Flagship Nokia 8 breaks cover with familiar hardware, top-end specs

It’s time to break out from the budget segment.

The Nokia brand, reborn under the company HMD Global, is set to release a proper flagship phone above the previously released Nokia 3, 5, and 6 — it’s the Nokia 8. Well-known leaker Evan Blass has some early details over at VentureBeat.

The Nokia 8 is a slightly larger phone that stylistically fits in the same family as the 3, 5, and 6 but has top-end specs to compete with other leading flagships. It’s expected to have a 5.3-inch QHD display, Snapdragon 835, at least 4GB of RAM, and of course a dual camera with Carl Zeiss optics in front of 13MP sensors. It’s all expected to run Android 7.1.1, and its current set of phones have shown HMD isn’t interested in messing with the software much.

Up to this point the refreshed release of Nokia-branded phones has been in the budget segment and almost entirely leveraging the recognition of the Nokia name. It will be interesting to see how a phone that is likely to sell for $600 or more can differentiate itself in its actual components or experience, as the Nokia name alone isn’t going to be enough to take down the fantastic set of flagships in 2017.

Rumors point to a proper announcement of the Nokia 8 on July 31.

These Galaxy S7 Battery Cases Can Keep You Powered Up

Keep your S7 charged up when you’re on the go with these battery cases.

If you’re finding that your Samsung Galaxy S7’s battery life is lacking these days, you might be in the market for a quality battery case to provide you some extra juice as you go about your day.

There’s a number of things to consider, depending on your specific needs such as budget, style, and which phone features are most important to you. While these cases help you keep your phone charged throughout the day, many of them affect your ability to use QI wireless charging, which might be a deal breaker for some.

Let’s take a look at your best options.

• Samsung Galaxy S7 Wireless Charging Battery Pack
• Mophie Juice Pack
• Trianium Charging Case
• ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case
• Bastex Charging Case

Samsung Galaxy S7 Wireless Charging Battery Pack

We’ll start with this charging pack option from Samsung themselves, which we’ve previously highlighted in our list of the best accessories for the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Like all the products features in this list, this battery pack from Samsung is going to add some substantial girth to your phone, but it’s also designed to be easy to install or remove. This makes it an ideal accessory to keep handy in your bag, so it’s always on hand if you need a boost to get through the rest of your day. It’s also worth noting that this is called a charging pack — not a case — so don’t expect this one to provide much protection for your phone in the case of an accidental drop.

This pack actually uses Qi technology to wirelessly charge your phone, which is great for keeping the Micro-USB port clear, but it also slower charging speeds — expect to get a 50% charge over 2 hours of charging time. That’s going to be disappointing for some, but for its current price of under $30, it’s still a worthwhile accessory to have handy for those times when you’ll need it.

See at Amazon

Mophie Juice Pack

Looking beyond Samsung’s own battery case, Mophie offers your next best bet — although it’s also the most expensive case on the list. What you get in terms of features might make the premium price tag worth it though.

AC’s Andrew Martonik went hands on with the Juice Pack and found that it outperformed the Samsung battery pack, adding 60% to the phone’s battery in roughly one hour and 20 minutes. It’s compatible with wireless charging and includes pass-through charging so your Galaxy S7’s battery is topped up before the Juice Pack. Beyond the overall bulkiness, the design of the case is smooth and sturdy, with tactile feedback for the covered power and volume buttons.

The downside here is the considerable amount of bulk that this case adds. The phone is thicker and taller with the case installed, which is to be expected for most battery pack cases and the one big trade off you’ll have to accept. Still, if you’re looking for a reliable battery case to give your phone the juice it needs to get through the day, Mophie knows what they’re doing!

See at Best Buy

Trianium Charging Case

This charging case from Trianium offers 4,100mAh of backup power in a slim yet protective case that should also keep your phone protected from minor drops. The build offers much more grip than the slippery glass of the naked Galaxy S7. You can charge the case and your phone at the same time using a Quick Charge 2.0-compatible wall charger, or sync your phone to your computer with the case on via the included Micro-USB cable.

You’ll find the LED power level indicators on the back near the bottom of the case. The added bulk at the bottom of the phone blocks access to the headphone jack, so Trianium has included a headphone jack adapter — because that’s an important feature most of us can’t live without.

With a fully-charged phone and battery case, you should expect to get up to 18 hours of heavy use with this combo. This case interferes with the wireless charging capabilities of the Galaxy S7, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.

See at Amazon

ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case

ZeroLemon claims that this is the world’s highest-capacity Samsung Galaxy S7 charging case — and with a capacity of 7,500mAh it’s certainly the best we’ve found.

But all that added power means that this thing is THICK. With it installed, your phone will be 0.82 inches, so don’t even think about wirelessly charging your phone with this puppy on. It’s a three-piece case that might be a little tricky to install at first, but once you’ve got it on, your phone is protected from drop damage as well as running out of juice. Power level indicators and the charging button are located on the top-half of the back, and it also support pass-through Quick Charge 2.0 capabilities for the phone itself.

Some users have reported an issue with the charging port flap not properly closing, which might be something worth keeping an eye on. Otherwise, if you don’t mind carrying around a brick in your pocket or bag, the ZeroLemon Rugged Battery Case offers the most capable charging case available — as long as you’re willing to deal with all that added bulk.

See at Amazon

Bastex Charging Case

Balancing price, functionality, and style, the Bastex charging case offers 4,200mAh of charge that’ll easily top up your phone from the low battery to full.

In terms of protection, this case leaves the sides of your Galaxy S7 completely exposed, which is good for accessing the power and volume buttons but bad for drop protection. Your phone also sits nearly flush with the front edge of this case, with the two parts of this case popping together on the back of the phone case popping together. If you’ve used one of these two-piece charging cases before, you know that a drop might cause the case to come apart, which is obviously less than ideal.

There are pass-through charge and sync capabilities, with priority given for charging your phone before the case recharges itself. And there’s also a handy kickstand build into the back of the case, so you can use that extra battery power to stream more media for hands-free viewing. It’s also available in three color options — black, gold or white — to match your phone or your personal style.

See at Amazon

How do you keep your phone topped up?

Do you have any opinions on the cases we’ve outlined? Found a better option than our picks? Let us know in the comments below!

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Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’ tops Billboard 200 chart following wider release

Clearly, Jay-Z learned a lot about the perils of permanent streaming exclusives from former Tidal buddy Kanye West. Jay-Z’s 4:44 album has topped the Billboard 200 chart for the week ended July 13th, or the first week after its brief Tidal exclusive came to an end. The release managed the equivalent of 262,000 album sales (1,500 song streams are equal to one album) in the US, which makes it the fourth-largest release at this point in 2017. And significantly, he did this after ditching Spotify in April — the tally comes largely thanks to Apple Music, iTunes downloads and (to a lesser degree) old-fashioned CD sales.

The chart-topping success underscores the limited effectiveness of online music exclusives, even when the artist owns the service (as is the case with Jay-Z and Tidal). While they might drive sign-ups in the short term, an artist ultimately needs to make their work available on at least some popular services if they want a chance at a number one hit. Don’t be surprised if you see fewer long-term exclusives going forward, at least on smaller services.

The performance might also raise alarm bells at Spotify. While it’s still the largest streaming service by a comfortable margin (Apple Music had ‘just’ 27 million paying customers as of June), it’s not likely to be happy that one of the biggest albums of the year led the Billboard 200 without its help. This isn’t such an issue outside of the US (where Spotify has more sway and Billboard has none), but it indicates that Spotify isn’t as vital to making a modern hit as its size would suggest.

Via: Pitchfork

Source: Billboard