AT&T is finally getting serious with its Unlimited Plan

Looks like somebody woke up over at AT&T.

Thanks to Verizon Wireless, and by extension T-Mobile, it looks like cellular plans without data caps are becoming popular again. While Big Red and Magenta continue to sling bad insults at each other on Twitter over which company is “the best,” a lot of folks subscribed to the other carriers were wondering when an actually competitive response to these new plans would arise.

We’ve seen Sprint try and fail to offer something interesting, but now it’s AT&T’s turn up to the plate again. Here’s how its new plans break down.

AT&T’s big flagship unlimited plan is fairly competitive. You pay $90 for a single line of “unlimited” with a 22GB cap before speed throttling and 10GB of tethering before speed throttling. Adding a second line brings the monthly total to $145 monthly, with the option to add more lines for an additional $20 each. If you are a DirecTV or U-Verse subscriber, you are eligible for a $25 monthly bill credit under this deal.

There is also an Unlimited Choice plan, for those a little more budget conscious. This is an “unlimited” plan that restricts all data access to 3Mbps as a top speed, and automatically scales all streaming video down to 480p. This plan runs $60 monthly for a single line, and $155 monthly for four lines. There’s no U-Verse bill credit attached to this plan, but it doesn’t seem to have an upper limit on the 3Mbps speeds.

These plans, which AT&T will roll out on March 2, are a great deal more competitive than the original response to Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. While it’s a little odd to see this weird form of corporate peer pressure spread across the cellular landscape, it does seem like these plans are genuinely better for users.

Buy a Google Home, get a Chromecast or Chromecast Audio for free

Get a Chromecast for free when you pick up a Google Home.

Google is rolling out a new promotion for the Google Home that includes a free Chromecast or Chromecast Audio with every purchase, a $35 value. To avail the deal, you’ll have to add either the Chromecast or ChromeCast Audio to your cart along with the Google Home, after which the discount will be applied automatically .

The deal is available at Best Buy as well as the Google Store, and is valid until March 18. The promotion also includes free shipping.

See at Best Buy

Google Home

• Google Home review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

Google Store Best Buy Target

LG Watch Sport vs. Huawei Watch 2: The right and wrong way to do Android Wear 2.0

And now we have another Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch to check out.

The one-two punch of the big LG Watch Sport and sleek LG Watch Style didn’t hit every market segment, and that’s fine because we always knew other companies would step in and provide different options. The Huawei Watch 2 is the first of those alternative choices — a follow-up model to the well-received Huawei Watch, and another choice for those who want a new watch built for Android Wear 2.0.

Interestingly the Huawei Watch 2 doesn’t follow the design of its predecessor, and instead goes with a more active design that actually lines it up nicely against the LG Watch Sport. A step further, the Huawei Watch 2 is launching at a similar price point. So how do these two compare? After reviewing the LG Watch Sport, I took a look at the Huawei Watch 2 alongside it to see how they stack up.

Huawei’s second-gen smartwatch looks rather bulky thanks to its active styling, but it is notably thinner and lighter than the LG Watch Sport — of course, pretty much every watch is small compared to the Watch Sport. The Huawei Watch 2 doesn’t have the large bulge on the back though it still has a heart rate sensor, coming in a couple millimeters thinner than the Watch Sport because of it. It’s also considerably lighter than LG’s watch, though that comes at the expense of actual feel on the wrist — the Huawei Watch 2 feels cheap both in terms of its heft and external plastic coatings.

All of the same specs, fit into a smaller package — but of course, with cheaper materials.

The Huawei Watch 2 makes up some of that sleekness back on the front, where its thick bezel rises up high off of the display and certainly stands out … and depending on your design sensibilities it may stand out too much. It’s a pretty honest take at a men’s sport watch design, but the LG Watch Sport certainly has a more streamlined feeling to it that’s a bit more neutral to be paired with a wider variety of watch faces and wardrobes alike.

Even with its smaller overall case size, the Huawei Watch 2 manages to fit the same raw specs inside as the LG Watch Sport. One better, it gets NFC, LTE and GPS into the case while retaining removable bands — which was of course understandably easier because the entirety of the case is plastic, allowing radio penetration. The victory of removable bands isn’t as big as you’d immediately think, as the lug design really limits what kind of bands will actually look good here.

The Huawei Watch 2 isn’t a complete slam dunk, even against the imperfect LG Watch Sport.

Even though the Huawei Watch 2 has the same specs and software, it does have a couple of usability shortcomings compared to the latest from LG. Namely its smaller 1.2-inch display to the Watch Sport’s 1.38-inch, which when paired with the large bezels can make it a bit tougher to quickly flick through the interface without your finger obscuring the view. This is an important point because the Huawei Watch 2 also doesn’t have a rotating crown (or any other input method) — which is one of my favorite features of the LG Watch Sport.

Considering just how big and clunky the LG Watch Sport is, the Huawei Watch 2 will automatically get some attention because it is indeed thinner and lighter while offering the same internals and near-identical features. But that doesn’t mean the only differences are in the positive category — the Huawei Watch 2 in turn feels cheaper, has a more polarizing bezel design and is missing a couple of key features for many like a larger display and rotating bezel. These trade-offs also live with the reality that the Huawei Watch 2 is in the same price category as the Watch Sport, depending on where you live and whether you choose to get a model with LTE or not.

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Moto G5 Plus with Snapdragon 625 is coming to India on Mar. 15

The Moto G5 Plus will make its debut in India on March 15.

Motorola unveiled the Moto G5 and G5 Plus at Mobile World Congress yesterday, introducing a metal chassis and much-needed spec upgrades. With India being the largest market for the Moto G series, it’s not surprising that Motorola is teasing the imminent launch of the Moto G5 Plus in the country. According to a recent tweet, the Moto G5 Plus will make its debut in India on March 15.

You either get a flaunt-worthy phone or a fast processor. #WhyCompromise when you can get both? Wait for the #MotoG5Plus.Arriving on 15/03. pic.twitter.com/qVVQ0EREI7

— Moto India (@Moto_IND) February 27, 2017

There’s no mention of the standard Moto G5, but we’ll likely see both versions make their debut on the same day. Both versions offer fingerprint sensors, but there’s a lot of differentiation when it comes to the internal hardware. The Moto G5 sports a 5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 430, 2GB or 3GB of RAM, storage configurations of 16GB and 32GB, microSD slot, 13MP camera with f/2.0 lens, and a 2800mAh battery.

• Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus specs
• Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus hands-on

Meanwhile, the Moto G5 Plus has a larger 5.2-inch Full HD display, and offers a beefier Snapdragon 625 SoC. Other specs include 2GB or 3GB of RAM along with 32Gb storage, and a version with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The phone also sports a larger 3000mAh battery.

With the launch just over two weeks away, we don’t have to wait long to find out how much the phone will cost in India. Pricing will be the crucial factor for the Moto G5 Plus, and with the recent influx of devices in this category, Motorola is facing increased competition.

What do you guys think is a good price for the Moto G5 Plus in India?

Samsung Galaxy Book preview: A viable Surface alternative

The world is trying to move us away from laptops and toward 2-in-1 devices. Following Microsoft’s original dalliance and the emergence of Window RT, there was some turmoil, as it became immediately evident that people didn’t want RT – they wanted the full Windows experience. 

The Surface typified this move to a more mobile line of devices, as the chunky laptops of the past were resigned to tech landfill. Samsung went as far as folding its laptop business in the UK, but device like the Galaxy TabPro started this transition to something new, a rival to the Surface. 

The Galaxy Book, launched at Mobile World Congress 2017 bring a much stronger identity to this type of device, leaving the Tab S3 on Android, the Galaxy Book is a sophisticated rival to the Surface Pro. 

Samsung Galaxy Book preview: 10.6 and 12-inch versions

• 10.6-inch models gets Intel Core i3
• 12-inch model packs HDR and Intel Core i5 

There are two versions of the Galaxy Book – 10.6 and 12-inch. These aren’t just a different size, they are different spec too, with the 12-inch model being the one you’d probably append the Pro moniker too: it offers HDR, has a higher resolution 2160 x 1440 pixel display, more power and more ports.

Pocket-lint

That 12-inch display is really impressive and the support for HDR is a relatively new development in mobile devices. It’s a technology that’s been talked about in television for the last few years, giving you wider colours and greater contrast, with greater peak brightness output. It only really applies to video content, however, so you’ll probably only really revel in its greatness when watching the likes of Amazon Video.

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR, and what HDR content can I watch?

It comes with the Intel Core i5, 7-gen, and Samsung was keen to point out that this was the i5 U, so fan cooled, meaning real power. It’s paired with 4GB RAM as standard, but there’s an 8GB version, depending on how much grunt you really need. For storage you have 128GB SSD on the 4GB version, jumping to 256GB on the 8GB version. 

The 12-inch Galaxy Book also doubles the connection, offering two USB Type-C connections, and we’ve seen this running with two connected USB monitors, but it means you’ll be able to connect a range of accessories quickly and easily.

Pocket-lint

The 10.6-inch model by comparison offers a 1920 x 1280 pixel display and is powered by a 7-gen Intel Core m3 processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD. There’s also only the one USB Type-C connection on offer. 

We imagine there will be a substantial difference in price: the 2016 Galaxy TabPro S was £849 and that sort of fell between the spec of these two models, basically offering the larger’s display with smaller’s hardware. We suspect the 12-inch Galaxy Book will sail well over £1000. 

Samsung Galaxy Book preview: Great design

• Galaxy Book 12: 291.3 x 199.8 x 7.4mm, 754g
• Galaxy Book 10: 261.2 x 179.1 x 8.9mm, 640g

The Galaxy Book gets off to a great start offering a wonderful slim design. We don’t think it’s quite as luscious as the Galaxy Tab S3 with its glass back: it’s more serious in its design, but all of Samsung’s tablets at this level offer an elegance in their design.

Pocket-lint

They’re also impressively thin, as the TabPro S was previously, with a 7.4mm thickness on the larger 12-inch model. There’s certainly no questioning the portability here and with a weight that comes in much lighter than small laptops, that’s less strain on your shoulders.

The important thing is that the Galaxy Book comes with the keyboard cover. This has been refined over the previous offerings, designed to create more space for keys and give a nice action, with 1.5mm of travel. The action on this keyboard cover seems good, although we’ve not had the chance to really put it through its paces and see how it performs in the real world.

Pocket-lint

We do like the overall fit and feel of the covers. The Galaxy Book docks easily enough and the cover offers a range of different positions. This is common territory: you can have note model or easel mode, depending on how you set the tablet and what you want to do with it. Of course, ditching the keyboard means you’re working in tablet mode with your finger, or with the new S Pen. 

Samsung Galaxy Book preview: S Pen included

• S Pen included
• Adobe support

Samsung has also redesigned the S Pen, making it more like the Apple Pencil and elevating it from integrated stylus as it was on the Galaxy Note to something more accomplished. It comes with the Galaxy Book, so you have full handwriting, stylus and more advanced drawing functions.

Pocket-lint

The S Pen is also battery free, relying on sensitivity in the display, with 4096 levels of pressure. As a fun move, Samsung has teamed up with Staedtler to create a Noris digital – an S Pen that’s in the form of a classic pencil. It even smells of pencil – take that Apple. 

The tip is a special kind of rubber on the S Pen to give a smoother paper feel when you’re writing and sketching, and although we’ve not had the chance to use it to a great extent, we’ve had a play with the tilt detection to change the thickness of the lines and so on, and it all seems to work nicely.

Pocket-lint

While many will never use the S Pen of any sort of graphical art work, it does mean you can kick back and scrawl notes at your leisure, rather than having to type everything. 

Samsung Galaxy Book preview: It’s the full Windows experience

• Windows 10
• Multiple desktops supported

As we said at the start of this Galaxy Book exploration, it runs Windows 10, giving you a full Windows experience so you can run proper apps, in proper windows, with proper multitasking.

Samsung is also letting you create multiple desktops, so you can have different tasks running in different places and swipe between them using the trackpad on the keyboard. It seems slick and fast, but naturally, we’ve not seen it running when under real strain. We’ve mentioned that Samsung has teamed up with Adobe to let you do things like write on PDFs using the S Pen, as well as using the Pen in applications like Photoshop.

Pocket-lint

One of the other Samsung additions on the software front is called Samsung Flow. Designed to deal with the problem of having devices on different platforms – Windows, Tizen, Android – Samsung Flow will create a link between these different devices, so you can “flow” and attachment from your phone to your tablet, for example, or get your notifications from your Android phone on your Windows desktop – to save juggling different devices all the time. 

First Impressions

The Samsung Galaxy Book has a great form factor. We like the look and the feel and on paper at least, there are two different devices here to appeal to different types of users. The Galaxy Book 10 will have ample power for those looking for mobile Windows working, without stepping into the realms of serious processing of things like video that might need the additional grunt of the 12-inch model.

The 12-inch version is the model that’s caught our eye however. The premium display, the additional USB (although the lack of a regular full-size USB will leave some complaining) and that slim body draw us to it. 

There’s no word on the exact pricing yet and the availability to still to be confirmed. We suspect that the Galaxy Book is going to be expensive. The real question is whether it ends up costing more or less than the Surface Pro.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: What’s the difference?

Motorola announced the Moto G5 and G5 Plus at Mobile World Congress 2017, bringing the next generation of its budget smartphones to the market.

The two devices feature very similar designs, aside from a few differences here and there, but they are a big step away from their predecessors. Here is how the Moto G5 Plus compares to the Moto G4 Plus.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Design

• Moto G5 Plus is slimmer and smaller
• Both have front-mounted fingerprint sensors
• Moto G5 Plus more premium with metal build

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus features a metal build with a front-mounted fingerprint sensor within a capacitive button and a Moto Z-like camera and flash circular module on the rear.

It measures 150.2 x 74 x 7.7mm, weighs 155g it comes Lunar Gray and Fine Gold colour options. The signature “M” also appears ton the rear and there is a nice curve to the back.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus measures 153 x 76.6 x 9.8mm and hits the scales at 155g, meaning the G5 Plus is little more compact, as well as slimmer but the same weight. It is also a little more premium than its predecessor as the G4 Plus features a metal frame but a plastic rear and a square front-mounted fingerprint sensor that looks a little like an afterthought.

The G4 Plus also has the signature “M” on the rear, distinguishing it as a Motorola device, but the camera array on the rear is a different and a little less interesting than what appears on the G5 Plus. Colour options for the G4 Plus are black and white.

• Motorola Moto G5 Plus preview

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Display

• Moto G5 has a smaller, sharper display
• Both have Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Both IPS LCD display

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus has a 5.2-inch display featuring a Full HD resolution. This puts its pixel density at 423ppi.

The company has retained an IPS LCD display for the G5 Plus, which is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a feature its smaller brother misses off.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has a 5.5-inch display, which also has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution for a pixel density of 401ppi. This means the new device theoretically offers a sharper display but the difference isn’t likely to be noticeable to the human eye.

The Moto G4 Plus has an IPS LCD display too and it is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

• Motorola Moto G4 Plus review

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Camera

• Moto G5 Plus 12MP Dual Autofocus Pixels camera
• Wider aperture on Moto G5 Plus
• Both 5MP front camera

Motorola claims the Moto G5 Plus features the “most advanced in class” camera. It offers a 12-megapixel Dual Autofocus Pixels snapper on the rear, featuring an aperture of f/1.7 and 1.4µm pixels. There is also a colour-balancing dual-LED flash.

On the front, the Moto G5 Plus has a 5-megapixel snapper, also with 1.4µm pixels, along with an aperture of f/2.2 and a display flash.  

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has a 16-megapixel rear camera with phase detection and laser autofocus, along with an aperture of f/2.0 and a dual LED flash. There is also a 5-megapixel f/2.2 front camera with auto-HDR.

• Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G5: What’s the difference?

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Hardware

• Moto G5 Plus faster chip
• Same 3000mAh battery
• Moto G5 Plus has TurboCharging

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 chip, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and microSD support for storage expansion.

There is a 3000mAh battery with TurboPower charging for six hours battery life in 15 minutes, and the Moto G5 Plus also offers a 3.5mm headphone jack, NFC, a fingerprint sensor as we mentioned previously, and Micro-USB.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chip with options of 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage or 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. MicroSD support is available on all three.

Like the new model, there is a 3000mAh battery, charged via Micro-USB, with fast charging supported. The G4 Plus also has a fingerprint sensor on board and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

• Motorola Moto G5 and G5 Plus: Everything you need to know

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Software

• Similar software experience

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus launches on Android Nougat with Motorola Experiences over the top including Motorola Display and Motorola Actions.

The Motorola Moto G4 Plus launched on Android Marshmallow but it has been updated to Nougat so the software experience will be very similar.

Motorola Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus: Conclusion

The Motorola Moto G5 Plus features a more premium design, more discreet fingerprint sensor, better hardware and an improved camera.

There are a few things that stay the same, such as battery life and RAM, depending on the G4 Plus model you opt for, and the G5 Plus does have a smaller screen, but overall, the new device makes the changes you’d expect.

On paper, the Motorola Moto G5 Plus is the one to go for out of these two devices, but we will update this feature as soon as we have reviewed it to give you our opinion after real-world experience.

Huawei P10 Plus preview: Premium package, without a price hike

Huawei is back once again with its latest P-seried flagship phones, and is ready to wow us with its most impressive components, all packed into a device which is attractive, fashionable and well priced. The P10 Plus is the big brother of the regular P10, and comes with a few notable improvements, and only a modest premium. At just €50 more than the P10, the question is, why not just go for the bigger one? 

Huawei P10 Plus preview: Ho, ho, ho green giant

• 153.5 x 74.2 x 7mm
• Metal chassis, plus diamond cut finish on some
• Multiple fashionable colours
• 165 grams

Unlike Huawei’s Nova range, the Plus model design is – in every way – a bigger version of its smaller sibling. It’s the same all metal back, with antenna bands running along near the top and bottom edges, similar to the iPhone 7. There’s also the narrow glass panel at the top which plays home to the cameras, LED flash and laser autofocus sensor.

• Huawei P10 preview: The lean, green photo machine
• Huawei P10 and P10 Plus: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know

The phone is impressively slim and has gently rounded edges to ensure that, despite its size, it’s still pretty comfortable to hold. That’s also helped by the fact that its power button is within easy reach on the right edge, right below the volume rocker.

Pocket-lint

The finish of the metal body depends very much on the colour of the device. As an example, the blue model has the diamond cut finish, which feels unusual in the hand and gives a really intriguing reflection. Other more traditional colours have the more usual anodised aluminium finish.

The front is just one big sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which is – as you’d expect – more scratch resistant, and stronger than the previous generation of tempered glass from the American glassmaker.

Huawei P10 Plus preview: Fingerprints

• Front mounted sensor
• New home, back, recent apps gestures
• Embedded in glass

In something of a break from tradition for the P series, Huawei has moved the fingerprint sensor to the front of the device. It’s embedded behind a pill-shaped sheet of glass under the display. In fact, Huawei claims this is the first fingerprint sensor to be seamlessly embedded under the glass.

It’s worth noting, this isn’t a clickable button, rather, just a sensor that’s designed to vibrate slightly to give the user at least a little feedback.

Pocket-lint

Depending on which phones you’re used to, this shift to the front will either be a great or terrible thing. One thing that is a downside is that the sensor is no longer usable to bring down the notification and quick settings shade with a swipe down gesture. However, Huawei has equipped it with its own suite of other gestures.

You can use it to perform tasks normally undertaken by the onscreen virtual home, back and recent apps buttons. A single tap takes you back to the previous screen, press and hold goes home and a sideways swipe launches the recent apps menu.

You can still have the onscreen virtual buttons if you’d rather, but having them switched off means more screen real estate for your apps and content.

Huawei P10 Plus preview: Screen

• 5.5-inch LCD display
• QHD resolution 

Another first for the P10 Plus is the introduction of a Quad HD display. It’s not the first Huawei phone screen to be 2560 x 1440, but it is the first P-series phone to be equipped with that resolution. That means pixel density in the 5.5-inch LCD panel is an impressive 534 pixels per inch.

Pocket-lint

On first impressions, the LCD screen seems really sharp and natural. The white balance is nice and clean, and content – even fine lines and text – is very smooth and doesn’t have the fuzziness you can see up close sometimes in big 1080p displays.

LCD isn’t usually quite as vibrant as an AMOLED screen might be, and they’re normally a cooler temperature too, but this new panel from Huawei didn’t leave us hankering for anything different. As a side note: if the default temperature of the screen isn’t quite right, there’s an option within the software’s settings to manually change the colouring to suit you.

Huawei P10 Plus preview: Power

• Kirin 960 processor
• 4GB or 6GB RAM
• 3,750mah battery

Huawei has long done a good job of optimising its hardware and software performance, and that’s thanks mostly to the company’s own custom processor sitting inside the device. The same is set to continue with the P10 and P10 Plus which both feature the brand new Kirin 960 oct-core processor. This powerful chip is coupled with either 4GB or 6GB RAM to ensure that whatever you’re doing, it doesn’t run slowly.

Pocket-lint

Perhaps more impressive on the power side is that, somehow, Huawei managed to cram in a 3,750mAh battery in to a phone that’s only 7mm thin. With the software’s extensive battery optimisations, this could well be a two day battery for a lot of users. Huawei’s SuperCharge also means that you can fill it up again in no time. Just half an hour plugged in is enough to give you 50 per cent.

Huawei P10 Plus preview: Dual Cameras

• Dual 12MP and 20MP sensors
• Leica Summilix f/1.8 optics
• New portrait mode

The Plus model of Huawei’s latest phone features a similar camera setup as the smaller model. That’s to say it’s two cameras on the back, one with a 12-megapixel colour sensor, and the other a 20-megapixel black and white one. While the smaller P10 comes with Leica Summarit lenses, the P10 Plus comes with higher end Summilux optics with f/1.8 aperture. In normal terms, that means we should see clearer, brighter images from the bigger version.

Pocket-lint

A lot of what makes using these cameras great is the software. With EMUI 5.1 built on top of Android Nougat, the camera app brings in some great Leica manual controls. It also now means we have portrait mode. Huawei wants us to think we can take professional quality portraits using a P10 Plus, but we’ll reserve judgment on that until we’ve tested it further.

The camera can track 190 points of face, to make sure it adjusts the exposure to best shoot skin tones and facial details, and can create a soft-focus bokeh effect, similar to the iPhone 7 Plus’ Portrait mode.

This may be a relatively new feature for Huawei, but the blurry background effects have been around in smartphones for sometime, and even with Apple’s version, effects can be hit and miss depending on lighting and the contrast between the subject and the backdrop. We expect Huawei’s P10 Plus to be the same as those.

First Impressions

On first look, there are a lot of reasons to like the P10 Plus. It’s a nice evolution from the P9 Plus which we liked, and with the improved cameras and much better software experience with EMUI 5.1 and Android Nougat, we’re very much looking forward to testing it further.

• Huawei P9 Plus review: The big and the bold

It’ll be available from March, alongside the P10, and will cost €649 when it goes on sale. Just €50 more than the small model.

SanDisk will now let you upgrade your iOS device with 256GB of storage

Mobile storage expert SanDisk has introduced two new storage options to its current range of flash drives for iOS devices at Mobile World Congress. The iXpand Flash Drive and Connect Wireless Stick can both seamlessly increase the storage of your iPhone or iPad, and are now available with 256GB of space, for storing around 14,000 photos, up to 10 hours of video and music.

• SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive review

The new versions of both drives means you can now match – or in fact better if you include the storage you already have – the top storage option for iPhones and iPads that you can get from Apple.

The iXpand Drive features both Lightning and USB 3.0 connections so you can transfer files from a Mac or PC directly onto the drive and subsequently onto your iPhone or iPad. SanDisk’s iXpand Drive companion app has had a refresh too, and can be used to automatically backup your camera roll and content from social media sites including Facebook and Instagram.

And in case you happen to lose the iXpand Flash Drive, you can rest safe in the knowledge that the app includes encryption software to password-protect files. An update to the app also now means you can cast content from the iXpand Drive to a Chromecast or Amazon Fire device.

The SanDisk Connect Wireless meanwhile can be used to stream any content stored on it to up to three devices at any one time. It’s used with the companion SanDisk Connect app, which lets you easily manage and transfer content between iOS, PC and Mac devices.

• You can fit more than 26,000 RAW files on this 1TB SanDisk SD card
• Mobile World Congress 2017: Nokia, LG, Samsung, Huawei, smartphones and more

Both the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive and Connect Wireless are available now from Amazon for £175 each.

SanDisk

SanDisk also updated its range of A1 microSD cards, which take advantage of the new A1 specification for super speedy data transfer rates. The company now offers a 256GB Extreme microSDXC memory card for Android smartphones, that can transfer files at rates of up to 100mb/s. 

If your Android smartphone has 6.0 Marshmallow or 7.0 Nougat installed, you’ll be able to install apps directly onto the memory card and have them load up and operate much quicker than before. It will be available from late March for $199.99.

Lenovo Yoga 720 (13-inch) preview: Flexibility at your fingertips

When it comes to flexible, adaptable laptops Lenovo has really got its act together in its Yoga series. We thought the 11-inch Yoga 710 was a great little portable; the newer Yoga 720 ups the scale to a 13-inch sweetspot, while boosting power too. Is it the perfect sub-£1,000 laptop?

Lenovo Yoga 720 review: Design

• Flexible hinge for laptop, tablet, tent and stand positions
• Platinum Silver, Iron Grey and Copper colour options
• Built-in fingerprint scanner

As with all Yoga products, the 720 is all about its flexibility: that hinge means the 13-inch screen can be positioned through 360-degrees as desired, to sit in laptop, tablet, tent and stand positions.

Pocket-lint

It does so without the more jewellery-like watchstrap-like hinge found on some other Lenovo products, going simple instead. So if bling isn’t your thing then this Yoga ought to appeal for its no-nonsense yet quality design.

The 720 is a solid slab of laptop; well constructed it’s the small details that help to sell it: the subtle chamfered edges, the embellished Yoga logo on the front, the light-up power button and soft colour finish (Platinum Silver, Iron Grey and Copper are available, so nothing garish like the old orange shells of Yogas past). Yum.

We think that a 13-inch device is spot on for work and portability too. As much as we loved the 11-inch Yoga, the extra real-estate of this 13-inch model makes it altogether more practical – plus it’s more powerful, with full fan vent to the rear to enable effective use of its 7th Gen Intel Kaby Lake processors (up to i7).

Pocket-lint

Notably, there’s also a built-in fingerprint sensor for secure login. Looks rather nifty.

Lenovo Yoga 720 review: Connectivity

• 14.3mm thin; 1.3kgs
• 1x USB; 1x USB-C; 1x Thunderbolt 3

We’ve seen some slightly thinner and lighter laptops in our time, but the Yoga 720 is approaching as slender as things can get when there’s a full-size USB 3.0 port on the side.

Pocket-lint

Not that the Yoga 720 is ignoring the future: on the opposite side it features a USB-C port (also used for charging; shame there’s not two of them to avoid this issue), next to a Thunderbolt 3 port.

Lenovo Yoga 720 review: Operation

• 13-inch and 15-inch panel options
• Up to 4K resolution IPS display
• Touchscreen control
• Stylus compatible

We’re focusing on the 13-inch Yoga 720 model here, as we think it’s the more attractive of the two models (the 15-inch is a lot larger, as its thicker build is designed to cater for Nvidia GTX graphics cards, not so with the 13-inch).

Pocket-lint

As this is a flexible design, the 720’s screen is obviously touch-sensitive to make the most of its variable positions. What’s new this time around, however, is compatibility with an optional stylus, should you want to input direct to the device (using Windows Ink if you want).

Images look great too: there’s real depth of colour from the panel used here, while resolution will be offered up to 4K (3840 x 2160). At 13-inches in scale, however, we’d suggest opting for the Full HD panel to help benefit battery life. 

The side bezel is nice and trim, too, although we’ve seen narrower from the likes of Dell. What we’re less keen on is the giant lower bezel which sort-of pushes the screen further up within the design. It’s the same on all the Yoga models.

Pocket-lint

We didn’t get to listen to the 720 pump out the audio, but the JBL signal on its front makes clear that it’s got said company’s speakers built in.

Lenovo Yoga 720 review: Price and release date

• 13-inch from €999 (£850)
• April launch

Go to the Lenovo website right now and, at the time of writing, the Yoga 720 isn’t yet available. That’s because you’ll have to wait until April for this mid-size laptop. And part with €999 for the base model – which calculates as approximately £850, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s priced at £999 in the UK too.

The Morning After: Monday, February 27 2017

Welcome to your Monday. The world’s premier mobile show, MWC, kicked off over the weekend, and the biggest launch might have been a 17-year-old dumbphone. Yes, as rumors suggested, Nokia (well, the company that now owns its phone branding) has resurrected the 3310. That was just the start, however.

They say you always remember your first.
Say hello (again) to the Nokia 3310

The Nokia 3310 is back. Courtesy of new brand owner HMD, the phone is returning with a mixture of dumbphone charm and some specification upgrades. The good news: it’s cheap (around $50), it has Snake, those nostalgic ringtones of yesteryear and seems pretty darn indestructible again. It’s an iconic phone, but one that’s over 15 years old. That’s a long time in mobile. A lot of people are going to want one. Do you?

Sony’s bringing its A-game this year.
The Xperia XZ Premium may be the 4K flagship we’ve been waiting for

After a mostly disappointing year of Sony smartphones (ahem, Xperia X and X Performance), the company might have just built its finest yet. Say hello to the Xperia XZ Premium, a high-performance sequel that ticks just about every box on our list when it comes to flagship devices. Sony seems to have gotten enough right that we’re willing to see where the XZ Premium takes us. That includes an incredible 960 frames-per-second super slow-motion mode and a 4K display that does HDR like thousand-dollar TVs.

Samsung’s convertible will also support new S Pen features.
The Galaxy Book crams desktop power in portable body

In addition to its Tab S3, Samsung is showing off two new hybrids that it’s calling the Galaxy Book. They’re ten- and twelve-inch Windows 10 tablets that support new S Pen features, come with keyboards and are light enough to carry around. They’re well-designed and performed quickly during a brief hands-on, and apart from the S Pen support there are a few small features that differentiate the Galaxy Books from rival Windows 10 convertibles.

LG G6 ditches modularity in favor of essentials
In return we get a longer screen, a waterproof design and wireless charging.

LG has taken a more sensible approach with its latest flagship. It’s tougher, more practical and better-looking than its predecessor, and its unusually proportioned display is a much-welcome feature in a market where phones tend to struggle to stand out.

The Lockheed Martin-designed aircraft is one step closer to reality.
NASA starts wind tunnel tests for its quiet supersonic jet

NASA’s plans for a quiet supersonic jet, the QueSST, just became tangible: the agency and Lockheed Martin have started wind tunnel tests for the future X-plane. It’s a scale model at this stage, but it will be subjected to winds as high as Mach 1.6 (950MPH).

The phone formerly known as ‘Mercury’ launches in April for $549
BlackBerry’s KEYone is an exciting return to form

With a global launch in the works and the hopes of diehards at an all-time high, the pressure was on BlackBerry and TCL to deliver on all that Mercury hype. We can’t render an official verdict yet, but my gut tells me they’re onto something. Say hello to the BlackBerry KEYone. Yes, “Mercury” was a better name, and yes, the capitalization is weirding us out too. No matter: Despite the nature of its creation, the KEYone feels like a pretty triumphant return to form for a brand in need of a boost.

But wait, there’s more…

• Huawei’s P10 wraps familiar performance in colorful bodies
• Nokia’s fresh start hinges on these Android phones
• The new Moto G5s trade fun colors for mature looks
• Six Flags’ new VR roller coaster is both breathtaking and broken
• GoPro’s deal with Huawei gives it a foothold in smartphones