Introduction Another Chinese flagship but with a twist. If vivo rings a bell at all, it’s most probably the X5Max, the world’s slimmest phone. Not a bad thing to be known for but vivo isn’t just about looks. This Chinese maker isn’t a discounter either – vivo is more like Oppo, less like Xiaomi. It is a limited lineup where most of the recent models do stand out in one way or another, helping vivo build a reputation as a premium phone manufacturer. vivo is known for experimenting with imaging and audio technology and using components that you don’t get every day in phones made in China. The vivo Xplay3S was cheered by audiophiles and the Xshot we’re about to review is a flagship cameraphone. The vivo Xshot is an exquisitely built phone with premium finish, formidable specs and a camera setup which almost puts it in a league of […]

Introduction It’s a tall order for any midranger to stand out among a myriad of offerings in the market. Both established brands and emerging Asian manufacturers are trying hard to grab a piece of that market spoiling those shopping there for choice. The Acer Liquid Jade S aims to make a name for itself with bold looks, slim waistline and balanced hardware. Announced merely six months after the Liquid Jade the S version brings notable upgrades in several major areas. A more powerful chipset, featuring an octa-core processor and a higher-grade graphics processor is the key change, but the doubled operating memory and onboard storage are also important updates. The new SoC is not just about higher performance though, it also brings LTE support to the mix. Meanwhile, other key features have been retained starting with the 5-inch display. True, it’s not FullHD, but qHD resolutions aren’t unheard of in […]

Introduction How big of an impact can a small change have? The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge has only the extra screen curves compared to the vanilla Galaxy S6, but these two phones couldn’t feel any more different – it’s a difference that you can readily feel when you hold them in your hand. Different, and yet the same, the two Galaxy S6 phones share some of the best components available, tied together with software built on new philosophy to match the new hardware ideology. Here’s the recap of the key specs and disadvantages and… please, pardon the deja vu feel. Key features Curved screen, thin (7mm) profile, premium dual-glass design reinforced by a metal frame 5.1″ Super AMOLED of QHD (1440 x 2560) resolution, class-leading ~577ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Exynos 7420 64-bit chipset, octa core processor with four 2.1GHz Cortex-A57’s and four 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 cores, Mali-T760 MP8 GPU, 3GB […]

Introduction It’s the first time we have an Archos smartphone for review here at GSMArena but it isn’t the first time we hear the French maker’s name. For years now Archos has been churning out tablets with good specs for a reasonable price. They make phones too and you can find them subsidized by carriers in many countries. The Archos 50 Diamond is the company’s flagship phone at the helm of its portfolio. Its highlights include the 5″ 1080p IPS LCD on the front, the 16MP camera on the back and the 64-bit Snapdragon 615 chipset and 2GB of RAM inside. The 50 Diamond also boasts dual SIM abilities out of the box without compromising its microSD card slot. Together the main specs round off a reasonable upper midrange handset that can challenge competition from Samsung, HTC and China for the hard-earned cash of buyers. Perhaps one of the more […]

Asus announced the European expansion of its Zenfone 2 lineup on March 30 at a special press event held in Paris. The spotlight was shared between the Zenfone 2 lineup, its new accessories, the Transformer Book Chi hybrids and the latest ZenBooks. The Zenfone 2 was announced earlier this year at CES, but Asus is now determined to push across the European market. The first country to get the Zenfone 2 series is France. There the different sub-models are already available for purchase and Asus is offering some nice perks such as a tempting return and refund policy in case you are not satisfied with you Zenfone 2. Asus Transformer Book Chi T100 and T300 are also available for purchase. The two hybrids are quite attractive because of the detachable keyboards, powerful processors, the adequate on-board storage, and the affordable prices. The latest Asus ZenBook laptops are already making their […]

The last two generations of HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S were separated by the looks versus practicality debate. Samsung’s revamped design erodes this difference, while HTC stepped up its camera game. HTC once ruled the Android world, but has since been supplanted by Samsung. Still, last year the companies’ trajectories were reversing once again – Samsung’s streak of record profits ended, as did HTC’s streak of quarters in the red. This lit a fire under Samsung to change the foundations of its design. The new slender body of metal and glass is a big step forward from the Galaxy S5. It wasn’t a sudden reboot though, Samsung iterated the design first with the Galaxy Alpha then with the Galaxy Note 4 to make sure the Galaxy S6 comes out great. Now HTC is the one stuck in a design rut, the HTC One M9 is a second rehash of […]

Key Features Available as Desire 820 dual SIM or Desire 820 with LTE support, cat. 4 LTE (150/50Mbps); 5.5″ 720p Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen, ambient light sensor Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 chipset (quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU), Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB of RAM Android 4.4.2 KitKat with HTC Sense 6.0 13MP autofocus camera, 1080p video capture, f/2.2, 28mm lens,LED flash 8MP front-facing camera with BSI sensor; 1080p video capture 16GB of built-in memory, expandable via the microSD card slot Wi-Fi b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS/GLONASS; FM radio; USB On-The-Go Active noise cancellation with a secondary microphone Front-facing stereo speakers 2,600mAh battery; Extreme Power Saving Mode Main disadvantages Glossy finish is a magnet for fingerprints Plastic is glossy and easily gets smudged and scratched Rather small 2,600mAh battery      

Key features Available as Xperia C3 dual with Dual SIM support or Xperia C3 with LTE support, cat. 4 LTE (150/50Mbps); 5.5″ Triluminos IPS LCD, 720 x 1280 pixels, 267ppi Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Xperia UI on top Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 processor, Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM 8MP rear camera, single LED flash, 1080p video recording 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera with LED flash and HD video recording Wi-Fi b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; ANT+; GPS/GLONASS; FM radio with RDS; USB On-The-Go; NFC 8GB of built-in storage, expandable via a microSD card slot Active noise cancellation with a secondary microphone 2,500mAh battery; STAMINA Power Saving Mode Main disadvantages Thick bezels make the device bigger than 5.5″ peers Battery isn’t user-replaceable The 5MP front cam doesn’t offer 1080p video recording The Xperia C3 dual seems to lack the advertised dual-call functionality