lost in some weird alternate reality.
We have seen plenty of crazy smartphones and tablets in the Android realm, but some of them are just so nuts we thought it would be good to create a list of smartphones we could marvel over. Now bear in mind, this list is far from complete. Additionally, some devices that were considered unusual at the time they were released have also become fairly commonplace today (such as the Note series). For this list, we are focusing on devices that are still considered at least somewhat unconventional. Some of these are amazing. Others are funny, while a select few are downright dumb.
Let’s take a look!
Kyocera Echo
The Kyocera Echo is by far the most ridiculous Android phone I have seen. It was a total abomination. Sure, some of us may have totally geeked out over it and liked the idea at first, but in practice this phone was the biggest mess! And it sure was big for its time. The Echo featured a set of two 3.5-inch screens, which could be folded out and used in tablet mode, making for a 4.7-inch screen… a square one… with a big black stripe in the middle.
Let’s look past that mistake, though. The phone could be operated in dual window mode, giving users the ability to operate a couple apps at once. The lower screen could also display a keyboard or controller, freeing up the space for more content to be displayed on the top screen. In theory this sounded amazing, but the functionality was so limited. It only worked with some core apps and pretty much no developer supported it, because no one really bought the phone to begin with!
Also – a silly 1370 mAh battery to power two screens at once? What a joke! This thing was a total fail, and it did take its rightful spot at our feature post “The worst Android phones of all time“. Now we are pointing out it was also one of the most unique ones.
Sony Tablet P
The Sony Tablet P is an interesting one, as it uses the same concept we saw with the Kyocera Echo. The Japanese manufacturer seems to have taken the idea and polished it. And they did very well, as this product actually doesn’t seem as ridiculous and horrible as the Kyocera Echo!
Sony Tablet P
This device featured a couple 5.5-inch displays with a 1024 x 480p resolution (each). It was essentially a tablet that could be folded in half to offer superior portability. It’s specs were pretty good for the time, too. The user experience was still affected by the dreaded black strip we also saw on the Kyocera Echo, but at least Sony did everything else right. Because data can also be a limitation, this foldable tablet could also take advantage of AT&T’s network for data, so it was a pretty good road warrior.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
While we are on the topic of interesting Sony devices, let’s touch on that “PlayStation phone” the world was begging for at one point. Sony catered to our wants by releasing the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, an Android smartphone that doubled as a portable gaming console. What made it unique was the slide-out gaming pad you could use when you really wanted to get some serious gaming done (the handset resembled a PSP Go, but ran Android and made calls).
While most “out of the box” gaming smartphones are pretty horrible, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play proved to be a remarkable phone. It was powerful enough for its time and offered a solid build, along with recent software. Now, the real question is whether it was a good gaming device or not. The issue was that there wasn’t much support in terms of gaming, and the PlayStation Classic titles list was very limited.
I owned the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for about half a year, so I am telling you all this from my own perspective. The phone was good, it just needed more support for gaming. Having a quality gamepad at all times made a huge difference, and I was boss at the few online multiplayer games that were supported. I wish they would have released more successors, as support would have likely improved.
Notion Ink Adam
I wouldn’t take an article serious if it focused on innovating mobile devices and didn’t mention the Notion Ink Adam. Back when Android phones were all the hype and Android tablets were nothing but rumors, Notion Ink made rounds around the internet by showing off the Notion Ink Adam. This pad was built from the ground up to offer a true mobile tablet experience!
The Adam had a larger screen, great specs and a UI that was actually tailored for the larger display it touted. It was a total hit and something we hadn’t seen before. The only reason it failed was that Samsung beat them to the curve when they released the first Samsung Galaxy Tab, which was pretty much a larger smartphone… a very popular one. Cheers to Notion Ink for realizing a UI optimized for the screen is a necessity. And they thought of this way long before everyone else.
LG Optimus Vu
When the LG Optimus Vu (LG Intuition for Verizon users) was announced in 2012, super-sized smartphones were starting to become popular; the phablet era was upon us, and LG really didn’t want to fall behind. They also wanted to be unique, though, so they went ahead and decided to go nuts with design.
The LG Optimus Vu was fun and… weird. It stood out from the crowd by featuring a 5-inch display. That’s reasonable, but things got weird when you took a look at the shape of the display. The thing was nearly square!
The panel rocked a 4×3 aspect ratio, which looked very odd and made it so the phone didn’t fit in one’s pocket very well. There were some benefits to it, though. Web browsing is much more natural with this aspect ratio, as you can see much more content at once. Not to mention, phones weren’t very wide back then, and because the LG Optimus Vu was insanely wide compared to the competition, it made for much more comfortable and faster typing.
LG DoublePlay
I suppose everyone was trying to make the whole dual-screen thing happen back in the day. Now it’s LG’s turn and we are taking a look at the infamous LG DoublePlay. This thing had a slide-out keyboard, a feature that was very popular at the time. But that keyboard wasn’t alone. Oh no! LG decided to cram a secondary 2-inch screen right in the middle of it.
As if the phone’s keyboard wasn’t small enough with that 3.5-inch form-factor, they go on and make it unusable by sacrificing precious keyboard space in lieu of a screen that served very little purpose. It was pretty much a glorified customizable shortcut list.
Was it unique? Sure. And it was very much outside the box, which is appreciated. The problem is the idea wasn’t applied well.
Samsung Galaxy Beam
Taking the large screen experience wherever you go is not easy. Projectors can be bulky and expensive, televisions are definitely out of the question and not always do you want to carry your laptop or tablet around. As a ‘solution’, Samsung came up with the Galaxy Beam, an Android smartphone with an integrated 15-lumen pico projector. It could project a mirror image of your screen at a 640x360p resolution. Not the best quality, but it was nice to have and served its purpose pretty well – especially for a mid-range smartphone.
Ultimately though, this phone concept failed to really catch on.
Zettaly Avy
There’s a clear issue with Android devices when it comes to sound quality. Pretty much no Android product offers a true high-quality sound experience through its integrated speakers. We have a few exceptions that go above and beyond (like the HTC One M9 and BoomSound), but that is only relatively speaking. These dual-speaker handsets offer great sound compared to other phones, but they still pale against full-on speakers.
Enter Zettaly Avy, an Android device which truly focuses on sound. It’s best feature is probably those powerful (and large) 5W stereo speakers, which add quite a bit of bulk to the device, but will sound heavenly. The Avy also sports a 7-inch 1024x600p display, which works very well for watching videos and shows, but the true focus is on sound quality, not video.
It runs Android 4.4 KitKat, so it’s amazingly easy to access all your favorite apps and store your media right into its 8 GB internal storage. You can also use a microSD card, though, just in case that’s not enough. This is really a full-featured Android tablet, with a front-facing camera, microphone, touch screen, HDMI, micro-USB, a 3.5 mm headset jack and more. It even sorts a 2000 mAh battery for when you want to take your music on-the-go!
It’s not exactly the cheapest at $200, but Zettaly gets props for thinking outside of the box. Plus, some of you may really be looking for a quality speaker that needs no other device to operate.
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
Now, not all devices that thought of outside the box were unsuccessful or bad. The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is pure testament of this argument. The over-sized smartphone offered an Edge curved display with added functionality, and it proved to be a hit among techies.
The Edge display was able to showcase app shortcuts, the time, notifications and more. It served its purpose very well and was a handy tool. The only downside is it didn’t get too much support, but the concept was great, and it translated very well into theory. Not to mention, it set a standard for things to come.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Samsung figured their Edge screen functionality wasn’t taking off so fast, so they decided to backpedal a bit and make this flexible side screen purely aesthetic with its flagship smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge offers two Edge displays instead of one. They do almost nothing in terms of added functionality, but they sure look gorgeous and very unique. Not to mention, the phone is a beast and the design does help make it a bit easier to hold.
Samsung Galaxy Round
The world has never been more about curvatures than when the Samsung Galaxy Round was announced, in October 2013. The phone’s main selling point was the fact that it wasn’t a black slab, like every other smartphone was. This one had a curve to it, feat which was accomplished by using a flexible OLED display.
The curve really had no functionality, but Samsung swore the phone was more comfortable to keep in your pocket. I guess the ability to roll the device to wake it (while it was laying on a flat surface) was pretty cool. Other than that, making this phone was more abut showcasing their manufacturing abilities and creating different products.
LG G Flex
Samsung wasn’t jumping on this round hype alone. LG joined the party by introducing the LG G Flex, a phone that proved to be much more popular than the Galaxy Round. How was it different? Instead of curving from side to side, it curved from top to bottom (mind-blown!).
The phone was great, even if plagued by screen ghosting issues. LG didn’t only implement a flexible screen, the whole darn thing could be bent to a certain extent! To make matters even more unique, the back was made out of this self-healing material that could make slight scratches disappear in a matter of minutes. It was truly out of this world… and the box. It also sparked a continued push into flexible displays from LG that we’ve seen with the LG G Flex 2 and even newer flagships like the LG G4 which features a subtly curved screen.
Conclusion and honorable mentions
The Android ecosystem is all about being open, so it’s a pleasure to see manufacturers not losing their innovative touch (even if sometimes they go totally nuts). At least it keeps the market full of options and the ecosystem fresh. It seems Samsung is especially brave about experimenting with their devices, though. Maybe that is part of why they are where they are. They really do have something for everyone.
We wanted to touch on some other devices that didn’t make it to the top list, but definitely deserved at least a mention. The Samsung Galaxy Continuum was another one of those weird phones with a secondary screen, for example. And who can forget the HTC Evo 3D and LG Optimus 3D?
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I also had a love/hate relationship with those phones that had odd keyboards, like the Motorola Flipout, Motorola Backflip, HTC ChaCha and the Samsung DoubleTime (which also had a secondary screen). We can’t forget home phones deserve some love too! Do any of you remember the Motorola HS100? It was pretty much a home phone running the Android OS on a tiny screen.
It would be interesting to hear your opinion on all these phones, so please hit the comments and share your thoughts. Which one is the craziest? Which one is the one you actually like the most? I have to say I am a fan of the LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, in terms of innovation and “thinking outside of the box”, and obviously these are the most commerically successful of the phones mentioned above.
NASA made a plane snuff movie… for your safety
If you survive a plane crash but your emergency locator transmitter (ELT) doesn’t, it’d be a cruel irony if rescuers never found you. But NASA, of all agencies, has crashed a light airplane to make those devices stronger and better. “It’s not obvious to the public what NASA does with search and rescue,” says SAR mission manager Lisa Mazzuca, referring to NASA’s role in improving aviation safety. She explains that ELTs are supposed to automatically transmit distress signals to satellites after aircraft accidents, so “NASA’s here to innovate that technology, which will ultimately improve the probability of a successful rescue.” The problem? ELTs often fail “because of inadequate performance specifications.”
Which brings us to the crash test. NASA purchased three older Cessna 172s, because it’s the most common airframe of all time. (As you’ll see, the flex in those early spring landing gears is impressive.) The craft were equipped with four brand new ELTs to test whether they’d deploy automatically and resist fire, shock and vibration. With two crash test dummies inside, the planes made simulated hard landings from a huge gantry at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia. The whole thing was captured by 64 channels of sensor data and a whopping 40 cameras inside and outside the plane.
According to early results, only one of the four devices transmitted within 50 seconds of the crash, though the rest did trigger a short time later. NASA will now try to figure out why the ELTs performed that way, and will follow up with further drop tests later this summer. The end goal, of course, is to create new standards for ELTs that manufacturers will need to follow. Anyway, yada yada, we’re sure they’ll figure it out — let’s just admit that we’re here to watch a plane crash, and head straight for the video below.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: NASA
Floating plasma display makes fairies a reality
See that teensy Tinkerbell-shaped light above? That’s not CGI — that’s a real floating display, and it’s completely touchable too. Mid-air plasma displays aren’t that prolific yet, but they’re not exactly new either. However, floating lights created using existing techniques can usually burn skin, since every “voxel” (a pixel in 3D space) is made by heating molecules with nanosecond lasers. In order to make them safe to touch, a team of researchers from the University of Tsukuba, Utsunomiya University, Nagoya Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo, used lasers that fire bursts of plasma every few femtoseconds instead.
A femtosecond is one millionth of one billionth of a second, whereas a nanosecond is one billionth of a second. These shorter pulses can’t damage your skin, making the final product touchable. In addition, the objects can respond in real time (e.g., a heart can break in two when touched), as well as give off haptic feedback. At this point, the researchers’ femtosecond lasers can only render images up to eight cubic millimeters in size, with resolutions reaching up to 200,000 voxels per second. They’re hoping to scale the technology up in the future, though, to become more useful to potential customers. Who knows — this might be the beginning of interactive holograms, mid-air billboards and maybe even floating touchscreen computers like Tony Stark’s.
[Image credit: Yoichi Ochiai/University of Tsukuba]
Filed under: Science
Via: Discovery News, Tech Times, IEEE
Source: Digital Nature Group, Arxiv
Dr. Dre will debut a Beats 1 radio show on Apple Music tomorrow night
Days after Apple Music launched to the public, it’s becoming clearer where Dr. Dre fits. The hip-hop mogul, who joined Apple after the company bought up Beats, announced today that he’s about to launch a regular radio program exclusive to Apple Music. The hour-long show, called “The Pharmacy,” airs its first show tomorrow night on Apple’s live Beats 1 radio station, and will focus on “West Coast music,” according to the Associated Press. Tune in at 6pm ET if you’re curious, and thereafter you can catch it every other week.
[Image credit: Andy Kropa /Invision/AP]
Filed under: Apple
Via: AppleInsider
Source: Associated Press
OPPO Mirror 5s officially announced – 5-inch display, Snapdragon 410 CPU, 8MP camera
Although early claims stated that the rumored OPPO Mirror 5s wouldn’t be released until the second week in July, it looks like the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has taken the wraps off of its mid-ranger a bit early. Officially unveiled in Taiwan earlier today, the OPPO Mirror 5s features a reflective crystal pattern on its back, as well as a handful of specifications that are actually quite impressive.
The new smartphone has a 5.0-inch 1280×720 display, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage and microSD card expansion up to 128GB. It also has a 2420mAh battery, an 8MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, a dual SIM card slot and 4G LTE connectivity. What’s more, the smartphone is running ColorOS 2.1, which is based off of Android 5.1 Lollipop.
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So far, there’s been no mention of pricing or availability, so we’ll have to wait for official word from the company before we know anything for sure. We’ll be sure to let you know when we get word from OPPO regarding these details. If you’d like to take a closer look at the handset, be sure to head on over to OPPO’s website.
If the new Mirror 5s ends up making its way to the U.S. for a relatively affordable price point, would you be interested in purchasing one for yourself?
Sony starts pushing out update for the Xperia Z3+ in India to fix overheating issues
Sony has just started rolling out a new update for the Xperia Z3+ in India. This bumps the build number up to 28.0.A.7.24 and comes just a month after the company acknowledged that the integrated Snapdragon 810 chipset was the reason for the devices unexpected overheating problem. Chip manufacturer Qualcomm still hasn’t taken responsibility for the issue, but that hasn’t stopped Sony from rolling out an upgrade to remedy the situation.
As usual, the upgrade is being distributed in stages, but if you don’t feel like waiting for a notification confirming that it’s ready for your device to hit your unit, you could always search for the update manually. To do so simply open the Settings app, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”. Once done, the upgrade will start downloading from Sony’s servers.
Source: PhoneBunch
Come comment on this article: Sony starts pushing out update for the Xperia Z3+ in India to fix overheating issues
HTC One M9 Developer Edition now receiving the Android 5.1 update
HTC is in the process or rolling out the much-anticipated over-the-air (OTA) update to all Developer Edition models of its flagship smartphone, the One M9, located in the United States. This upgrade brings the latest build of Android 5.1 Lollipop to the device, together with a multitude of additional bug fixes and speed optimizations, along with a comprehensive redesigned temperature management system.
The full changelog can be perused below:
- Android Lollipop 5.1
- Data Performance Improvements
- Call Drop Improvements
- Battery Life Enhancements
- Temperature Management
- Camera Enhancements
If you live in the United States and have not yet received the OTA update, you can head into “Settings,” then “About Device,” and select “Check for Updates” to manually scan for the upgrade. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification informing you that an update is ready for your handset.
Come comment on this article: HTC One M9 Developer Edition now receiving the Android 5.1 update
Pushbullet’s now rolling out a stability update for its Android app
After receiving its largest update ever earlier this week, the folks over at Pushbullet have now sifted through its community forums to gather feedback and as a result are currently pushing out another upgrade via the Google Play Store to fix the issues that were discovered in the previous build of the app.
The full changelog, taken directly from the Pushbullet’s Play Store page, can be seen below:
- You can push to your devices with one tap!
- Fixed notification bug when sending things to yourself
- Fixed channels flicker UI bug
- Other bug and crash fixes
To install the update, simply open up the Play Store on your device, toggle the hamburger menu by swiping in from the left-hand side of the screen, select ‘My Apps’ and click on ‘Pushbullet’. Next, hit the update button, and the application will instantly start to download and install the upgrade from the Google Play servers. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code below to initiate the procedure.
Come comment on this article: Pushbullet’s now rolling out a stability update for its Android app
Leica’s Q camera is beautiful, expensive and totally worth it
Leica is known for making cameras that are too expensive for most people. Its latest one, the Leica Q (Typ 116), is no exception. You can tell a lot about its high value simply by glancing at it; the gorgeous magnesium alloy and matte black finish makes it look exquisitely premium. There are also little details around the chassis to make you further appreciate its design, including an area that allows your thumb to rest comfortably while you’re shooting. At roughly 23 ounces (640 grams), the Q isn’t exactly lightweight, but doesn’t feel heavy either — its mass is distributed perfectly throughout. But OK, enough about the appearance. How does this $4,250 camera actually perform in the real world?
As expected, Leica’s new shooter is feature-packed, with a 24-megapixel, full-frame CMOS sensor, an ISO range of up to 50,000, a 3-inch (high-res) LCD display, NFC, WiFi and a contrast-detect autofocus system. Along with that, you’ll also get 1080p video (30 or 60 fps), a 1,280 x 960 electronic viewfinder, mechanical and electronic shutter types, as well as a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6. As you’d expect, that solid spec list bodes well for everyday use. The Q produces crisp images and HD videos, even in low light. That’s largely thanks to its full-frame sensor, which Leica says was custom built and designed to work in conjunction with the Summilux 28mm f/1.7 fixed lens.
The Q’s menu system is simple to navigate and a pleasure to use too, while an array of physical dials provide quick access to the shutter and exposure settings. Additionally, the Summilux lens has three rings that let you manually control your aperture, focus and macro. What you won’t find here, however, is an optical zoom; instead, there’s a 35mm or 50mm crop mode. Sure, that’s not the best option, but at least it works well for most close-up shots. Battery life, for its part, is quoted at 300 shots, and the camera had no problems reaching that number — the power levels do shorten noticeably when shooting video, although that’s to be expected.
Simply put, the Leica Q is one of the best compact cameras I’ve ever used. Is it worth the $4,250? If you have the money, without a doubt. And if you don’t? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t fret about going with a less expensive, yet slightly similar, option — such as Sony’s A7 II, which happens to offer a wide selection of lenses. The thing is, with the Leica Q, you’re paying for more than satisfying picture quality and elegant design; it’s also about owning a great product from a prestigious and luxurious brand. The real question is: How much does that matter to you?
To view full-resolution sample images shot with the Leica Q, click here.
Filed under: Cameras
OnePlus is giving away Google Cardboard for $0 plus shipping
Well, this is one way for an up-and-coming company to get people’s attention. OnePlus, the Chinese manufacturer best-known for making a cheap handset with surprisingly good specs, is about to launch its second-generation phone, and to get folks pumped up, it’s selling Google’s Cardboard virtual reality headset in its store. Make that: “giving away.” The headset is free, plus a $5 shipping charge, making it a great deal, even for what’s already marketed as a cheap way to experience VR. All told, it’s very similar to the second-gen version of Cardboard unveiled at Google I/O a month ago, except this particular iteration is made of a thicker material, is 20 percent smaller and is coated in a dirt- and oil-resistant film, according to TechCrunch.
The headset ships next week, on July 10th, and once it arrives, OnePlus is hoping you’ll use it to watch the global debut of the OnePlus One 2 on July 27th. To order, you’ll first need to create a OnePlus account, though it’s OK if you aren’t already a current OnePlus One owner. Be warned, though: When I tried to order one, I initially saw it listed as out of stock. If that happens to you, just be persistent — after refreshing the page, I was able to enter my credit card info. Happy shopping, folks.
Via: 9to5 Google
Source: OnePlus
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