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ZTE expands US portfolio with Blade 7 Prime, Blade 10 Prime

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ZTE on Thursday introduced a number of new phones for the US market, including two which are exclusive to Verizon-based carrier Visible. Available now are the Blade 7 Prime, Blade 10, and Blade 10 Prime.

Blade 7 Prime

The Blade 7 Prime run Android 9 Pie and comes with a 6.09-inch HD display, a rear 16-megapixel camera, and 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

Internally, the handset packs a 2.0GHz Mediatek Helio A22 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. A microSD expansion card slot lets users increase storage to the tune of 2TB.

Rounding things out are a 3,200mAh battery, USB Type-C charging, a headphone jack, and rear fingerprint scanner.

The Blade 7 Prime retails for $99 through Visible. through the carrier’s Swap program, new customers can trade in any incompatible Android device for a free Blade A7 Prime when signing up for Visible service.

Blade 10 Prime

Also powered by Android 9 Pie, the Blade 10 Prime is a more robust offering with a little more across the board.

Features include a 6.3-inch FHD+ display with a waterdrop cutout notch which allows for the front-facing 16-megapixel camera. Around back are a 16-megapixel F/2.0 main camera with a secondary 5-megapixel depth sensor.

Performance comes from the Helio P60 processor with 3GB RAM, and storage is pegged at 64GB. Like its sibling, the Blade 10 Prime allows for up to 2TB external media. Also present are a 3.5mm headphone jack, rear fingerprint scanner, and 3,200mAh battery with USB Type-C charging.

The Blade 10 Prime runs $179 through Visible.

Blade 10

US buyers interested in the Blade 10 Prime who don’t want to sign up for service with Visible can still get their hands on the device. Dubbed the Blade 10, it’s sold unlocked on ZTE’s website and carries the same $179 price tag.

 

Alcatel offers up Joy Tab Kids, an 8-inch tablet aimed at children

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Alcatel, a brand known for its budget-friendly smartphones, this week announced a child-friendly tablet set to arrive November 15.

EDITOR NOTE: Clarification made as original post confused Joy Tab with the Joy Tab Kids

The Alcatel Joy Tab Kids features an 8-inch display protected by Asahi Glass. In other words, it’s built to withstand scratches, scuffs, and the carefree lifestyle of its intended user.

Powered by Android 9 Pie, the Joy Tab Kids has a generous 4080mAh battery which provides more than six hours of playback per charge.

Preloaded with Kidomi, the Alcatel JOY TAB KIDS delivers the most engaging content from top-rated kids brands like DreamWorks, Crayola, Toca Boca and more. Enjoy unlimited access to…a…content library that includes hundreds of premium interactive games, videos and books like Peppa Pig, Transformers and My Little Pony.

Internally, there’s a quad-core 1.5GHz Mediatek processor, 2GB memory, and 32GB storage. A microSD expansion card slot allows for up to 32GB of additional media.

Speaking of media, there is a 5-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing 5-megapixel camera for selfies and video chat. Both are capable of 720p HD video capture. In terms of connectivity, the Joy Tab has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and support for LTE.

Pricing has not been disclosed yet, but the tablet hits T-Mobile on November 15.

Alternatively, T-Mobile offers a standard Joy Tab as part of its tablet portfolio with pricing at $7 per month (24 months), or $168 outright. It’s also available through T-Mobile’s prepaid brand, Metro. The main difference being it’s a more traditional tablet experience that doesn’t come with the child-friendly apps and features.

T-Mobile reveals a number of initiatives for post-Sprint merger

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T-Mobile on Thursday held its first Un-carrier event based on the “New T-Mobile”. Designed to paint a picture of a post-Sprint merger, it revealed three initiatives or commitments that customers can look forward to in the coming years.

The next few years will see T-Mobile offering free talk, text, and data to first responders, free data to millions of homes, and a dirt cheap rate plan.

All of the initiatives are based on a deeper, broader high capacity network that results in a blended 5G network. The idea is to not only roll out 5G coverage to hundreds of millions of Americans but to provide it “for good.”

As T-Mobile sees it, adding its low-band to Sprint’s mid-band frequencies should result in  14x the capacity that T-Mobile might otherwise offer. That means more towers and sites and 10x data speeds.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what T-Mobile has up its sleeve.

  • Connecting Heroes Initiative
  • Project 10Million
  • T-Mobile Connect

Connecting Heroes Initiative

Connecting Heroes is a 10-year commitment to provide free unlimited talk, text and smartphone data available to first responders at public and non-profit state and local police, fire and EMS first responders.

According to T-Mobile’s calculations, this should result in some $7.7 billion saved over ten years, money that could be better utilized elsewhere.

Starting immediately, any public and non-profit state, county or city police, fire or EMS agency interested in signing up for the Connecting Heroes Initiative get on the waitlist at T-Mobile.

Project 10Million

Project 10Million is a $10 billion commitment to provide free internet to ten million households who might otherwise not have access. Qualified customers in the US and Puerto Rico will receive up to 100GB of free internet per year for the next five years.

T-Mobile Connect

Once the merger goes through, T-Mobile will offer a T-Mobile Connect plan which gives customers unlimited talk and text with 2GB of high-speed data for just $15 per month. That’s about half the price of the current offering and it’s available to anyone.

Not only will T-Mobile lock the price down for five years, it will add 500MB per month to the account for each year. The data pool automatically gets bigger. After two years, for example, it will be 3GB per month and still cost just $15 per month.

Learn more about each of these initiatives by reading the press announcement.

T-Mobile 5G network to launch December 6

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T-Mobile on Thursday announced its latest Un-carrier initiative, which is actually the first under the “New” T-Mobile. It’s a forward-looking perspective at what the company plans to do once its merger with Sprint is finalized.

READ: T-Mobile reveals a number of initiatives for post-Sprint merger

There were three major components to the “New Un-carrier 1.0” announcement, all of which are tied to its 5G network.

According to T-Mobile, it plans to launch its 5G network on December 6 whereupon it will immediately offer super-fast speeds to more than 200 million people.

Using a combination of its low-band frequencies and Sprint’s mid-band frequencies, T-Mobile’s expecting some 5,000 cities to have 5G.

Today’s LTE speeds average 25-40Mbps but its new 5G should ultimately prove to be 10X faster with theoretical speeds of 400Mbps in the coming years.

T-Mobile has two smartphones with 5G support, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G and the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G. We’d assume that going forward all major device launches will offer 5G support.

Fossil HR hybrid watches feature always-on display, physical hands

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First spotted in September, Fossil’s new smartwatches have officially gone on sale. The new Fossil HR line is made of two models, both of which are hybrid devices. More specifically, the watches have physical hands, digital displays, and a blended smart experience.

Whereas initial speculation was that the new watches would potentially run Wear OS, that no longer appears to be the case. In fact, there’s nary a word about the platform in its description. Indeed, these watches are managed in the Fossil Smartwatches app.

The Fossil HR have circular low-power, always-on, monochromatic displays which show weather, app notifications, activity tracking, and more.

Paired with the physical hands, this gives wearers a watch experience that allows for up to two weeks of battery life per charge.

The new watches feature Bluetooth 4.2 and are compatible with Android phones running 5.0 or later and iOS phones with 9.0+ or later.

This is certainly not the first hybrid watch on the market and it’s not the first from Fossil. We like that the design language is stylish and sophisticated, resembling other quality watches. It’s easy to go “generic” with a hybrid watch and lean more on function over form.

The Fossil HR watches can be had in two designs: HR Charter and HR Collider. Pricing starts at $195 for both and each has a number of strap and face options.

Google smart displays have a UI problem. The fix? Widgets

Jason England
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When Google smart displays first launched the UI design could have been described as pretty bland but useful. However, over the past couple of years, Google has updated the software bringing about more useful features and an improved design. At the same time it ruined the UI and functionality.

The most obvious example of this was the refreshed UI which rolled out back in May 2019. The update took the drab white on white design and revamped, using blurred photos as a background with a floating card interface. I think we can all agree this was a huge visual improvement.

Nest Hub with the original UI

Unfortunately, Google also removed something that made smart displays truly useful -personalized information. Instead of displaying a large, informative weather widget with upcoming calendar events on the main screen, Google smart displays now show a miniature clock with today’s temperature and a “Top Stories” widget.

I’m sure I’m not alone in my discontent with the lack of usefulness after the update. I have absolutely zero interest in browsing news stories on my smart display. I already have a laptop, phone, and tablet if I want to browse and read the news.

There is literally no reason to sit next to a smart display and browse today’s stories when there are so many other better ways available.

JBL Link View with the updated UI

The main problem smart displays face is that if they truly want to be smart, they need to be personalized to each user and each location. The good news is that Google already knows how to handle the situation. The solution? Widgets.

A Familiar Feature

Android phones have used widgets for years, letting users put useful and interactive information on their home screens.

Can you imagine if Google brought over widgets, letting users customize the layout and functions of their smart displays? You could have widgets for weather, your calendar, Spotify, YouTube, your Nest or Arlo security cameras, and much much more at a glance at any time.

Not only could you have widgets, but you would be able to have several screens of them giving you instant access to the things you care about most. Plus, you’d be able to customize each display for its room.

Super Smart, and Relevant

Perhaps in your office you care most about the weather, your calendar, and to-do list. However, in the kitchen, you might prefer a recipe widget, Spotify, and a timer at the forefront.

With the ability to create home screens with a grid of customizable widgets, smart displays would finally become the useful tool they were meant to be. Pair that with Google’s facial recognition and it would allow each user to have their own layout that could change dynamically when the user is recognized.

As it is right now, the “display” portion of smart displays goes largely underutilized, but with widgets it has the potential to be game-changing.

All we need is for Google to smarten up and realize the way to make a display “smart” is to give users the ability to customize them for their needs. And for that to happen, we need a flexible and robust system such as widgets.

Tapplock Lite review

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Just about everywhere you turn these days you’ll find something “smart”. Whether that’s the phone in your pocket, the TV you watch at night, or the speaker you listen to, the world is full of connected and smart things. Today we’ll take a look at a smart lock.

Tapplock Lite

The Tapplock Lite is a $39 padlock which unlocks via fingerprint and through a Bluetooth connection in the mobile app. Available in three colors (Ash Black, Electric Yellow, and Flame Red), it supports up to 100 fingerprints and also allows for Morse Code patterns.

The concept of a smart lock is not new, and this is not the first product of its kind from Tapplock. After first starting out as an Indiegogo darling in 2016, the Tapplock went on to launch as a solid idea that had its share of hiccups.

The Tapplock has evolved into two models in 2019: Tapplock One+ and Tapplock Lite. The former is a multi-functional utility lock while the latter is billed as a “lightweight, lifestyle lock”.

Design and Function

Upon opening the box and looking over the Tapplock Lite we immediately saw this unit as being handy for trips to the gym or for the basement and garage. In other words, it’s not a giant lock that’s designed to keep your storage unit and its belongings safe. Think more in terms of securing valuables at the YMCA or pool, or the toolbox in the shed.

Included in the box are the lock, a short microUSB cable, and the user manual. The booklet does a great job of spelling out the various status lights and walks you through the process of adding fingerprints and Morse Code. In essence, you open the app and follow the steps to add users and their respective fingerprints.

Setup

We had a bit of difficulty at first as our phone disconnected from the lock a few times and we couldn’t quite get the timing right on adding fingerprints. Each identity can add up to ten fingerprints via a three-second press of the lock’s reader.

Editor Note: It’s worth pointing out here that it was ultimately determined that our initial review unit was somewhat faulty. We ran into a few issues with the device but all were reconciled with the replacement.

Once we had the right hand set up we tried to unlock the Tapplock Lite. Our initial testing saw that thumbs and fingers worked well and it seemed to react quickly. For what it’s worth, Tapplock says the 0.8 second unlock time gets more accurate and faster with time.

Every so often we found the Tapplock Lite didn’t like some of our fingerprints but a second try registered nicely.

We never ran into a situation where we couldn’t unlock the Tapplock Lite using a fingerprint or the app to manually unlock it. The latter is a little bit wonky to deal with and takes more time, but we like the fall back in the event the lock is reader on the lock might be hard to reach.

We found that the lock wasn’t too fond of wet fingers, but it’s not really any worse than what you get with your typical phone reader.

Our suggestion to readers is to add as many of your finger as you can to the lock. Both of our review units seemed to prefer or recognize different fingers at different times.

The Morse Code option is a nice feature, too. Going this route makes it so that you can customize a squeeze pattern. This works well in the event you’re wet and/or can’t get to the app without much fuss.

Conclusion

We like the idea of this lock quite a bit. Have a shared locker or area that you’d like to keep private? Add a few users or manually and remotely open the lock to allow access. It’s not gonna keep someone from taking your wooden chest or toolbox to deal with later. It will, however, make would-be thieves think twice about messing around with it at school or the gym.

This isn’t the sort of lock you would use to secure a storage unit or keep out in the elements. A school locker, safety deposit box, or filing cabinet at home, though? Perfect.

We appreciate that you don’t have to worry about charging the lock up every couple of days, or even weeks. In fact, its internal battery is good enough for about eight months or, as Tapplock advises, 1,200 unlocks.

Availability

Learn more about the Tapplock Lite at its website where it’s also available for purchase. Choose from a handful of colors and grab yours for $39 today. You can also save with additional devices – $72 for two and $105 for three

Nokia 7.2 Review

Andrew Allen
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HMD Global and its revival of the Nokia brand is quickly becoming one of my favorite stories in mobile. Nokia is back at a time when I think it’s needed in the space. With its combination of a great update road map and compelling, budget-minded hardware, the company has another potential winner on its hands.

Let’s take a look at it. Here’s my review of the Nokia 7.2 smartphone.

Hardware

The build and quality of the Nokia 7.2 are impressive for its $350 price point. With a mix of polycarbonate backplate and an aluminum frame, the 7.2 has an appearance well outside the realm of the mid-range market. Nokia continues to offer an industrial design that reflects the company’s past of making a great smartphone.

The button layout is pretty basic on the Nokia 7.2 with a volume rocker and power button residing on the right side of the screen. On the left, you have a single button dedicated to Google Assistant.

Both the Assistant button and the LED notification light built into the power key is a great new staple of all Nokia Android phones that I hope the company continues using. Each offers a dedicated hardware answer for general software and I really like it.

As you’d expect, the LED has a soft glow when you get an email or other notification. As I mentioned in my recent Nokia 4.2 review, it’s a nice touch to see here. The Assistant button is just as predictable, offering a quick way to launch Google’s AI from any screen. It even works with the screen even off.

Camera

Around the back, you have a capacitive fingerprint scanner and the camera housing. The camera is slightly different for Nokia with the mid-range phone offering three total cameras. The main one is a 48-megapixel sensor.

The main camera actually shoots a 12-megapixel image after it condenses the information from the 48-megapixel module but it is surprisingly good with the results. In well-lit areas you can get a detailed photo with nice colors. However, as lighting and other objects alter the mood, the shots become somewhat inconsistent in post-processing. Likewise, focusing tends to get tougher when taking the picture.

The overall performance and shutter speeds could use some optimization. There were a couple of instances where the camera really stumbled in attempts to take a photo.

One of the other sensors is a dedicated 5-megapixel depth lens. This allows for the Nokia 7.2 to produce rather respectable portrait photos with decent bokeh effects. While still not in the class of the Pixels, they are perfectly acceptable for the quick social media share.

The last camera sensor is a wide-angle 12-megapixel that allows for wide view shots via the camera app. Unfortunately, you’ll see a pretty significant drop in the overall quality of the photos. The pics aren’t terrible, but you see much more grain and noise in the final result.

Screen

The Nokia 7.2 houses a 6.3-inch 1080 x 2280 pixel IPS LCD. Its colors are balanced and the screen is easily seen in most instances, but I did find times where I wished the auto-brightness would have been stronger. Thankfully, we always have manual adjustments.

Software and performance

I won’t spend too much time here but you can reference my previous Nokia review if you’d like a little deeper dive. The Android One experience paired with the Snapdragon 660 makes for a very fluid and frugal operating system. The Android One build is crisp and snappy with no real issues in daily usage.

You can also feel more at ease about the security of your devices with Android One’s guarantee of two OS updates and three years of security level patches. Nokia has smartly decided to stay out of the way and not complicate the software experience.

Calls and network

I had zero issues, and even one surprise, while using the Nokia’s cellular and LTE support. Calls and texts worked as they expected with both sides of the call getting ample sound with no crackling. The speaker phone is also pretty decent.

The surprise is that the phone is only certified to work on GSM networks in the US which means only AT&T and T-Mobile. However, I found the phone has consistently worked well on the Verizon network. I hope this is something that doesn’t get disabled by a future patch or update.

Do note that I am not endorsing this as a Verizon phone and definitely do not recommend buying it specifically as such.

Final thoughts

My main takeaway is that Nokia is following a familiar path. With its 4.2 and now 7.2, the company is using the same formula Moto has used over the last few years.

Nokia is attacking the low to mid-range of the device market with quality handsets at the sub-$300 price tag — and it’s doing it better than Moto in my mind. To me, the overall hardware and camera experience is better on almost all the Nokia phones I’ve tested when compared to Moto. The same is true here with the Nokia 7.2 which lines up nicely against the Moto G7.

Pair that with a better outlook for OS updates and Nokia has a winning combination in the Nokia 7.2 smartphone.

Availability

Learn more about the Nokia 7.2 and other models at the Nokia website. The phone can be purchased in Charcoal and Green colors for $350 at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo Video.

Thriftydroid: Best Buy phone promos and offers worth a look

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It’s November, and that means it’s a great time of year to save on a new purchase. What with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and a whole month of savings. Actually, we’re in a whole season of discounts and promotions.

If buying a new phone is something you’re considering, there’s plenty to choose from. A handful of new models are hitting the market and retailers are slashing prices to attract buyers.

Here, we gather up a number of phones with discounts, rebates, and other promos through Best Buy. It’s not everything available, to be sure, but some of the best offered.

Unlocked Phones

Verizon

AT&T

Sprint

Other Savings

Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger review

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As we move from microUSB to USB Type-C for our devices, we have to transition away from some of our existing chargers. Look around the home or office and you’ll likely find more than a couple plugs lying about.

The problem with tossing them out completely is that you may still use the traditional USB. Yes, even though it’s nowhere near as fast as today’s chargers, that trusty old wall plug can still work for a pair of headphones.

What happens when you have a cable that’s USB-C on both ends? Use both outlets so you can have something “just in case?” You know where we’re going with this…

Consider something like the Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger.

What is the Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger?

A wall charger, of course.

In all seriousness, this is a charger that houses both a USB-C (PD) and a USB Quick Charge 3.0 port. Both ports allow for 18W charging, meaning you can get a total of 36W output at once.

It’s compact in stature at about 2.5-inches on two sides and around one inch wide. It doesn’t take up much more space than what you’re currently getting from your charger, but it’s a hell of a lot more practical.

What’s in the box?

  • Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger
  • User manual

Who is the Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger for?

Anyone who cares about efficient charging for their phones, tablets, Nintendo Switch, digital camera, etc.

People who spend a lot of time in coffee shops, libraries, or hotel rooms will enjoy having a dual-purpose charger for laptops and phones.

Our thoughts

It’s pretty tough to get excited about a wall charger, but we do find ourselves really happy with this one. Given we’re often charging a phone, Chromebook, Pixelbook, Nintendo Switch and or something else, we like the flexibility.

It’s more stylish than it needs to be with an interesting color scheme. The charger looks good in any environment and travels well.

There’s an 18-month warranty that comes with the charger, which is about six months longer than what others do. That’s peace of mind, and worth a few bucks on its own.

We love the price point of the charger, which is currently just $23 at Amazon.

Should I buy the Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger?

Yes. This one is priced to sell and comes with a customer-friendly warranty behind it.

Three reasons to buy

  • Price
  • 18-month warranty
  • Two fast charging standards

One reason to reconsider

  • Unfamiliar brand for some

We’ve had a chance to play with other Xcentz products and feel they’re definitely worth a look. Thus far our wall charger has been a pleasure to use.

Where can I buy the Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger?

Learn more about the Xcentz 36W PD Wall Charger and/or purchase one at Amazon. It is listed at $23 at the time of publication.

EDITOR NOTE: This is a sponsored product review, however the views and opinions expressed here are entirely those of AndroidGuys. No editorial consideration or adjustment was made on behalf of the sponsor.

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