Category: Android Phone

Google Map is receiving another update for Android users with this update more or less aimed at those who do a lot of walking or bicycling.  The updated build, version 9.26 for those keeping score at home, brings the ability for you to search for other places to stop along your walking or biking path.  Say, for example, you need to stop at the pharmacy while you are biking home, you can search for a CVS or Walgreens along the way and build in that stop on your commute home.  If this sounds familiar, it should.  Google Maps had this feature for those who drive but it was not available for those who were walking or riding.  Give the number of people who walk or ride bikes to and from work, especially in urban areas, this was a real miss up to this point.

If you want a humongous phone, Asus has you covered.  The company over the weekend launched their new ZenFone 3 series of phones with the top-end Ultra coming to market with a massive 6.8″ display.  All three phones are aimed at meeting consumers where they want on both a performance level and a display size and while no release date was given on the new lineup, you should expect to seem them at some point over the course of this summer.

The entry level ZenFone 3 is powered by Snapdragon 625 processor, has 4GB of RAM, 32GB of Storage and 16MP rear camera.  It also sports a fingerprint scanner and a 5.5″ display that renders at 1920 x 1080.

Today, ZTE has announced their all new flagship Android phone, the Axon 7.  This new 5.5″ display device has some serious specifications including a whooping 6GB of RAM on the upper end model and a 20MP rear camera.  The company will be launching the phone in China today but it is expected to hit US shores in the coming months and will be available unlocked.  It is expected that once it does get to the US, it will be in the sub-$500 price range.  If that is indeed the case, it will be a great deal for what it has to offer.

There are phones with good selfie front facing cameras and then there is the new Sony Xperia XA Ultra.  The latest offering from Sony was announced today and the new Ultra comes with an impressive 16MP front facing camera for the perfect selfie shot.  The new phone though doesn’t stop at just this one feature.  It is packed and flagship quality features and specs including a MediaTek MT6755 eight-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.  That storage can be expanded up to an additional 200GB thanks to the MicroSD slot built into it.

While Huawei is still considered one of the “new kids” when it comes to smartphones, the Chinese company has produced some excellent products over their brief history.  While they have been producing white label devices since 2010, it hasn’t been until the last few years that the company has sold devices under their own name.  Late last year they released the Mate 8, the follow up to the 2014 Mate 7 and as far as phablet sized devices go, have hit the mark.  While a device this size, a 6″ display is what the Mate 8 sports, is not for everyone, if you are looking for a seriously powerful device with an excellent display and stunningly good camera, this device should be on your shortlist to consider.  The only real hesitation I have with it is the Emotion UI that Huawei has on top of the Android Marshmallow build it runs.  That can, however, be largely eliminated if you don’t like it and certainly doesn’t stop me from giving this device a strong recommendation.

Amazon has teamed up with Nextbit to offer a great deal on the Nextbit Robin over the course of the next week.  Starting at midnight Pacific time tonight (May 4th) through the 10th of May, you can pick up either the Mint version or the Midnight version of the unique cloud storage Android phone for just $299.  That is $100 off the regular price and it is the same price that the company offered early adopters back when it was a Kickstarter project.  Regardless of which color you select, they are eligible from Prime shipping so that 2-day shipping cost?  That’s free.