Obi Worldphone eyes developing market upgrades with new devices
Trying to anticipate developments in emerging markets Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Obi Worldphone has announced two new smartphones designed to meet the upgrade demands of consumers in those markets. The development of emerging markets as high growth areas for budget smartphones over the past couple years is fairly well known. Obi Worldphone is hoping to ride in to those markets when all of the first generation buyers who opted for budget phones are ready to upgrade, but do not want to go for a full-blown high-end device. As Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, Inc., notes:
“Over the next three years one billion users will upgrade from low-end, starter smartphones to models with more power and greater functionality. The Obi Worldphone no-compromise design and aggressive pricing makes it very appealing to this audience as the market for smartphones expands and the upgrade market for smartphones accelerates.”
On the design front, one of the keys Obi hopes will set it apart from others, Obi can rely on co-founder John Sculley who was the former head of Apple. Sculley says Obi “has taken the best of Silicon Valley – innovations in design, state-of-the-art technology and high standards for manufacturing – and fused them into beautiful, powerful tools at attractive prices.”
The company’s flagship device will be the Obi Worldphone SF1 with a 5-inch display powered by a Snapdragon 615 processor and 2GB or 3GB of RAM. The base model with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of memory will retail for $199 USD. Obi packs in a 13MP camera, Dolby Audio, and Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 1.0 technology.
The other device announced by Obi is teh Obi Worldphone SJ1.5, which is a 3G smartphone with a 5-inch display, 1GB of RAM and a MediaTek MT6580 processor. The SJ1.5 gets an 8MP camera and will be priced at $129 USD.
The SF1 smartphone will be powered by Android 5.0.1 while the SJ1.5 will come with Android 5.1. Both devices get the Obi Lifespeed user interface developed by Obi partner Ammunition.
Obi says the new devices will be available in initial markets starting October and they have plans to expand to 50 to 70 countries by 2017.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Obi Worldphone Launches Silicon Valley Design on Powerful Smartphone for $199; Targeting Global Growth Markets
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Taking a fresh approach, Obi Worldphone™ today introduces two high-quality, premium-designed smartphones priced at an exceptional value to attract discerning young people in fast-growth markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
“Our efficient cost structure and broad distribution combine to present empowering tools that help our customers achieve their aspirations.”
Designed by renowned San Francisco-based product studio Ammunition, Obi Worldphone™ SF1 and SJ1.5 are set apart by iconic industrial design. Ammunition also developed Obi Lifespeed, a custom user interface for Android that unifies the software and hardware experience. Obi integrates elegant design with high-end technology from Qualcomm, Dolby, Sony, Corning Incorporated, Google, MediaTek, Japan Display, Inc. and Samsung to deliver a powerful performance. Obi Worldphone is the first to address the market need between high-design smartphones at high prices and generic smartphones at low prices.
“Over the next three years one billion users will upgrade from low-end, starter smartphones to models with more power and greater functionality,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., a 35-year market analyst and research firm evaluating the global adoption of consumer technology. “The Obi Worldphone no-compromise design and aggressive pricing makes it very appealing to this audience as the market for smartphones expands and the upgrade market for smartphones accelerates.”
Obi and Ammunition celebrate the new smartphones tonight at the Autodesk Gallery with Obi Worldphone co-founder John Sculley, former head of Apple and Pepsi-Cola and an international investor in consumer technology companies, and Robert Brunner, Ammunition’s founder and partner.
“Obi has taken the best of Silicon Valley – innovations in design, state-of-the-art technology and high standards for manufacturing – and fused them into beautiful, powerful tools at attractive prices,” Sculley said. “Our efficient cost structure and broad distribution combine to present empowering tools that help our customers achieve their aspirations.”
“With Obi we set out to create beautiful, original smartphones that go beyond consumers’ expectations. From concept through to manufacturing, we’ve paid incredible attention to quality, materials and engineering to achieve the highest level of design,” Brunner explained. “We’ve obsessed over every detail of the Obi experience — from industrial design, user interface and packaging — to deliver inspiring products that overturn the misconception that great design has to come at a high price.”
SF1 – Elegant Design and No-compromise Technology
Obi Worldphone SF1 is the company’s flagship 4G/LTE smartphone featuring state-of-the-art photography and audio capabilities. The SF1 has a raised 5-inch display made of durable Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 – an instantly recognizable signature element that emphasizes the interplay of the hardware with the user interface. The SF1’s premium feel comes from its reinforced fiberglass body and metal accents at the top and bottom of the phone. The SF1 also features a long-life, quick-charge battery and easy-access, dual-SIM slot with micro secure digital (SD) expansion. The SF1’s suggested retail price is USD $199 for the 2 GB RAM/16 GB internal memory version and USD $249 for the 3 GB RAM/32 GB internal memory version.
Obi embraced the full capabilities of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 615 processor to power the SF1’s 13-megapixel camera and best-in-class Sony IMX214 Exmor™ sensor to enable people to capture more professional-looking images. Hybrid auto focus enables split-second, perfect focus in any light – even when shooting into the sun – through phase-detection technology. The camera makes use of the Qualcomm® ChromaFlash™ camera feature to quickly snap two photos — one with flash, one without. The final image takes the brightness from the one with flash and the color accuracy from the other, creating a single, well-balanced image. Users can select their focus after taking a picture through the Qualcomm® UbiFocus™ camera feature. After the photo is taken, users can also zoom in at a resolution beyond normal digital zoom levels, with crisply detailed images powered by the Qualcomm® OptiZoom™ camera feature.
The SF1 features Dolby Audio™, which delivers powerful and crystal-clear surround sound though the device speakers and with headphones, for all your entertainment, everywhere. Dolby Audio simulates the placement of surround sound speakers to deliver sound true to the creator’s original concept, and as a result, consumers experience premium audio quality, with outstanding fidelity, bass impact, and dynamic range.
“We are thrilled to work with Obi to bring the Dolby Audio experience to consumers around the world on the Obi Worldphone SF1,” said John Couling, Senior Vice President, E-Media Business Group, Dolby Laboratories. “With Dolby Audio, consumers will be able to enjoy a cinema-style entertainment experience when on the go.”
The SF1 also features Qualcomm® Quick Charge 1.0™ power management technology, which dramatically decreases the time required to charge the battery. The SF1 can charge to full power in fewer than three hours, which is about 40 percent faster than older phones. The SF1 runs on Google Android Lollipop. The SF1 is named for its city of origin, San Francisco.
SJ1.5 – 3G Smartphone with a Unique Silhouette
The Obi Worldphone SJ1.5 is a 3G smartphone powered by the MediaTek MT6580 Quad-Core processor. The SJ1.5 has an asymmetrical design, with a crisp, squared-off top and a curved bottom that gives it a distinctive silhouette. The screen is made from 2.5D curved glass built flush with the body of the phone to give it a seamless feel in the hand. The SJ1.5 offers unique color and accent options, taking a more expressive approach. In addition to featuring easy-access dual SIM slots, the SJ1.5 comes with 16 GB of internal storage and a card slot for memory expansion. The SJ1.5 sports front and rear cameras and is protected by scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3. The SJ1.5 uses the Android Lollipop operating system and its suggested retail price is USD $129. It’s named for Silicon Valley’s other major city, San Jose.
Security and App Partnerships
Obi’s two security and privacy features at launch are AVG AntiVirus PRO for Android™ to help protect Obi devices from malware, viruses and theft, and Google Android’s built-in security layers for protection against intrusions.
The SF1 and SJ1.5 can run Google Play Store supported Android applications. Besides the AVG Anti-Virus app, other apps loaded on the SF1 and SJ1.5 will be Swiftkey™, AccuWeather™, Clean Master®, and ColorNote®.
“It takes a community to create a unique technology product and customer experience, and Obi has developed a strong, global ecosystem of more than 20 companies — all contributing to inspire our Worldphone vision and make it a reality,” said Neeraj Chauhan, Obi’s co-founder and chief executive officer.
Distribution
The Obi Worldphone line will be available starting in October in retail stores in some countries and online in others. Initial Obi Worldphone markets will be those with rapidly growing youth populations including Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Pakistan, Turkey and India. The Obi Worldphone line has easy-access dual SIM slots that enable use on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) frequencies used in most countries. The SF1 and SJ1.5 will be available in 50 to 70 high-growth countries by 2017.
Showcasing Silicon Valley Startups
To underscore the importance of smartphones to be used worldwide, three innovative applications designed in Silicon Valley today joined Obi’s launch event celebration.
- Dots, an app by Dots Communications, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., provides the global citizen with unlimited, free text messages to any SMS-enabled mobile phone in the world. With Dots, the text message sender can message any SMS-enabled phone whether or not it has Dots installed. Dots provides ultimate privacy, security and peace of mind.
- GigSky, global data provider of Palo Alto, Calif., demonstrated its SIM card and app for Android devices, which provides easily accessible, short-term data plans in more than 90 countries around the world. No contracts or commitments are required.
- Hoot of Menlo Park, Calif., launched an exceptionally fast and efficient live video streaming service using minimal data. Hoot is democratizing live video broadcasting by using adaptive bandwidth to stream high quality video over 2g/3g connections, having virtually zero lag, and instantly archiving videos. The Obi Worldphone launch is being broadcast live via Hoot running on an Obi Worldphone.
New Equity Partner
In addition, Obi announced its strategy has gained the support of global insurance giant Generali Group, which co-invested in Obi with a venture capital fund consistent with the group’s approach to invest in innovative startups. Founded in 1831 in Trieste, Italy, Generali is one of the world’s largest insurers serving 72 million clients in more than 60 countries. Generali also invests in financial and communication technologies and real estate. It ranked among the world’s 50 smartest companies according to the MIT Technology Review.
To get a glimpse into the new elegantly designed and innovative Obi Worldphone, please visit https://vimeo.com/137190314.
About Obi Worldphone™
Obi Worldphone integrates elegant industrial design with high-end technology. It is aimed at young consumers in high-growth markets around the world. Co-founded by John Sculley, the Obi Worldphone line is created in partnership with Obi’s San Francisco-based design partner Ammunition. Our offices are in Singapore, Shenzhen, New Delhi, Dubai, London, Miami and San Francisco. More about Obi Worldphone: http://www.obiworldphone.com Follow Obi on Twitter: @obiworldphone and Facebook: obiworldphone.
© 2015 Obi Worldphone and Obi Mobiles Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Other company, product or service names are trademarks or service marks of those respective companies.
SF1 Specifications
- Aesthetics – Unibody with metallic accents and floating (“raised “) glass display
- Operating System – Android OS version 5.0.2 Lollipop
- Communication – Easy-access, dual SIM (Micro and Nano), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band, Wi-Fi direct. Bluetooth – v4.0, A2DP. GPS – A-GPS/ GLONASS. USB – microSB v2.0
- Sound – Dolby Audio™ with 7.1 discrete channels of high-fidelity surround sound. Dual microphone for noise-cancellation
- Primary Camera – 13 megapixels, automatic focus with LED flash powered by the Sony IMX214 Exmor™ sensor, f/2.0 aperture with Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, and high dynamic range (HDR). Video 1080p@30fps. UbiFocus™, Chroma Flash™ and OptiZoom™ are special features of this camera.
- Secondary Camera – 5 megapixels with LED flash
- Processor – Qualcomm® MSM8939 Snapdragon™ 615 with 1.5 GHz Octa Core with Adreno 405 GPU
- Display – 5-inch full, high-definition in-cell display by Japan Display Inc. (JDI). Full high definition (1080×1920 pixels), 443 ppi
- Cover Glass – Scratch definition resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4
- Coating – Anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating by Top Touch
- Networks – GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSPA+/4G/LTE
- Memory – Samsung 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage, expandable up to an additional 64 GB with micro SD. Also available in 2GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage expandable up to an additional 64 GB with micro SD
- Battery – Quick-charge, 3,000 milliamp hours (mAh) lithium polymer (Li-Po)
- Sensors – accelerometer (gravity), proximity, magnetic, gyro, ALS (light)
- Price – $199 USD for 16 GB/2GB version, and $249 USD for 32 GB/3GB version
SJ1.5 Specifications
- Aesthetics – Polycarbonate body with curved touch panel and dynamic use of color
- Operating System – Android OS version 5.1 Lollipop
- Communication – Easy-access, dual SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v4.0, A2DP, GPS and micro USB 2.0
- Primary Camera – 8 megapixels, automatic focus OV8865 sensor and flash. f/2.2 aperture
- Secondary Camera – 5 megapixels, f/2.2 aperture
- Networks – GSM/HSPA/3G
- Processor – MediaTek MT6580, 1.3GHz Quad Core processor
- Display – 5” high-definition (720 x 1280 pixels), in-plane switching (IPS) full lamination screen for accurate color at any angle
- Cover Glass – Scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
- Coating – Anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating by Top Touch
- Memory – Samsung 1 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage; expandable up to an additional 32 GB with micro SD
- Battery – 3,000 milliamp hours (mAh) lithium polymer (Li-Po)
- Sensors – accelerometer (gravity) proximity, ALS (light)
- Price – $129 USD
Android Applications Loaded onto SF1 and SJ1.5
AccuWeather™ – Provides accurate hourly and minute-by-minute forecasts for any longitude/latitude on Earth and provides customized weather information.
Clean Master® – The world’s leading smartphone cleaner, optimizer and security app
ColorNote® – Quick and simple notepad editing when writing notes, memos, e-mails.
Swiftkey™ – Lets users type by swiping from one letter to another on a display keyboard to prevent typographical errors and sped typing messages.
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Huawei Honor 7 vs Honor 6 Plus
The mid-range is fast taking the spotlight from the flagship, and Huawei’s Honor sub-brand is just one of the players aiming to offer premium specs at an affordable price. In the case of the Honor 7, the company has taken last year’s flagship Ascend Mate 7 and combined it with the Honor 6 Plus to create an affordable yet premium-feeling smartphone.
The Honor 7 is one of those smartphones that aims to combine a premium build with impressive specs and an even more impressive price tag, but how does it compare to the Honor 6 Plus? Let’s take a look.
Design
The Honor 6 Plus is certainly an interesting smartphone thanks to its plastic finish that features a dot-matrix design and certainly looks cool, but the switch to a brushed aluminium finish on the Honor 7 makes the new handset infinitely more premium.
At 8.5mm thick, the Honor 7 is 1mm thicker than the Honor 6 Plus but a tad lighter (157 grams vs 165 grams) and the added thickness does mean the handset is a lot more reassuring in the hand. Measuring 143.2 x 71.9mm, the Honor 7 is both smaller and narrower than the Honor 6 Plus – mainly due to the smaller screen – but this change in size means the handset is more manageable in the hand.
The back of the Honor 6 Plus features a plastic finish and that quirky-yet-somewhat-odd dot-matrix design, and the biggest issue with this is the tendency to attract fingerprints. With the Honor 7, the switch to a metal finish means this is no longer an issue.
The matte finish on the Honor 7 has been blasted with ceramic particles to give it a brushed effect that also provides grip and the change is most certainly welcome. An Honor executive told us that designing the finish on the Honor 7 required blasting ceramic materials at different blasting pressures in order to achieve the eventual finish.
Beneath the camera is arguably one of the best features on the Honor 7: the fingerprint sensor. While fingerprint sensors are certainly not new, the Honor 7 brings an updated version of the excellent sensor that debuted on the Ascend Mate 7. The redesigned sensor is the first ever sensor on a smartphone not to feature a metallic ring around it, while Huawei has also added other features to it.
Thanks to gesture support, the sensor can now act as a back button that, by simply tapping it, lets you return to the homescreen by pressing and holding the sensor, pull down the notification sensor by swiping down on the sensor and access the recent apps menu by swiping up on the sensor. The position of the sensor on the rear is such that it is where your finger naturally rests and you’ll find the gestures become very useful in day to day use.
On the right, both smartphones feature the power and volume keys but a key change is that in the Honor 7, the keys are less recessed and have been crafted from ceramic, making them easier to locate and press without looking at the handset. Another change is that while the Honor 6 Plus features separate SIM and microSD card trays on the right, the Honor 7 combines these into one tray which is located on the left.
Beneath the tray on the Honor 7 is another new addition in the form of a button called Smart Key, which lets you launch favourite applications or toggle certain system features. As an example, I have it set up that a single press launches Twitter, a double press takes a screenshot and a long press pulls up Google Now. All of these options are customisable and it’s a quick and easy way to access your favourite applications from any screen.
To the bottom and another change as the Honor 7 houses a bottom-mounted speaker – like the all-metal Huawei P8 – while the Honor 6 Plus has Huawei’s older rear-mounted speaker design. The metal finish on the Honor 7 meant that Huawei couldn’t use a rear-mounted speaker and this is a change that has paid off with the Honor 7 monospeaker appearing to be much louder than the Honor 6 Plus.
Display
The Honor 7 is the follow up to the Honor 6 and not the Honor 6 Plus and features a 5.2-inch Full HD display, which is slightly smaller than the 5.5-inch panel found on the Honor 6 Plus. Both smartphones features the same Full HD resolution and the smaller panel on the Honor 7 delivers a slightly higher 424 pixels per inch density (versus 401 ppi on the Honor 6 Plus).
Despite a slightly larger build, the Honor 6 Plus has a higher screen-to-body ratio than the Honor 7, with the larger handset delivering a 73.2% ratio, while the Honor 7 has a slightly lower ratio of 72.4%. As someone with large hands, the Honor 6 Plus was mostly manageable but the smaller size of the Honor 7 is definitely much easier to use.
Hardware and performance
Like past Huawei smartphones, both the Honor 7 and the Honor 6 Plus are powered by Huawei’s own HiSilicon Kirin chipsets but a key difference is in the chipset being used. The Honor 6 Plus sports a Kirin 925 SoC with 2GB RAM while the Honor 7 is the first smartphone (apart from the Huawei P8 Max) to use the new Kirin 935 SoC with 3GB RAM.
Both handsets use octa-core Cortex processors in a big.LITTLE formation and while the Honor 6 Plus uses the older Cortex A-15 and A-7 cores (clocked at 1.8GHz and 1.3GHz respectively), the Honor 7 uses the newer Cortex-A53 cores, with four cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four more at 1.5GHz.
The Honor 6 Plus is certainly no slouch in the performance market but an extra gigabyte of RAM coupled with the much improved processor and the newer and faster Cortex-A53 cores delivers much better performance on the Honor 7.
Both smartphones also come with expandable storage, which lets you expand the 16/32GB storage on the Honor 6 Plus or the 16/64GB storage on the Honor 7, and like past Huawei devices, the microSD card tray can also be used as a dual SIM card slot. It’s worth noting that the 64GB storage variant of the Honor 7 is currently only available in China with Huawei yet to confirm if this will be made available elsewhere around the world.
Having the option to use two SIM cards definitely makes both of these devices a lot more appealing, but only one SIM card can be used for LTE, with the other limited to just voice or SMS. While this is somewhat disappointing, it’s unsurprising given the price tag and it’s certainly nice to have dual SIM functionality if you are someone who uses two different SIM cards.
Both smartphones feature non-removable batteries, which is unsurprising as it’s a trend that most manufacturers are adopting in their devices. The Honor 6 Plus features a 3,500 mAh battery but despite the extra thickness, the Honor 7 actually drops the battery life by 400mAh, although the 3,100 mAh battery is by no means small.
The Honor 6 Plus has impressive battery life and it is hoped that the Honor 7 also delivers on the battery front, despite the smaller battery size. Huawei itself claims the battery can last 2.57 days with moderate usage or over 1.2 days with heavy usage and to see whether it lives up to these claims, we’d recommend checking out our full Honor 7 review.
The Honor 7 is also the first Huawei smartphone to come with fast charging built-in. Huawei says the fast charging lets you charge for five minutes’ to make an hour’s worth of calls and can charge to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.
It’s worth noting that the fast charger isn’t included in the box due to the lower price tag but it shouldn’t cost too much to buy as an after-market accessory. Both handsets also support reversible charging that lets you charge another phone using a USB-On-The-Go cable but the cable isn’t included in the box and you’re unlikely to use this with the smaller Honor 7 battery capacity.
A key problem with metal devices is signal interference but Huawei has solved this with a dual antenna design that intelligently switches between antennae in a micro second depending on which is providing the strongest signal strength. Alongside this, the Honor 7 also supports Wi-Fi+ technology, which aims to improve battery life by automatically disabling Wi-Fi and then re-enabling it when it recognises you are near a known Wi-Fi network.
As you’d expect from a modern smartphone, the Honor 7 and Honor 6 Plus also come with a range of other connectivity options, including an infrared port to control electrical appliances, Bluetooth 4.0 LE to connect to wearable devices and LTE Cat 6, which offers download speeds of up to 300Mbps and upload speeds up to 50Mbps on the go.
Camera
Arguably the biggest change between the Honor 6 Plus and the Honor 7 is in the camera, with Huawei opting to replace the dual cameras on the Honor 6 Plus with a more traditional single camera arrangement on the Honor 7, which protrudes from the rear but is protected by sapphire crystal to prevent scratching and damage.
The camera on the Honor 6 Plus used two 8MP cameras to let you capture an image and then refocus the image after capture but this feature is dropped in the Honor 7. Instead, the Honor 7 uses a Sony IMX230 sensor to deliver 20MP resolution and all importantly, Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF). Huawei says PDAF on the Honor 7 can focus on an image in just 0.1 seconds and is happy to show the feature off by detailing the time taken to focus in the viewfinder.
The Honor 7 camera also comes with a range of camera features that debuted on the Huawei P8, include the Good Food, TimeLapse and light painting modes but Huawei has added to these in the Honor 7. The additions include a new demist filter to remove smog or fog from photos, a star tracking mode to capture the night sky and two additions to the light painting mode in the form of silky water and taillight tracking.
To the front and both devices come with 8MP selfie cameras equipped with Huawei’s Beauty Mode feature. The Honor 7 takes it one step further with the addition of two other features. First, a new selfie light aims to let you take selfies in different lighting conditions and second, a new Perfect Selfie mode lets you pre-program your face and the Honor 7 will then replace your face with the pre-programmed image whenever you take a group selfie.
Honor 7 camera samples
There’s no denying that on paper, the Honor 7 camera is certainly impressive especially when you consider it an affordable smartphone and while it’s certainly not perfect, it delivers much better photos than the Honor 6 Plus.
Software
A key issue that many users have with Huawei devices is in the company’s Emotion UI interface, which is also known as EMUI and can sometimes feel like an incomplete experience. Just like the Huawei P8, the Honor 7 runs the latest EMUI v3.1 on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop while the Honor 6 Plus is still running the older Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS.
As identified in our Huawei P8 review, there’s several elements that don’t quite make sense in EMUI v3.1 including a notification menu that duplicates notifications and a colour scheme that can make notifications difficult to read. Sadly, these also make their way to the Honor 7 but while Huawei hasn’t fixed all the little elements, it has added some interesting new features.
The knuckle screenshot – which is absolutely atrocious on the Huawei P8 – has been improved so you can now double tap with your knuckle to take a screenshot and can completely turn off the feature in the settings.
EMUI also now comes with a Fast screenshot setting that lets you double press the volume down button to launch the camera and coupled with phase detection autofocus, it should mean you won’t miss many shots.
There’s also a hidden apps drawer, which lets you get rid of some of the icons on the homescreen by putting them in a hidden menu that can be accessed by pinching out. A good use case for this would be if you wanted to separate your work apps from your personal apps as you could hide the work apps and not need to see them once you leave the office.
Sadly, Emotion UI still doesn’t come with an app drawer which most users will find quite jarring and while we’ve asked Huawei to introduce the feature via an option in the settings, it’s unlikely we’ll see it anytime soon. The beauty of Android is that you can change the launcher very easily and this should make the experience more enjoyable if you don’t like EMUI. Having tested Nova Launcher on the Honor 7, I can safely say that it runs smoothly and improves the experience somewhat.
One of my favourite features on the Honor 7 aims to solve the infrequent yet common problem of losing your phone. With the Honor 7 you can now say a customisable voice command when you can’t find the handset and it will respond with a rather cheesy but cute response. The feature works rather well and although it can take a few attempts to set it up, it generally has no issues recognising the wake-up command.
Emotion UI has certainly come a long way since past Huawei devices and while it’s not perfect, I find it somewhat manageable (although many others do not). It’s worth noting however that – at least in my personal opinion – the software experience should not deter you from the Honor 7, which is otherwise an excellent smartphone.
Wrap up
There’s no denying that Huawei’s Honor brand has made somewhat of a splash on the market by offering a premium experience at an affordable price and the Honor 7 is certainly no different. The key thing however is that with the Honor 7, Huawei has made less trade-offs and offers both a premium build and a premium experience at an incredibly affordable price tag.
The Honor 7 is launching in the UK today for just £249.99, which when you consider the specs, is an absolutely fabulous price. In comparison, the Honor 6 Plus costs a tad more at £299.99 and given the choice, I know which one of the two I would rather have.
What do you think of the Honor 7 and the changes made by Huawei since the Honor 6 Plus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, don’t forget to check out our full Honor 7 review, hit subscribe and stay tuned to Android Authority.com because we are, your source, for all things Android. See you next time!
Super-secure Turing Phone is slated to ship on December 18th
Security-focused Android smartphones have been growing in popularity over the past year or so, and perhaps one of the most popular devices we’ve seen recently is the Turing Phone. Featuring a 5.0-inch Full HD display, a perfectly capable Snapdragon 801 processor backed by 3GB of RAM and a chassis made of liquidmetal, this device brings a lot to the table. So if you’ve already reserved your spot in line to purchase one of these secure smartphones, we have some good news – Turing Robotic Industries (TRI) have finally released some availability information for the handset.
If you happened to reserve your spot in line, you’ll be happy to hear that you can place your order for the Turing Phone on Monday, September 21st. Then on Thursday, September 24th, TRI is opening up pre-orders for a Dark Wyvern special edition Turing Phone, which will require a full payment of $999 the day you place your pre-order. There’s even a Dark Wyvern ‘Glaedr’ special edition option that will be available for $1,299, and only 3,000 of these devices will be produced. More details will be announced regarding this variant on Wednesday, September 9th.
Pictured below is the new Dark Wyvern version of the phone:
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Also on the 24th, all folks who have reserved their spot in line will be prompted to pay for the device in full, with an option to upgrade to the Dark Wyvern variant as well. And finally, on Friday, December 18th, all Turing Phone orders are projected to ship. Now, this date is pretty far off, so just remember that anything can happen between now and then.
We were fortunate enough to go hands-on with this device back in July, and overall, we really liked what we saw. It’s an extremely solid device (both inside and out), features some of the most unique design elements we’ve ever seen on a smartphone, and also comes with quite a few software enhancements that will keep hackers out and your information safe. For more information, check out our full hands-on and first impressions post here.
Apple Invites Media to September 9 Event: ‘Hey Siri, Give Us a Hint’
As predicted in August, Apple is planning to hold a media event on Wednesday, September 9 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California. Media invites were sent out today, with Yahoo’s Alyssa Bereznak sharing the first look at the artwork and tagline for the invitations: “Hey Siri, give us a hint.”
Image via The Loop
This year’s iPhone-centric event is expected to see the debut of the next-generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which, according to rumors, will include a reinforced body constructed from stronger 7000 Series aluminum, Force Touch, an A9 processor, 2GB RAM, and an improved camera.
Rumors have also suggested Apple will use the event to unveil the next-generation Apple TV, a major update from the existing set-top box. It will include a redesigned chassis with an A8 processor, more storage space, and a touch-based remote control, along with a new software system that includes Siri support and a full App Store.
We’ll also get an update on the launch dates of iOS 9 and watchOS 2, and shortly after the event ends, we may see golden master software releases for the two software updates ahead of their final public launch.
In line with past events, the September 9 iPhone unveiling will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Apple has not yet confirmed whether the event will be live streamed on its website and through the Apple TV, but it is likely details on a live stream will be announced a few days ahead of the event.
Update: Siri itself is also getting in on the festivities with some witty responses.
6 gadgets to help you keep track of your kids
By Cat DiStasio
When kids are young, most parents have some kind of monitoring device at home to keep tabs on the tots when they’re in another room. Whether they’re audio-only or combo audio/video contraptions, baby monitors are extremely common. In addition, though, there’s a slew of other devices that can help parents keep track of wayward munchkins whether they’re in the house, at the park or at a crowded outdoor event. From GPS watches to clothing with embedded tracking devices, read on for a look at these new ways to keep an eye on your offspring.Slideshow-315521
Tags: inhabitat, partner, syndicated
iPhone 6S might sport animated wallpapers like Apple Watch
Yet another feature that’s been on Android for years might be finally making its way to the iPhone: animated wallpapers! Specifically, Apple is reportedly planning to bring over the elegant “Motion” Apple Watch faces to the iPhone 6S, according to 9to5Mac. So far, those Apple Watch screens include things like swimming jellyfish, blooming flowers and fluttering butterflies that pop up when you check the time. For the iPhone 6S, sources say Apple is working on animated screens featuring koi fish swimming around a pond and moving smoke. The big difference between Apple’s approach and what we’ve seen on Android so far: It sounds like it’s focusing on just animating lock screens. That should add for a cool effect when you wake up your phone, but without eating up battery life like a moving wallpaper on your home screen.
While the sources say Apple might end up nixing the feature before the iPhone 6S launch, a purported iPhone 6S box also prominently showed a koi fish. So there’s a good chance it’s actually going to happen. If Apple does go down the animated wallpaper route, though, it’ll be interesting to see if it tries to justify keeping the feature only on the iPhone 6S. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, after all, should be powerful enough for this.
Additionally, 9to5Mac reports that the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will feature upgraded cameras, shifting from 8-megapixel sensors to 12 megapixels, plus flash on the front-facing camera. The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will also be the first iPhones to offer 4K video recording, the site says.
Source:
9to5Mac
Tags: apple, iPhone6S, wallpapers
Apple’s iPhone 6S and 6S Plus event takes off on September 9th
It’s that time of year again. Apple’s next iPhone event will take place on September 9th at 10AM PT, live at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. This is expected to be the unveiling of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which are reported to have animated wallpapers, 4K video capabilities, upgraded 12-megapixel cameras and front-facing flash, among other new features. We may even see something about force-touch iPhones. The event invite is light on details, as usual, but features the tease, “Hey Siri, give us a hint.” So, of course, we asked Siri and have posted its responses below.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Handhelds, Peripherals, Apple
Tags: apple, iphone6s, iPhone6SPlus
Google: EU is ‘wrong as a matter of fact, law, and economics’
Google officially responded to charges levelled by the European Commission that it unfairly favored its own products over its competition and abused its market dominance to crowd out potential rivals. The EC began poking around back in 2010 so this isn’t the first time that Google has had to publicly defended its position. “Economic data spanning more than a decade, an array of documents and statements from complainants all confirm that product search is robustly competitive,” Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, wrote in the Google Europe blog.
He continued:
Showing ads based on structured data provided by merchants demonstrably improves ad quality and makes it easier for consumers to find what they’re looking for. We show these ad groups where we’ve always shown ads — to the right and at the top of organic results — and we use specialized algorithms to maximize their relevance for users. Data from users and advertisers confirms they like these formats. That’s not “favoring” — that’s giving our customers and advertisers what they find most useful.
Walker also took exception with the EC’s proposed remedy, which would require Google show ads sourced from other companies in its own advertising spaces at the top and right of the natural search results. Google faces a maximum fine of €6 billion should the EC determine it has been operating a monopoly.
[Image Credit: Associated Press]
Via:
Reuters
Source:
Google Policy Europe
Tags: antitrust, EuropeanCommission, europeanunion, google, lawsuiots, legal, search
Lara Croft GO from Square Enix is now available
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Lara Croft is a very iconic female gaming character. She was bad ass and the titles brought action mixed with puzzles to new heights. One phenomenal aspect of the Tomb Raider/Lara Croft series is that it can be adapted to a variety of gaming styles. Many titles brought the 3rd person perspective while others were more of a top down view. The last mobile iteration was a traditional endless runner, Lara Croft: Relic Run and Square even brought the original title from Playstation, Tomb Raider, as well. Today Square Enix has launched the highly anticipated puzzle adventure, Lara Croft GO.
The title takes queues from Hitman GO where all your actions and decisions take careful planning on a fixed path. You control Lara by swiping the direction you want her to move. You aren’t hindered by a move counter, but you will 75 puzzles to solve over 5 chapters. Each chapter brings Lara to a new location that offers up new challenges and puzzles to solve. Don’t forget about the relics and the outfits for Lara too. For puzzle adventure gamers, and fans of Lara Croft titles, the $4.99 price tag doesn’t seem outlandish. Square does include some in-app purchase options, but they don’t seem to be forced upon you in order to progress in the game and run from $1.99 – $4.99 per item.
Head to the Play Store and pull out those Opinion Reward dollars and get to it.
Lara Croft GO in the Play Store
The post Lara Croft GO from Square Enix is now available appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
NVIDIA SHIELD set-top box is now available in the Google Store
The NVIDIA SHIELD set-top box has made its way to the Google Store. Starting today, users will be able to buy the new console for $199.
The NVIDIA SHIELD set-top box is a gaming console with Google’s Android TV software built right in. Users can stream their favorite content directly to their TV with no wires. In addition, users can cast the screen of their Android device to the TV for easier screen mirroring. The console comes with loads of entertainment and a selection of apps that is growing by the week. Since Google partnered with Nvidia to make this console, users get unlimited access to some of Google’s Play services such as Movies and TV, Play Music and YouTube. But that’s not all! It includes a built-in gaming console built for heavy gaming with high quality graphics. Users will get a remote control included in the set for seamless gaming and control.
The console supports 4K content and can be purchased via the Google Store for only $199. Shield will come with 16GB on memory, and if you need more, Shield Pro includes 500GB of storage. Users will need an HDMI output and a wireless internet connection to set up. Hurry before quantity runs out!
Source: Google Store
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