Boost Mobile Scores LG Volt 2 and Tribute 2

Boost Mobile today announced the LG Volt 2 and LG Tribute 2, updates to two of last year's big sellers for the prepaid carrier. Both devices share several hardware features, such as LG's signature rear-placed meizu cell phone buttons, 1.2 GHz quad-core processors, LTE, Bluetooth, and WiFi. They also boast similar software, such as Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG's Knock Code, QuickMemo, and selfie camera tools.

• Volt 2: The second-generation Volt (pictured) improves the screen from a 4.7-inch qHD display to a 5-inch 720p display. The main camera has an 8-megapixel sensor and the front camera has been improved from 1.3 megapixels to 5 megapixels. It has a 2,540mAh battery.
• Tribute 2: The less expensive of these two handsets keeps the screen at 4.5 inches, but improves resolution from 800 x 480 pixels to 854 x 480 pixels. The 5-megapixel main camera, VGA front camera, 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of ROM are carried over from last year's phone. It has a 1,900mAh battery.

The LG Volt 2 and Tribute 2 are available from Boost's web site beginning today. The Volt 2 cost $149.99 and the Tribute 2 cost $99.99.

Kyocera DuraForce is another tougher-than-nails handset

The DuraForce breaks the mold a bit when it comes to rugged smartphones. It's not quite as chunky nor heavy as the ultra-rugged Sonim XP7, but it's more robust than Kyocera's own Hydro line, which are semi-rugged. meizu mx4 pro review For a hardened handset, it's quite approachable in terms of size and design.

Kyocera managed to craft a brutish beaut in the DuraForce. It's a slab-style device with rounded top and bottom edges, modest design elements, and solid construction. I like the use of silver and red accents mixed in with the matte black frame. Where many rugged handsets are blunt and unappealing, the DuraForce is more refined and less off-putting. It's just conservative enough that you could get away with toting it around for a night on the town and not betray its working-man aesthetic.

Thanks to the 4.5-inch screen, Kyocera was able to keep the overall footprint down to a manageable size. It's close in dimensions (length x width) to the Apple iPhone 6, though it's thicker than both in order to accommodate the rugged frame. I had no trouble gripping and holding it. It's not too heavy, either, making it comfortable to use for long periods of time.

Office for Android Easier for Everyone to Download

Microsoft today made Office Mobile fully available to everyone from the Google Play Store. The company released penultimate versions of the apps in May, but required interested users to join the Office for Android Community on oppo phones Google+ in order to access them. Microsoft removed that requirement, which means anyone who wants Office can now download the suite of productivity apps. Office Mobile requires Android 4.4 and up, but is not compatible with Android M.

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean builds on the foundation set by Android 4.1

Android Jelly Bean use the same basic appearance that Google brought to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). There's been little in the way of a visual refresh of Android since ICS debuted in October 2011, which uses meizu mx3 review Google's "Holo" theme. There are some minor navigation changes to the way the lock screen works and the way the drop-down notification shade works. We'll cover those in depth later in the review.

As on all Android devices, there are user-customizable home screen panels in Jelly Bean that can be loaded with widgets, shortcuts, and other content. Jelly Bean adds a few more widgets, but leaves the overall architecture of the platform alone. There are four app shortcuts at the bottom of the home screen and a fifth that opens the main app menu. These home screen shortcuts can be customized with ease.

The main app menu is the same as it ever was. It includes a grid of icons that are laid out in alphabetical order. Unlike devices that have been customized by hardware makers or carriers, you can't adjust the main app menu in stock Jelly Bean. It is stuck in an alphabetical grid. That's kind of a bummer. You can, however pull apps out of the main app menu and install them on the home screens as individual shortcuts or within folders. The folders let you organize apps on the home screens into groups, such as games or media apps, for example. The behavior makes Jelly Bean look and feel a bit more like Apple's iOS. New apps that are downloaded from the Play Store are added to both the main app menu and the home screen. This feature can be turned off, however.

Nokia Will Design and License Phones Beginning In 2016

Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri said the company will tackle the mobile phone industry again once its non-compete clause with Microsoft expires next year. Nokia no longer owns any manufacturing facilities and will not make its own phones. The company did something similar with an Android-based tablet it released in December. "We will look for suitable partners," said Suri in an interview with the German magazine Manager Magazin. "Microsoft makes mobile phones. We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license."meizu mx4 pro review Microsoft bought Nokia's handset business in 2014 for $7.2 billion. Just this week, Microsoft reshuffled its executive deck and removed two former leaders from Nokia, Stephen Elop and Jo Harlow. Neither Elop nor Harlow has said what their next steps will be. Microsoft's Windows Phone platform and Lumia-branded handsets continue to struggle in the market against Apple's iOS and Google's Android. The company is releasing a new mobile operating system, Windows 10 Mobile, this fall. Suri did not say if Nokia will use Android, Windows Phone, or some other platform for its future devices.

FCC Adopts Strong Anti-Robocall Rules

The FCC today adopted a set of rules proposed in May that make it harder for telemarketers and others to place unwanted calls or send unwanted messages to wireless phones. The new laws provide clarity for businesses and consumers on when robocalls and other phone-based outreach meizu mx4  is permitted. The new rules let consumers revoke their consent to receive such calls/messages at any time; permit carriers to create do-not-disturb blocking services; ensure new owners of reassigned numbers don't receive calls/messages meant for the previous owner; define autodialers to prevent misuse of the laws; and allow very limited and specific exceptions for urgent circumstances, such as to prevent fraud. The FCC promised to enforce the rules strictly.

Samsung Releases Game-Recording App

Samsung this month made available an app that smartphone owners can use to record their game play. Game Recorder+ lets users capture game play and face-cam commentary with one touch. Samsung says the app can record audio directly from the source app, negating background noise. It also includes a Game Boost feature that Samsung claims will optimize system memory for better gaming and game recording. Game Recorder+ is compatible with the Samsung meizu mx 5 Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Note 4, S5, Note 3, S4, and Note 2 devices. Samsung said most games from the Play Store and Galaxy App store support recording. Game Recorder+ is free to download from the Google Play Store. Earlier this month, Google announced plans to launch a game-specific version of YouTube to highlight game play. Earlier this year, Amazon bought Twitch, which lets people record and share their gaming experiences. Samsung did not say if its Game Recorder+ app will be compatible with these services, but it can upload recordings to YouTube.

Motorola Moto E for Cricket Wireless

Motorola's smartphones have shared a distinct familial design language since the August 2013 debut of the Moto X. The E has a simple, no-frills look that is at once appealing yet unsophisticated. Don't let the looks fool you; the Moto E packs a powerful punch for its $130 price point.

The Moto E is the least expensive and most compact of Motorola's handset lineup, which includes the Nexus 6, Droid Turbo, Moto X, and Moto G.meizu m2 note It shares design characteristics with its stablemates, such as the chrome-colored earpiece bar and general shape. The E is a pleasant little phone that comes in either black or white and allows owners to customize the appearance just a bit through the use of replaceable bumpers that line the outer edge. Our review unit is white, but included a red bumper that gives the phone a happier look than the solid white appearance offered.

Most people will appreciate the Moto E's size and shape. The smaller screen (4.5 inches) allowed Motorola to keep the height and width in check, but the phone is somewhat thicker than today's flagships. The back surface, made from polycarbonate, has a comfortable curve to help the phone sit deeper in your palm. I found the phone easy to hold and use. It drops into pockets with no problem.

Facebook Debuts Moments App for Sharing Event Photos

Facebook today announced a new application called Moments. The app is meant to help people share photos privately with others -- even if they don't use Facebook. It lets multiple people combine their photos to create albums of shared events, such as weddings, graduations, or parties. The app uses location data and facial recognition software to determine which of the user's friends are in the photos, and then shares the collection with them privately. The meizu recipient can choose to share their own photos with the first person to create a larger album of the event. Facebook says the app keeps all the photos synced and organized, and includes search functions for finding your friends' faces faster. Moments was conceived in Facebook's Creative Labs. It is being launched in the U.S. on Android and iOS today, with other regions to be added over time. Moments is free to download from the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.

Google Committed to Android One Despite Problems

Google will not give up on its fledgling Android One platform, said Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management. Android One is a project meant to bring very-low-cost Android handsets to emerging markets. meizu m2 note review Speaking to the Economic Times, Sengupta indicated the company has learned several lessons during the initial launch. To start, it ran into distribution problems and the initial batch of devices were hurt by low visibility. Further, Google's hardware partners have not provided system updates. Google admits it has shipped about 800,000 devices so far in a country of 1.25 billion. Sengupta insists its OEM partners have not given up, despite reports to the contrary. Handset makers in India release a staggering 1,200 new phones per year. Google is looking to add more features to the platform and expects a new round of devices to reach the market in the months ahead.

ZTE Force for Sprint

The ZTE Force may be a simple phone, but it isn't without its own sense of style. It's a smallish slab that avoids the boring design oppo n1 mini traps into which so many other phones fall.

First, the Force uses more than one color/shade, without going overboard; it sticks to two: black and shiny metal. There is a really nice metallic band that wraps around the sides and forms the shoulders of the device along the back and top. The metal surface is semi-speckled and really catches the light in an attractive way. It also gives the Force plenty of strength. Metal always makes me happy in any phone design, and it is put to good use here.

In the hand, the Force feels solid. The materials aren't cheap. The glass front, textured battery cover, and metallic sides really help the Force stick in the hand. Thanks to the smaller screen (I can't believe I am referring to a 4-inch screen as small, but that's the reality of today's phone market,) the overall footprint of the Force is small enough that I found it easy to grasp and hold onto. It isn't overly thick, and fits in most pockets easily. The weight is just right, and ZTE did a good job manufacturing the parts and piecing them all together tightly.

T-Mobile to Support iOS 9's Cellular Continuity Feature

T-Mobile today said its wireless network will support the continuity feature that's part of iOS 9. Apple already allows devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) operating on the same WiFi network to send/receive calls and iMessages. For example, someone using their Mac at home can answer an incoming voice meizu m1 note call on their computer rather than iPhone. With iOS 9, this continuity feature is being extended to cellular networks. This means a person who leaves their iPhone at home will still be able to send/receive calls and messages from their other Apple devices as long as they have a cellular network connection. T-Mobile said it will support the feature for those testing iOS 9 beta, and will support it for all users when Apple releases the final version of iOS 9 later this year. T-Mobile's competitors will likely also support the feature, but they haven't yet publicly said so.

Motorola chose an interesting path with the Moto X

First, the overall shape. According to Motorola, it wanted to make the smallest-possible handset with the largest-possible screen. After testing thousands of hands, it settled on a width of 2.57 inches and a depth of 0.42 inches. The X is contoured and has a sculpted back surface that is curved to better fit into the hand. The curve is gentle from side-to-side, and tapers a bit, toward to the bottom of the X, giving it a wedge-like shape. The sides are rounded to meet the glass panel on the front. This further smooths out the profile. There are no hard edges or corners, everything about the design is rounded and slim.cheap oppo smartphone There's no denying that it is a comfortable device to hold and use. The profile is small, the weight is good, and it is very easy to reach any part of the screen with your thumb. It will easily fit into any pocket.

As for its looks, well, unless you're an AT&T customer (or, later this year, a Verizon customer), the X comes in either black or white. These options are both a bit boring, if you ask me, and have little visual flair or appeal. From several feet away, there's nothing that sets the black/white X apart from any other smartphone, except for perhaps the visible texture of the back cover. The defining element of the X is of course its custom-order color possibilities. From my perspective the custom designs are half the reason to buy this phone. With them, there are hundreds of combinations with the various back panels, accents, and signatures. These allow people to really make the X their own. Want a purple phone with red accents? Go for it. Want a yellow phone with green accents? That's possible, too.

The materials are good, but could be better. The back surface of the black/white versions is a composite lined with Kevlar and has a soft-touch finish to it. (The back surface of the colored versions is a resin, and also has a soft-touch finish. These both contrast with the glossy, greasy finish on the recently-announced Droids.) There's nothing wrong with them, per se, but I will always prefer metal to plastic. At least the X feels better than the materials used by Samsung. The plastic that exists between the X's glass display and the back surface feels a little cheap to me, but all the seams were snug and fit together tightly.

HTC One X for AT&T

With the One X, HTC managed to change everything and nothing at the same time. It's clearly within the cheap meizu mx3 HTC design gene pool, but looks more like what would happen if a mad scientist spliced all the favorable characteristics of the HTC DNA into one, ideal strain. The results aren't perfect.

The defining design trait of the One X is HTC's use of polycarbonate to mold the back casing of the phone. Not all One Xs will be created equal, depending on your preferences. The black version we tested has a soft-touch finish, but the white version will have a glossy texture. The material and its inherent qualities will be the same, however. This high-tech piece of plastic is a contiguous shell that fully envelops the sides, edges, and back of the device. There are no seams, which gives the shell plenty of strength. It's also scratch resistant. The cleanliness of the lines give the One X a sophisticated-yet-simple look that I find very appealing.

The One X is pleasing to hold, and the polycarbonate helps keep the weight down, despite the phone's overall footprint. With a 4.7-inch display, the One X is naturally tall and wide. HTC did an excellent job keeping the oppo n1 mini One X as slim as possible, though, and it easily fits in pockets without discomfort. I'd recommend sticking it in the with display against your leg, though, as I noticed that the camera nodule on the back of the One X can become irksome if it rubs against your leg for several hours.

Kyocera Echo is a pretty big departure

The Kyocera Echo is a pretty big departure when it comes to handset design.buy meizu mx4 It has two displays that, when unfolded, join to form one, massive, tablet-esque 4.7-inch display. If that's too much screen action for you to handle, it can also be used with only one of the two 3.5-inch displays visible, or with the displays angled laptop-style. The Echo essentially provides three different physical modes of operation. In order to do this, Kyocera had to make some interesting design choices.

It really does feel like holding a brick. With its hard angles, sharp edges, thick waistline and hefty weight, I found it uncomfortable to use. Pocket friendly? No way in hell. When put in even a loose front pocket, it can be painful when caught the wrong way (such as when getting into/out of cars). As for overall build quality, the plastics feel cheap, but the fit and finish is decent.

The hinge system is interesting. If you're worried about its strength and dependability, don't.oppo mobile phone It is tough as nails. Kyocera engineered it for strength. In order to get the Echo open, grab either side (doesn't really matter which) of the top half of the device and pull up. Once you get it up about an inch, the springs take over and snap it into what Sprint refers to as "Simul-Task" mode. 

LG dLite set of flashing LED lights appears to light up this clear edge

The LG dLite is tall. Even with the flip closed, the phone is less than an inch shorter than some tablet phones I have on hand. But with that flip opened, the dLite towers. This isn't a bad thing, as the extra length means the phone can easily stretch from your ear to your mouth, even if you have a noggin as huge as my own.

At the very top of the phone, when it's flipped open, there's a clear bit of plastic, and when the phone needs to alert you a set of flashing LED lights appears to light up this clear edge. Similarly, the external face of the flip is a flat sheet of plastic, but there is a hidden dot matrix display beneath that will offer the time, caller ID numbers and some bright animations when the phone enters standby.
Crack open the bright pink or blue flip and you'll find a white belly inside. The phone is almost entirely white in the middle, save for a color accent around the navigation ring. The number pad is broken into discrete rows, and keys were easy to hit for dialing or casual texting.

Besides the numbers and the circular, 4-way navigation button, there are also two soft keys closest to the screen, a key to open the Web browser and a key for the multi-tasking menu.VIVO Y27 ROM The browser key seems like a strange choice. The phone does not have a great browser, nor is this a phone aimed at Web addicts. A voice dialing key or a text message key would have been a better choice. Inside the flip you'll also find a row of keys for Send, End and Back.

Kin Two is a cheap feeling black plastic brick

The Kin Two is a cheap feeling, black plastic brick. The phone is not very heavy, which doesn't help the impression of cheapness. The plastic creaks. The slide clacks open, and the screen up top wobbles a bit.mx5 meizu The size and shape make the Kin Two easy to pocket, but the phone wasn't always smart enough to switch off the capacitive screen when it was sitting in my pants and often I would accidentally change tracks on my music or press some other software button when I slipped it into my slacks.

The Kin Two might be easy in the hand when making phone calls, but there were plenty of design decisions that made the phone harder to use. The case is mostly nondescript, with a glossy black front face with symmetrical bars breaking the surface on either side of the screen. Up top is the earpiece opening, and below the screen you'll find the Back button.

The phone is trapezoidal in shape, with a smaller back than front. This shape helps the phone fit nicely in the hand, but it also means that the side buttons are all located on an inward slope, which made pressing difficult. The volume keys on the upper right side were okay, but the power button / screen lock on the top right corner was very difficult to find. Worst of all, it is tough to press hard on the two-stage camera button without pushing the screen up a bit.

Pantech Matrix Pro feels good in the hand

Despite its bulk, the Matrix Pro feels good in the hand. Its curved edges are comfortable and smooth to grip. The upward sliding mechanism (to reveal the numeric keypad) feels great. There's a nice amount of spring assistance and it jumps open smartly and feels solid. The sideways sliding mechanism doesn't have quite the same quality feeling to it. There's a minimal amount of spring assistance, and it feels a bit rough. Also, when open sideways, the top part of the slider is loose. There's a lot of side-to-side play that degrades from the quality of the phone.

The controls on the front face of the phone are squished uncomfortably down at the bottom. They're so squished, that I found myself opening the phone in order to make it more comfortable to use. oppo mobile phone The D-pad almost touches the very bottom edge of the phone, and reaching it while the phone is closed can leave the phone unbalanced in your hand. The D-pad is about the size of a quarter and has a good edge to it. The action is OK. Packed around the D-pad are six other buttons. The soft keys and send/end keys are built into the surface of the Matrix Pro. The two soft keys are easy enough to find and use, but I thought the send/end keys were too tightly mashed below the D-pad. The home and back keys are circular buttons that stand out starkly compared to the surrounding controls. These two buttons have excellent travel and feedback.

The volume toggle and voice record key are found on the left side of the Matrix Pro. These buttons are practically perfect. They are easy to find and have great travel and feedback. The camera key on the right side of the phone works just as well as the others. Also on the right side is the hatch covering the data/charging port. This hatch is a total pain to use. It refuses to open all the way unless you really work at it. What's worse is you know you'll be using this hatch all the time (probably daily) to charge the phone. Conversely, the hatch protecting the microSD slot on the bottom of the phone nearly pops open easily.

Motorola W755 is your normal, average, every day black flip phone

The W755 is your normal, average, every day black flip phone, but it's covered in a rubberized material front and back for a sure grip. It's lone nod to style is the top half, which, when flipped up, rests slightly over the top of the bottom half like two overlapping tectonic plates.

The front face has two glass-covered sections: the 1.3 MP camera lens and the 1-inch external screen. Surrounding the 1-inch external screen and Motorola logo are four nearly invisible soft-touch music controls that light up and become active when the music is playing, and a Bluetooth indicator icon slash on/off control. This external Bluetooth control is unique and a great idea that I hope is more widely adopted.

Inside the W755 is a 1.9-inch screen.buy meizu mx4 pro Its dialpad has cleanly delineated black alphanumeric keys illuminated with clean, warm, white backlighting which renders the keypad easily readable in any light. The navigation array is comprised by three concentric circles; the bulls-eye is the "select" key and the two outside rings are actually a single ring with cursor direction controls. Unfortunately, there isn't enough differentiation between the inner and outer ring sections. The direction ring seems to be comprised of two sections, which is a bit confusing and leads to accidentally tapping the "select" bulls-eye instead of the directional ring and vice versa.