Blu Products debuted the new Blu Studio 7.0 LTE smartphone today, which features a HUGE 7-inch display, while still maintaining a slick, compact design. Yes, you did read that right. This phone is the same size, and bigger than many popular tablets, making it one of the largest smartphones on the market. It’s an ideal purchase for anyone wanting to reduce the total number of devices they have.

One may wonder how well you can hold a seven inch device in one hand. Android does have several settings options for one-handed use, such as screen reduction and keyboard position. On top of that, Blu has designed the back with a better grip, making it even easier to hold and perform one-handed operations.

The specs on this phone are also looking pretty sweet. It will be powered by the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, which will allow for extremely fast 4G-LTE speeds, streamlined multitasking performance and improved battery efficiency. The 7-inch display will provide 720p output and the 8.0 megapixel camera will be capable of recording 1080p HD video, along with a 2 megapixel front camera. The internal storage will be 16GB, with an expandable microSD slot up to 64GB, plus 1GB RAM. This phone will run Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. It also has dual sim capability, essentially allowing you to have two phones in one. The Blu Studio 7.0 also comes unlocked and will work on the T-Mobile and AT&T networks, including MetroPCS, Straight Talk, Simple Mobile, Cricket, and others.

You can purchase the BLU Studio 7.0 LTE on Amazon.com for $199.00 with free shipping.  Color options include white, blue, grey, and gold. 

Source: PR Newswire

This week saw Microsoft Garage bring its first Android launcher application, Arrow Launcher, out of beta and into the Google Play Store. It’s a no-frills alternative to the stuff you’ll find pre-loaded on your Android handset but it does allow for a moderate amount of customization. If you’re in the hunt for something that freshens up your smartphone’s home screen and app launcher, this might be worth a try. We spent some time playing with it and are happy to walk you through some of the basics of Arrow Launcher for Android.

First time through

Upon opening, the first thing that Arrow Launcher asks you to do is select your top applications and games. You are instructed to confirm at least five of your most used apps; these will be made readily accessible in the launcher experience. Once you’re set, it’s on to the new home screen.

Look around

Swiping to the left from your new home screen will bring up recent activity including applications used, pictures taken, call log, and more. Swipe to the right and it shows people that you are likely to call.

Generally speaking, Arrow Launcher is a rather straightforward layout with nothing too elaborate to worry about or configure. There are some nice animations to be found throughout, albeit they are subtle and won’t distract. While it does feel a little foreign foreign at first we can imagine that users will come to enjoy the simplistic design.

The bottom row of icons from left to right for us was emergency alerts, Chrome browser, the application tray, contacts, and general phone settings. Your results or settings may vary. The bottom five icons can be swiped up to display another five. It is possible, if you prefer, to pull out or swap icons for other applications.

The center home screen showed our top applications at the top followed by a number of others which looked to be arbitrarily picked. While some of these are used on a regular basis, some of them are not. We suspect these apps will change with time. After all, Arrow Launcher claims it will get smarter the more you use it.

If you’re the type of person who does not like a cluttered screen this one may take some getting use to, at least in the early setup.

Indeed, users can customize the home screens by rearranging them in any preferred order. One panel, which was turned off by default, can be use for widgets while another (also preset as off) offers up notes and reminders. This page can be helpful if you like to keep a running list of things to do or jot down ideas and tasks while you’re on the go. As for the standard three pages, they are specific to recent apps and activity, all applications, and contacts/ people.

Inside the app drawer

Tap the home button in the bottom row and your apps are delivered in an alphabetical manner that scrolls vertically. There is a search bar at the top of the app drawer so you can type in letters to more quickly pull up your apps. This will be helpful if you have a lot of applications or games loaded on your smartphone. Swiping to the right inside of the app drawer brings up your widget options with previews available for many of them.

Swiping up from the bottom row also results in some handy and useful settings: airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight, and screen orientation. It is also here where you can adjust brightness and hop into additional settings within Arrow Launcher.

For those of you who like to tinker a bit and prefer a specific aesthetic, you’ll be at least somewhat pleased. As you’ll find with other app launchers, users can opt for icons from downloaded icon packs. 

As an intial public release, you’ll find enough here to make the launcher feel unique to you. Moreover, the app learns and adapts over time and gets more intuitive. It’s not as full customizable as, say, Nova Launcher, it’s easy to set up and still provides a one-of-a-kind experience.