Mobile

A new Nokia flip phone offers no tech features beyond SMS text messaging and a basic phone service. It's part of a supposed trend away from smartphones, though analysts are divided on how significant that trend is and what's causing it. The Nokia ... 2660 Flip is made by HMD, which has licensed the Nokia brand for the phone. It's expected to retail for as little as $60 in the US. It does nothing other than make voice calls (but not VOIP such as Skype), send and receive messages and take photos on a single camera. It resembles late-90s Nokia cellphones, though is missing the much-loved Snake game ... (view more)

Google's next flagship phone will have a built-in thermometer if a leaked video is anything to go by. Right now, nobody really knows why. The leaked video appeared on the 91mobiles site and appears to show the thermometer sensor placed just below ... the camera flash. It comes from Kuba Wojciechowski, a Twitter user who regularly shares leaked images of upcoming devices and describes himself as "a slight nuisance to tech companies." (Source: 91mobiles.com ) Google hasn't commented on the legitimacy of the video. However, 91mobiles says Google forced it to take down the video from YouTube by ... (view more)

Fifty years ago, on April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, made the world's first cellular phone call. Back then, making a phone call from a mobile device was a major achievement - but now, smartphones have become an indispensable ... part of our daily lives. We use them not only to make calls, but also to stream movies, play games, and take professional-level photos. However, despite the advancements in technology, the basic shape and form of the smartphone has remained the same for over a decade. To stay relevant in the ever-evolving smartphone market, Motorola, along with other ... (view more)

Nokia has launched an Android phone specifically designed to be repairable by the user. The G22 handset was made in cooperation with spare parts and repair site iFixit. Being unable to easily repair a handset (or even to get a third party expert to ... do it) has been one of the biggest frustrations for many phone owners. It often means having to replace an entire handset because a single component has failed, causing both financial and environmental damage. While some manufacturers have made phones with easily replaceable components, they tend to be less well-known brands and carry a premium ... (view more)

Phone manufacturers may be forced to make batteries easily removable. The proposed European rule could have worldwide consequences. Were the rules to become law, they would affect 27 countries that are members of the European Parliament. For global ... manufacturers, most notably Apple, that could mean such a significant change to their handset design that they find it simpler to replicate it in all markets. Politicians from the European Parliament and the technology ministers from each country have agreed to the changes in principle. They'll now have to go through the lawmaking process before ... (view more)

A program to rate the environmental impact of cell phones now covers 35 countries. But there's no sign yet of Eco Rating coming to North America. The program has run since May 2021 and involved eight mobile carrier companies. They then ask handset ... manufacturers to answer questions about their devices. So far, more than 20 manufacturers have done so, with a total of more than 300 devices rated. The rating aims to cover the environmental impact of every stage of a phone's life, starting with the raw materials and the manufacturing process. It also takes into account the distance and method of ... (view more)

Smartphone and tablet manufacturers may be forced to offer updates and security fixes for longer. It's part of a European plan to reduce the need for users to get rid of old devices so often. The proposals would also mean manufacturers making parts ... available for independent repairers and making batteries either long-lasting or replaceable. The move could bring benefits to device buyers around the world. However, analysts also fear it could mean an end to cheap handsets, even if they are a false economy. The proposals come in a draft law in the European Union. They are now out for public ... (view more)

The next iPhone model looks likely to have a free satellite connection that works virtually anywhere. Initially at least it will likely only work for text messages. The idea has reportedly been in the works for iPhones for some time but now looks ... likely to be announced in September and cover the forthcoming iPhone 14. Apple is holding a launch event titled "Far Out" and artwork showing space. Meanwhile a company called Globalstar announced earlier this year that it bought 17 new satellites to serve a new, unnamed customer. That's looking increasingly likely to be Apple. No Signal ... (view more)

Google's Pixel phone now lets users take part in a voice call without speaking. It's primarily an accessibility feature though could have some practical uses in other situations. The feature, is an extension of the existing Live Caption feature ... available on many Android handsets. Until now it's mainly worked on online videos that don't have their own captioning. It uses smart speech recognition to produce captions in close to real-time and is aimed both at people with hearing impairments and those who prefer to watch videos without sound. For example, a user might want to avoid disturbing ... (view more)

A new charging technology could completely fill a phone battery in under 10 minutes. Or at least that's what its developers say. Chinese company Oppo claims that not only can it achieve the super-speed charge, but it does so without damaging the ... battery or shortening its lifespan. The company demonstrated the technology at Mobile World Congress, an annual showcase for the cellphone industry in Barcelona. While not a household name, Oppo is actually the world's fourth biggest company when it comes to sales, behind only Samsung, Apple and Huawei. The basics of what it calls SuperVooc charging ... (view more)