smartphone News - Page 38 of 74 - CNX Software

August 23, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Android 7.0 Released, LG V20 Android Nougat Smartphone Coming Soon

Since Google has changed their way of releasing new version of Android, as they are now taking input from developers using preview releases, we’ve known the main changes in Android 7.0 for a while including multi-window support, improved security, virtual reality support, Vulkan API, a new JIT/AOT compiler, and so on. The company has now made it official, and released Android 7.0 earlier today. Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C, and Android One smartphones will receive an OTA update with the new firmware, and some other phones enrolled in Android Beta program will also get Android 7.0, but older Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 devices won’t. Google and LG also unveiled the upcoming LG V20, the first smartphone to ship with Android 7.0. Few details have been provided so far The LG V20 builds upon the premium and rich multimedia smartphone experience of last […]

August 19, 2016August 19, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Magic Device Tool Helps You Switch Between Android and Ubuntu on Supported Phones

There have only been a few phones released with or supporting Ubuntu so far, and those phones will normally be able to run Android too since Ubuntu Touch relies on Android drivers, and you may decide that Ubuntu is not for you and switch back to Android, or the contrary, if you’ve purchased an Android phone, you may want to install Ubuntu instead. In order to simplify the task of installing operating systems, Marius Quabeck has developed “Magic Device Tool“. As you can see from the screenshot above, 13 phones and tablets are currently supported. You’ll need a computer with Ubuntu 15.04 or greater to install the tool, and I’ve done so on Ubuntu 16.04:

git clone https://github.com/MariusQuabeck/magic-device-tool.git
cd magic-device-tool
chmod +x launcher.sh
./launcher.sh

git clone https://github.com/MariusQuabeck/magic-device-tool.git

cd magic-device-tool

chmod +x launcher.sh

./launcher.sh

The script will also install phablet-tools if it is not already installed, so if you are not root, you’ll need your account to be member of sudoers. Once the initial setup is done, you’ll […]

August 9, 2016August 9, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Mediatek Helio X30 Deca-core SoC Features ARM Cortex-A73, Cortex A53, and Cortex A35 Processor Cores

Mediatek introduced Helio X20 last year with a tri-cluster architecture comprised of 2 powerful ARM Cortex A72 cores, 4 Cortex A53 cores, and 4 extra Cortex A53 cores operating at a lower frequency, and optimized for power consumption. But now that ARM has introduced ultra-low power Cortex A35 cores, and more powerful Cortex A73 cores, the Taiwanese company has been able to improve its tri-cluster implementation for the upcoming Helio X30 deca-core processor with 2 Cortex A73 cores @ up to 2.8 GHz, 4 Cortex A53 cores @ up to 2.2 GHz, and 4 Cortex A35 cores @ up to 2.0 GHz. According to various sources on Weibo, the mobile processor also includes an Imagination PowerVR 7XT GPU, supports up to 8GB LPDDR4 RAM @ 1600 MHz (PoP – Package in Package), UFS 2.1 flash storage, up to 40MP camera sensors, and its cellular modem will support LTE Cat.10 to […]

July 29, 2016July 29, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

FTLAB FSG-001 is a $30 Geiger Counter / Radiation Detector for Android & iOS Smartphones

I’ve just read an article on Tizen.org about Samsung and Intersoft Eurasia collaboration about a “personal radiation monitoring device DO-RA” sending data over Bluetooth 4.0 LE. But a visit to their website showed other models such as DO-RA-Q using a 3.5mm audio jack, and compatible with smartphone, and Windows & Linux computer. I could not find any of their devices for sale, so I searched for some alternatives, and I found FTLAB FSG-001 radiation counter on Aliexpress, Amazon and eBay selling between $30 and $40. FTLAB FSG-001 Geiger counter specifications: Radiation measurement of: gamma, X-rays Measurement range – 0.1 to 200 μSv/h Measurement error – <30% within a given deviation between Dimensions – Φ10 x 30 mm (total length: 47mm with 3.5mm audio jack) Weight – 6 grams Operating temperature – 10 to 40 ℃ You’ll need to plug the dongle into your smartphone audio jack, and download FTLAB “SmartGeiger” […]

July 27, 2016July 27, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Jiayu S3 and S3 Plus Smartphones Get Android 6.0 Firmware Releases with Source Code

Jiayu S3 and S3 Plus are your typical Android smartphones powered by Mediatek MT6752/MT6753 octa core Cortex A53 processor with 3GB RAM, 16GB flash, and a 5.5″ touch screen display. The news here is that Jiayu Germany (a reseller, not the manufacturer), and Team M.A.D (Mediatek Android Developers) comprised of XDA members, have releasing three custom ROMs based on Android 6.0.1 for the smartphone: Cyanogenmod13, Paranoid Android (AOSPA) and AICP (Android Ice Cold Project), which contrast with my Iocean MT6752 smartphone still stuck on Android 4.4.4. I’ll reproduce the technical specifications of Jiayu S3+ phone for reference: SoC- Mediatek MT6753 Octa-core 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 processor @ 1.3 GHz, with ARM Mali-T720 GPU System Memory – 3GB RAM Storage – 16 GB eMMC + micro SD slot up to 64GB Display – 5.5” IPS capacitive touchscreen display; 1920×1080 resolution Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi , Bluetooth 4.0, GPS / A-GPS, FM Radio Cellular […]

July 22, 2016July 22, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Superbook turns your Android smartphone in to a laptop for $99 (Crowdfunding)

Using a laptop shell with a smartphone is not a new concept, but products like Motorola Lapdock were eventually phased out. But some people think there’s a market here, that Lapdock may just have been ahead of it time, and with smartphone faster than ever, it now makes more sense to use them as laptop too. That’s probably why the Superbook, allowing you to connect your smartphone to a larger screen and keyboard via a USB OTG cable, has just launched on Kickstarter. Superbook specifications: Display – 11.6″ LCD display; 1366×768 resolution Keyboard – QWERTY keyboard with multi-touch trackpad USB – USB type-C port (smartphone with micro B USB are also supported via an adapter) Misc – Android-specific navigation keys (Home, Back, Menu, Recent) Custom Charging Port w/ Standard US charger Battery – Good for 8 hours or more Dimensions – 19.3 x 28.7 x 1.8cm Superbook also charges your smartphone. […]

July 18, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

$16 Bluetooth 4.0 LE Bracelet Monitors Babies’ Temperature

With electronics getting cheaper and smaller everyday, I’m expecting medical diagnostic / monitoring tools with become more convenient and affordable, and products from the more advanced Scanadu, to much simpler Bluetooth blood pressure monitors will help people better monitor their health themselves. I’ll also getting frequent request about the availability of soon-to-be FDA approved Omron Project Zero blood pressure smartwatch. Today I’ve come across a simple $16.51 Bluetooth Smart bracelet that could be useful to monitor the temperature of sick babies or very young children. Technical specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE with up 18 meters range Sensor – Temperature between 32 and 43 degree Celsius with -/+ 0.1 deg. accuracy Smartphone compatibility – Android 4.3+ or IOS 7.0+ Functions – Thermometer; Temperature Alarm; Medical Records; Health Management, Cloud Backup. Power Supply – CR2032 battery Wristband Length – 14~19cm Weight – 19 g The band must be worn in such as […]

July 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Qualcomm Introduces Snapdragon 821 SoC with 2.4 GHz CPU Cores

Qualcomm has just introduced an upgrade to its Snapdragon 820 processor, with Snapdragon 821 (MSM8996 Pro) with basically the same features, but the CPU frequency boosted from 2.2 GHz to 2.4 GHz for the performance cores, and from 1.6 to around 2.0 GHz for the low power cores, as well as a likely boost to the GPU clock, resulting to about 10% improvement in performance. The new SoC with feature the same Snapdragon X12 LTE modem delivering up to 600 Mbps. It’s unclear at this point which smartphone models will feature Snapdragon 821 processor. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com