Weekly poll: can the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip convince you to move on from rigid slabs?

Flip phones are back with a vengeance - last year's tablet-sized folders are giving way to vertical folders. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will be unveiled at the Unpacked event in February and it will be the first phone with Ultra Thin Glass (UTG). That may not sound like much, but the much increased scratch resistance of UTG compared to the plastic screen cover of the Galaxy Fold, Mate X and even the upcoming Motorola Razr can make the Z Flip the first practical folder. In early 2019 we were thinking that an inward folding design would be enough to protect the screen, but reality proved...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_can_the_samsung_galaxy_z_flip_convince_you_to_move_on_from_rigid_slabs-news-41194.php

Weekly poll results: 2 in 3 interested in 5G, but slow network rollout is a big issue

A third of the people who voted in last week's poll plans to buy a 5G phone in 2020. Another third are still prioritizing the other features on a phone, but are not against having a 5G-capable phone. Only the final third voted a firm "no". Among those, the most common explanation as to why not is that the carriers in their country are yet to launch their next-generation networks. In many regions this will not happen this year or even next year. This limits the value of 5G connectivity from the perspective of future-proofing one's purchase. It's much better to get an awesome camera now...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_results_most_show_interest_in_5g_but_limited_network_availability_may_slow_adoption-news-41174.php

Flashback: Sony Ericsson W800 and K750 showed the value of good branding

Sony once held some of the most valuable brand names in tech. The company practically invented the portable music player, the legendary Walkman. Also, its first digital camera came out in 1996, the Cyber-shot. However, the company didn't handle the transition to mobile phones very well. The company - or rather its 50/50 partnership with Ericsson - did try to adapt the Sony branding to mobile phones. This gave us handsets like the Sony Ericsson W800, which had "Walkman" written with large letters on its side. Not just that, it had a button with Walkman logo that launched the music...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/flashback_sony_ericsson_w800_and_k750_showed_the_value_of_good_branding-news-41178.php

If you miss Vine, here's its spiritual successor

Unfortunately for most of the Vine users, the service got the ax shortly after the acquisition from Twitter. Instagram and TikTok were fast to fill in but that 6-second duration of the clip has been missed by a lot of us who have an attention span of a goldfish. Luckily, there's a successor to Vine and it's called Byte. Perhaps the name is a clever wordplay between a small bite and an actual byte since the video clips are small. Anyway, one of Vine's co-founders is behind the project and as Android Police reported, the Byte app looks like a modern-looking blast from the past. It's...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/if_you_miss_vine_heres_its_spiritual_successor-news-41214.php

Xiaomi Redmi 8A running Android 10 spotted on Geekbench

Xiaomi's Redmi 8A received an official update with the company's latest version of MIUI 11 back in November. And although the custom skin brought a brand new look and a couple of new features, it's still based on the older Android 9 Pie. According to a Geekbench listing, however, this might soon change. The listing shows a Xiaomi Redmi 8A handset running the latest Android 10 suggesting that an update might be underway. Xiaomi hasn't disclosed a time frame in which we should expect the update but we remain hopeful with this Geekbench report. Source

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_8a_running_android_10_spotted_on_geekbench-news-41215.php

Redmi K30 in for review

Following up on the success of the Redmi K20 from the early summer of 2019, the company announced the K30 and K30 5G in December, with the vanilla K30 going on sale in China immediately. Well, a Redmi K30 has arrived at the office and it's straight into the lab for review. Looking at the specs, the Redmi K30 shares more of its genes with the Redmi Note 8 Pro, than it does with the K20. For example, the camera system on the back is directly lifted off of the Note and includes a 64MP main shooter, an 8MP ultrawide, and a couple of 2MP units - one for close up shots, the other for depth...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/redmi_k30_in_for_review-news-41140.php