world of electronics

This ludicrously lavish phone makes fully encrypted calls Ludicrously lavish phone maker Vertu has a new, excitingly extravagant Android phone to tempt only the richest and most open-walleted among you. It's called the Constellation. It's hand-built in England --  like all of Vertu's phones  -- and is made from anodized aluminium, wrapped in soft leather that's specifically sourced from a "family-run" tannery in Italy. Other fancy features include a sapphire crystal display and one-button access to Vertu's 24-hour concierge service (I say "button," it's actually an inset ruby). Need an emergency private jet to Mexico? What about a suspiciously deep clean of your superyacht's decks? Just jab that glinting red button and bark your orders at whoever picks up. It's the first dual-SIM phone from Vertu, which the company claims allows it to work on "34 international bands." It also fully encrypts your calls using tech f...

Kodak Xiaomi improves the Redmi Note 4's camera for India Xiaomi continues to bet big on India, this time with an Indian version of its budget  Redmi Note 4  phone, which the company previously launched last year in its home market of China . While it looks almost identical to the earlier Redmi Note 4, the new version does away with antenna lines and improves the 13-megapixel camera with a CMOS sensor boasting pixels sized at 1.12micron for better low-light shots. Instead of the MediaTek deca-core Helios X20 processor found on the Chinese version, the Indian model uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 625 chip. There's a new matte black color, too. Otherwise, the specs aren't all that different. The Note 4 packs a 5.5-inch full-HD display and comes with a fingerprint scanner and 4G dual-SIM. The non-removable 4,100mAh battery also means you'll be able to last a full day and then some. Key specs -Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor -5.5-inch full HD 1,920x1,0...

Huawei's new P10 phones: Dual Leica cameras, 3D face detection and plenty of Pantone Huawei 's newest phones, the P10 and P10 Plus , are smaller-screened versions of the giant  Mate 9, in a sense, with dual rear cameras. They were announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but we got to try them out a few days earlier in New York. (The venue was somewhat ironic given you can't buy Huawei 's newest phones in the US. But maybe, someday, the P10 and its fancy cameras will make its way over.) They come in a variety of new Pantone color options -- eight, to be exact -- and three finishes: high gloss, sandblast and "hyper diamond-cut." I held a few models: the hyper diamond-cut blue has a shimmery micro-etched finish. The P10 and P10 Plus look, for the most part, like  iPhones . Or the  Google Pixel . The slim designs mean no rear camera bump, and the metal backs and smooth edges mean a comfortable feel. Like those phones, the P10 also has a sign...

ZTE rolls out two budget-friendly Blade V8 phones at MWC ZTE V8 Cost-conscious buyers take note : ZTE 's budget-friendly phone family is growing. At the  Mobile World Congress  show in Barcelona today, ZTE took the wraps off two mid-tier phones from its Blade series. Though neither handsets are particularly noteworthy in terms of specs and features, they promise to be easy on the wallet. The first in the pair is the Blade V8 Mini. It features two cameras: a 13- and 2-megapixel shooter on the back. Similar to the  Apple iPhone 7 Plus , the dual-camera setup lets you shoot photos with blurred backgrounds, for an artsy "bokeh" effect. You can also refocus an image with this effect after you've already clicked the shutter. The two camera s can also render " 3D " images by combining two photos together. We'll know more about how these tools work once we get our hands on the device.  Other specs include : -5-inch HD display -5.65x2.76x0.3...

Tiny bezels make these midrange Sony phones all about the screen If your budget doesn't stretch to Sony's latest top-end flagship, the new Xperia XZ , perhaps its new midrange Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra will be a bit more up your street. The XA1 is the smaller of the two, with a 5.2-inch 720p display, while the Ultra balloons out with a 6-inch full HD screen. The bezels on both phones have been shrunk down to tiny slivers, allowing the screens to stretch across the whole front. The edge-to- edge displays look particularly great with full-screen photos or videos playing . Aside from the size, the main specs of the two phones are pretty much the same. Both have 23-megapixel cameras on the back, both have 32GB of storage that can be expanded with microSD cards and both run MediaTek processors. Both the XA1 and XA1 Ultra will come in black, white, gold and rose gold colours and will be available later this year, although Sony hasn't given speci...

Oppo R9s Plus serves up a powerful camera in a midrange package Meet the Oppo R9s Plus, a bigger 6-inch version of the  excellent R9s  that adds optical image stabilization (OIS) to its rear camera. The technology helps to take sharper images for those with shaky hands and makes the great camera from the R9s even better. Selfie lovers will also adore having a front 16-megapixel shooter for higher resolution pictures. If you found the R9s too small, then you should have no issue with the larger Plus. Like the midrange R9s, the Plus features an iPhone-inspired design, which is a common theme found on Oppo's other phones. I'm none too big a fan of this design choice, but it does help sell phones in the company's home country of China, where the iPhone, seen as a status symbol for those who can afford it, is too expensive for most of the population. That said, Oppo could have paid a bit more attention to the design of the phone. Like the R9s, the chamfered ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 8: What we know about Samsung's Note 7 do-over It isn't often that a company as tight-lipped as Samsung confirms a future phone down to its very name, but extreme times call for extreme measures. Having had to toss out its entire Note 7 production in the wake of two combustible battery flaws, Samsung has apparently decided to reveal some details. Enlarge Image 1. It's happening.  Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh confirmed this to CNET. Both that the phone is coming as part of the Note's yearly release cycle, and that it will indeed be called the Note 8. 2. The Note 8 will use Samsung's new eight-point battery test , which the company instituted as part of a revised testing measure after discovering holes in its battery testing that led to the Note 7 failures. In fact, the upcoming Galaxy S8 phone will use it too, along with every other Samsung phone going forward. 3. The Galaxy Note 8 shouldn't be confused with the  Galaxy S...

BlackBerry KeyOne keyboard phone kicks off a new BlackBerry era (hands-on) The KeyOne is the  BlackBerry brand's big comeback phone , the one we've been hearing about for the last few months. Based on Android and running BlackBerry software on top, it adds some unique characteristics that you can't find on any other Android phone for 2017, like a physical keyboard that can launch up to 52 shortcuts. For longtime BlackBerry fans, the KeyOne is shaping up to fulfill hopes of the brand's renewed glory. And while we're impressed with the KeyOne's feature set so far, we'll simply need to spend more time testing the phone before we know how well it's done. In addition, the KeyOne -- which is postioned on the high-end -- will face tough competition from more established players, like Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S8,  LG's G6  and  Google's new Pixel phones . We're eager to see how this all plays out. Keyboard and tricks That physical ...

Nokia 6 marks the return of an old friend Nokia, the powerhouse phone brand that dominated the planet as the millennium turned, returned to  Mobile World Congress  today with two new phones, the Nokia 6 and the Nokia 6 Arte Black Limited Edition. Running on Android (no, not Windows Phone), the phones are part of a comeback strategy to regain a footing in an industry that Nokia helped create. The resurrection comes not from Microsoft, which absorbed the original Nokia's phone business in 2014, but from HMD, a new company formed of former Nokia employees that licensed the Nokia name. Also announced today were two midrange Android phones, the Nokia 5 and 3, and a (very fun!) rebooted version of the classic Nokia 3310. It's exciting news for nostalgic fans, but put aside your hopes for classic Nokia features like a kooky keyboard or a battery that will last forever. No, the Nokia 6 and 6 Arte Black Limited Edition take a straig...

Chances are you're picturing the  Nokia 3310 , a midnight blue and grey marvel that launched in September 2000 and introduced many a phone fan to the mobile world. With its swappable and customisable plastic case, hidden antenna, T9 text input and the legendary game Snake, the 3310 is rightly remembered as one of the greatest phones ever. And now it's back. Nokia has had a few lean years after completing the sale of its phone business to Microsoft in 2014, but a handful of former employees have banded together to resurrect the Nokia name with a range of new Android phones. And to show they haven't forgotten what made the Finnish brand so popular, they're rebooting the 3310 as a colourful modern feature phone. Well, I say modern: this is no smartphone. It's 2.5G, so you can surf the web, just, with the Opera Mini browser. You can get on Facebook and Twitter if you have to, but that's pushing it. The camera manages just 2 megapixels. The screen measures 2...

Take the Alcatel A5. You won't find cutting-edge features that promise to change your life. No, the A5 is more concerned about accessorizing. Following the lead of the Moto Z phones, the A5 brings three modular accessories that expand how you can use the phone. There's an audio speaker, a battery pack that doubles its life and a case that will, ahem, light up your life. Snap it on and program the LEDs covering the back to light up when you get a notification, modulate with music, or sync to the sound of your voice. Just be warned that it draws power from your battery so go easy on the sparkle if you need your A5 to last through the day. The A5's guts make it fancier than Alcatel's other two Mobile World Congress announcements, the A3 and U5. The one exception is that the A3 has the most powerful rear camera. The A5's fingerprint sensor is one of its more notable features, but that won't make it into the US version. See below for the full list of the A5...

How to Start a Podcast? A Step by Step Guide Welcome to the exciting world of  Podcasting ! Podcasting as a content format has a huge potential to grow your business. The best part is that you do not require a lot of money to  start a podcast . So, as a business owner, it would be a wise decision to start a podcast. If you are new to the world of Podcasting and want to get started with podcasting, here is a perfect resource for you wherein I will show you  How to start a Podcast . It is a step by step guide which goes on to illustrate the technical as well as the abstract podcasting concepts in detail. What is Podcasting? Well, Podcasting is online audio content which is delivered through RSS feed. It is an “on demand” audio file which you can stream or download from the Web. Podcasting is popularly termed as “radio on demand.” However, podcasting provides much more than radio does. It provides freedom to listeners to determine what they want to list...