Category: Android Phone

After being released in Europe in November, the Huawei Mate 9 is finally coming to the United States.  This 5.9″ phablet will be available at a wide range of online retailers, including Amazon, at the impressive price of $599.  So what does that get you?  a 5.9″ phone running Android Nougat, an octa-core processor running at 2.4GHz and Leica optics dual-camera setup shooting at 20MP and 12MP respectively with OIS.  The front facing selfie camera is 8MP shooter.  You also have 64GB of built-in storage that can be expanded up to an additional  256GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.  Not bad at all for $599.

The Mate 9 is being sold unlocked so the question is always carrier compatibility.  For those of you on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, you are good-to-go.  For those on Sprint and Verizon, the phone is CDMA compatible too. Here are the range of frequencies supported:

• GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• CDMA 800 / 1900
• HSDPA 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
• CDMA2000 1xEV-DO & TD-SCDMA
• LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)

Those frequencies are going to cover every carrier here in the United States but as always, double-check with your carrier before ordering.

Over at Amazon you can still pick up the Nextbit Robin for $149.   I reviewed the Robin a few months ago and at the time I said it was a pretty good deal at $299.  At $149, it is one of the best deals on a phone with these specs out there right now.  Over the holidays the phone was $169 on Amazon so this price drop makes it the lowest price the phone has ever been available.

For those that don’t recall, the Nextbit Robin has some great features and offers a unique device-meets-cloud storage solution.  It has 32GB of onboard storage merged with 100 GB online storage, so you always have the space you need. Robin seamlessly backs up your apps and photos, intelligently archives the stuff you’re not using, and easily restores items when you need them.  The idea is that you never run out of space.  Those less used apps are backed up into the cloud but then are instantly available when you want them.  You’ll know an app has been backed up into the cloud as it will be grey on your Robin.  You can read my review of the Robin to see all my thoughts on this great little phone.  I also think it is perhaps one of the most underrated phones of 2016.

The rise, fall, death and now resurrection of Nokia is nearing completion.  Finland based HMD announced today that they have secured the licensing rights to the Nokia brand for the next 10 years and that a new, Android powered smartphone will be hitting the marking in the first half of 2017.  It marks a pretty staggering comeback, if only in name, to a brand that has been in the mobile phone space for decades.  After the company was bought by Microsoft and then subsequently scuttled in the debacle that has been Windows Phone, it appeared that the brand would be gone forever.

HMD is making sure that doesn’t happen.  Comprised of several former Nokia employees, the company will be manufacturing phones under the name of Nokia that will include both feature phones (which are available now) as well as Android-based Smartphones.

Today’s Deal is on the well appointed mid-range Android phone, the ASUS ZenFone 3 Laser.  This 5.5″ phone has 2GB of RAM, 32GB of onboard storage and supports dual-SIMs and is down to $179 at Amazon today.  The phone is unlocked and works with GSM carriers here in the United States like AT&T and T-Mobile.  The 5.5″ display provides full HD resolution and the 32GB of onboard storage can be expanded up to an additional 128GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.

As the name suggests, the ZenFone 3 Laser uses laser technology to focus the main 13MP camera which ASUS claims will focus in .03 seconds.  The camera also supports optical and electronic image stabilization.

Another great Black Friday deal is available on Amazon today.  The Huawei Honor 8 is available for $140 off thanks to the sale and an instant discount when you put the phone in your cart.  First, the details.  The Honor 8 is being sold unlocked so it will work with any GSM carrier here in the US like AT&T and T-Mobile.  It has a 2.3GHz octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB

Huawei Honor 8

of storage (expandable up to 256GB with the MicroSD slot).  The Honor 8 has a 5.2″ display, fingerprint scanner and a 12MP dual-camera rear shooter.

Normally the Honor 8 is $399.99 but today it is down to $289.99 for the 32GB model while the 64GB model is normally $449.99 and it is down to $339.99.  In both cases, when you drop the phone into your cart, you receive an additional $30 discount which drops the phones to $259 and $309 respectively.  Remember that this is the flagship device for Huawei when it launched in July and the company has committed to having an Android Nougat update out for the phone.  That is likely to come at the end of this year or early next.

Like other Black Friday deals, this one is for today only.  The Honor 8 is available in Black, White and Blue and all colors are eligible for the sale price.

• Honor 8 – 32GB of Storage – $259.99 (savings of $140)
• Honor 8 – 64GB of Storage – $309.99 (savings of $140)

For Black Friday, Amazon has rolled out special pricing on the Moto G lineup on the site.  Today you can get a great deal on the Moto G4, the Moto G4 Play and the Moto G4 Plus on the site with discounts ranging from $20 to $70 off.  These are great phones that, although they come with lock screen adverts from Amazon, are tough to be beat for the price.

The Moto G4 comes with 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of Storage, a 5.5″ display and a 13MP rear camera.

• Moto G with 16GB storage – $129.99 ($70 savings)
• Moto G with 32GB of storage – $139.99 ($90 savings)

The smaller Moto G Play is a 5″ display device that comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.  The phone can have the storage expanded by an additional 128GB thanks to the MicroSD slot.

• Moto G Play with 16GB of storage – $99.99 ($50 savings)

Finally there is the Moto G Plus.  This is a 5.5″ display phone with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a 16MP main camera.  This is by far the most powerful of the lineup with an octa-core processor and the additional RAM and at $229, a heck of a deal.

• Moto G Plus with 64GB of storage – $229.99 ($70 savings)

As with most of the sales posts you will see today, these prices are good for today only.