Smartphones

Purported Press Images of Blackberry Z10 Leaked

A new set of pictures, purporting to be official press images of BlackBerry’s new Z10 handset, have popped up on the internet courtesy of @evleaks. While a pinch of salt is still required, these match up remarkably well with previously leaked photographs of a switched-off device, that appeared back in December. That suggests that you…

Rumor has it Windows Phone 7.8 might arrive—earlier than expected—on January 30th for AT&T Lumia 900 users.

Rumor: Verizon’s Getting a Lumia 920 Windows Phone Variant

The Verge is reporting that Verizon is finally getting a version of Nokia’s flagship Lumia 920 phone. The phone is reportedly called the “Nokia Laser” (REAL TIMELY, GUYS). The Lumia 920, of course, has been an AT&T exclusive since its launch. The Laser will be released alongside another Lumia phone from Nokia’s forthcoming “Catwalk” line,…

So long, Symbian! Nokia announced this morning that the 808 PureView was the last phone it’ll ship with the aging OS. https://gizmodo.com/nokia-808-pureview-hands-on-a-superb-camera-with-a-ph-5912940

Nokia Is Profitable Once More

For once, Nokia’s earnings report isn’t the kind of thing which makes investors weep like small children. In the fourth quarter of 2012 the Finns became successful once more—netting a $585 million profit. For some perspective, that’s a remarkable turnaround from the third quarter of 2012, which saw Nokia make a $754 million loss, and…

No, You Probably Won’t See a Bigger iPhone Any Time Soon

Apple CEO Tim Cook was just asked about Apple’s plans regarding larger-screened devices, like the Galaxy Note. Here’s how he answered: “Without sacrificing the one-handed ease of use, we’ve put a lot of thought into screen size, and we believe we’ve picked the right one.” Translation? Nope, not happening.

Siri Was Going to be a Droid Feature, Until Apple Stole It Away

Way back in the mists of 2009, before Siri was even a twinkle in Apple’s eye, Verizon was planning to add the app to all of its Android smartphones. Sadly for the carrier, that didn’t last. Siri was destined to be a crowning glory of its Android-toting handsets: the carrier had signed a contract with…

Report: Nokia Will Launch a Full-On PureView Windows Phone This Year

Rumors are emerging which suggest Nokia is planning to launch a “true PureView Windows Phone”—codenamed EOS—some time later this year. The Verge claims that the new handset will use a sensor similar to the crazy-ass, 41-megapixel Nokia 808 that delivered on camera specs but not on phone features. At the launch of the 808 Nokia…

Suction Cup Viewfinder Makes Your iPhone Slightly More DSLR-Like

If you’re a professional photographer who’s reluctantly embraced the iPhone as an occasional alternative to your DSLR, you’re gonna love Photojojo’s latest smartphone accessory. It’s a suction cup viewfinder that sticks your iPhone’s display letting you block out all the distractions around you and frame your shots the same way you would with your full-sized…

This Is the First Official Firefox Phone (But It’s Just for Developers)

Mozilla has just announced a Developer Preview Phone that will come sporting its new, in-development Firefox OS. It has basic specs, is just for developers and looks… very, very orange. It features a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon S1 CPU, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, WiFi, and a 3-megapixel camera. Like we say, basic.…

Leaked Screenshots Suggest HTC’s Sense Skin Will Be Massively Simplified

HTC’s Sense skin for Android has long been a bloated skeuomorphic mess, with aluminum ring pulls, flip clocks and fancy weather animations. If these leaked screenshot are accurate, though, that all looks set to change—for the better. These images were posted by XDA developer mdeejay, who claims to have a working port of the forthcoming…

Smartphone Jeggings Prove Mankind Deserves To Be Wiped Out By an Asteroid

Michael Bay’s Armageddon would have ended a lot differently had the writers known that one day a company would create a pair of jeggings—by themselves a creation we should be ashamed of—with a built-in bulging pocket for smartphones. Instead of sending a mining crew into space to destroy the asteroid, they would have probably just…

Rumor: LG’s New Optimus G Pro Will Have a 5-Inch 1080p Screen

LG’s Optimus G—the boilerplate for the wonderful Nexus 4—is getting a big brother. According to a leaked image acquired by Engadget, LG has a 5-inch, 1080p monster coming. The phone’s full reported specs are a 1.7Ghz Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064, LTE, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 3,000mAh battery (still not quite up to the…

The Clearest Shots Yet of BlackBerry’s Great QWERTY Hope

Blackberry Empire claims these are shots of RIM’s N-Series BB10 handset that have leaked ahead of the official BB10 launch on January 30th. And if these are real shots, we’re intrigued to actually hold the phone to see how it handles. The shots show the phone running RIM’s surprisingly functional new OS. From what we…

RIM ran a competition to get apps ported to BB10, and it worked: 15,000 new apps in just 38 hours. Promising. [Twitter]

BTW, all four major carriers in the US will launch at least one of RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 devices this year. Yay?

The Five Best Phones of CES 2013

Compared to years past, CES 2013 was pretty light on phones. The focus was more on health/fitness gadgets and 4K UHD TVs. But among the few phones at the show, we some good ones. Here are the top five. ZTE Grand S The hardware of the ZTE Grand S is really lovely. It’s extremely thin…

I Wish iOS and Android Had the BlackBerry 10 Keyboard

The new BlackBerry 10 looks very good. It may be too late to save RIM, but it’s certainly not too little. It’s loaded with great stuff. In fact, its keyboard is so terrific that I wish every manufacturer had it. Here’s why: https://gizmodo.com/the-complete-blackberry-10-video-walkthrough-surprise-5974362 • On-the-fly next-word suggestions: This is probably its most impressive feature. The…

The Complete BlackBerry 10 Video Walkthrough: Surprise, It’s Neat

This is the new BlackBerry 10, two weeks from its official release. And while visually it looks like a cross between Android and iOS—without any of the spiffiness of Windows Phone—RIM’s make-or-break operating system is surprisingly nice. Fast, with clever user interface touches, a centralized hub for all user activity and a good browser. It…

ZTE Grand S Hands On: Superphone Doesn’t Seem So Super

We love an underdog story. So when we saw that ZTE—a company which in the U.S. is not so synonymous with “quality” —was making a spec-monster phone, we were excited. After playing with it for about ten minutes, we’re a bit less enthusiastic. https://gizmodo.com/zte-grand-s-makes-it-official-everyone-and-their-mothe-5974061 On the good side, the phone looks very nice and it…