Nextbit Robin "cloud phone" starts shipping on February 16

The cloud-centric Nextbit Robin smartphone started off as a Kickstarter campaign - a very successful one actually. After the initial $299 units got grabbed, and the $349 tier was sold out too, the device was put up for pre-order for $399. And now, quite a few months away from its September 2015 debut, we're very close to its shipping date. Nextbit has announced that the first 1,000 people who backed the project on Kickstarter are set to receive their Robins on February 16. The one caveat here is that only the GSM version will be shipping at this time. The CDMA-capable model will follow at some point later this year. The Nextbit Robin has been billed as the first "cloud phone", because it backs up everything in the cloud - apps, data, and multimedia included. With a purchase of the phone you get 32GB of built-in storage, but also an additional 100GB in the cloud. The point here is for you to never run out of storage. As soon as the internal space starts filling up, the phone automatically deletes stuff - but since everything is backed up to the cloud you can get things back if you need to. This entire process is supposedly seamless, requiring little to no user interaction. Otherwise, the Robin is a pretty decent upper-midrange Android smartphone, coming with a 5.2-inch 1080p touchscreen, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 808 chipset at the helm, 3GB of RAM, a 13 MP rear camera with phase detection autofocus and dual-LED flash, a 5 MP selfie snapper, a USB Type-C port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, and a 2,680 mAh battery. It even boasts a fingerprint scanner as well as front-facing stereo...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/nextbit_robin_cloud_phone_starts_shipping_on_february_16-news-15911.php

Netflix is now available in 190 countries

In a rather surprising move, Netflix has expanded its online movie and TV show viewing service to a whopping 130 more countries than before today. This takes the grand total of territories where you can watch what Netflix has to offer to over 190. The service is already live in all of these, by the way - so if up until now your country was left out, head to netflix.com now and you might be in for a nice surprise. The first month is free, after which you pay a monthly amount based on which plan you pick. The cheapest plan lets you watch on a maximum of one screen at a time, and doesn't feature HD content. This is priced at €7.99 in Europe, for example. For €9.99 each month you get HD access and the ability to watch on two screens at the same time. The premium plan is €11.99 per month and comes with Ultra HD (4K) support and the ability to watch stuff on four different devices at the same time. Netflix also added Arabic, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports. The service still isn't available in China, though the company says it's exploring options over there. Furthermore, you can't watch Netflix if you're in Crimea, North Korea, or Syria, because of restrictions placed on American companies by the US...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/netflix_is_now_available_in_190_countries-news-15909.php

Pair two of Kodak's new SP360 4K action cams, get VR videos

Kodak's latest entrant into the action cam space (which is getting busier and busier each year) is the SP360 4K. As the name implies, the small cube-shaped camera has the ability to record in 4K (3,840x2,160) with its 12.4 MP sensor. But that's when you use its "front" mode, which comes with a 16:9 aspect ratio. There's also the "global" setting which brings with it a 1:1 aspect ratio and a shooting resolution of 2,880x2,880. In this mode, it captures an almost spherical image, 360-degrees horizontally and 235-degrees vertically. Fret not, however, for you can create a fully spherical VR film with the Kodak Pixpro SP360 4K - you just need two of them. If you pair a couple of these, and place them back-to-back, you've got your VR footage. Kodak even sells a two-pack, which also includes a dual-camera mount as well as software that stitches everything together after you're done shooting. One Kodak SP360 4K currently goes for $499, while the double-pack is priced at $899. Using the camera's built in Wi-Fi lets you control it with your iPhone or Android device. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/pair_two_of_kodaks_new_sp360_4k_action_cams_get_vr_videos-news-15908.php

Alcatel at CES 2016: Hands-on

Each year Alcatel designs a plethora of affordable devices and most of them become available as carrier-exclusives around the world.

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_ces_2016-review-1360.php

Apple App Store generated $1.1 billion sales during the holiday season

Apple officially announced the App Store generated $1.1 billion in sales during the 2015 holiday season. In fact, the company calls it the "biggest ever" milestone for the App Store for the two-week period ending January 3, 2016. Christmas and New Year's have both set single-day records with more than $144 million sales. In total, Apple has paid out close to $40 billion to developers since the App Store launched eight years ago. The App Store had a holiday season for the record books. We are excited that our customers downloaded and enjoyed so many incredible apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV, spending over $20 billion on the App Store last year alone," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We're grateful to all the developers who have created the most innovative and exciting apps in the world for our customers. We can't wait for what's to come in 2016. The company also shared another interesting statistic: it has now created 1.9 million jobs in the US alone. 1.4 million of them are related to the community of app creators, software engineers and entrepreneurs building iOS apps. Previously, the company said it was responsible for 1.2 million jobs in Europe and 1.4 million jobs in China. For 2015, Apple App Store sales topped $20 billion. Apple keeps 30% of the App Store revenue, meaning the company made $6 billion for 2015 after paying...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_app_store_generated_11_billion_sales_during_holiday_season-news-15906.php

BlackBerry Priv now available in more European countries

Starting today, the BlackBerry Priv is available for purchase on three more European markets - Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. The three countries join Germany and the UK, where the Android slider has been available for a while now. The price is the same as in Germany - €779. We're talking about BlackBerry's official store here, you might be able to find the Priv in other countries, just not straight from the Canadian company's store. France is still left out, however, but the Priv is coming, albeit later this year. The Priv is BlackBerry first Android-running smartphone, featuring a 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 808 chipset and an 18MP camera. If you're still undecided, it might be wise to check out our detailed review of the handset before heading out to the store. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_priv_now_available_in_more_european_countries-news-15907.php