Modular smartphone concepts have come and gone, but it’s only a matter of time before one of the major technology companies unveils one that actually hits production. The Samsung Galaxy S9 Modular could be one of them. Featuring dual rear cameras capable of shooting 1000fps slow-motion video, a rear fingerprint scanner, and magnetic pins that enable users to add additional modules (camera lenses, secondary display, etc.). Continue reading for more pictures and information.
HMD Global bought back the classic Nokia 3310, complete with its retro-style candy bar design, but now, it has gotten a modern update. Thanks to 3G connectivity, the handset can now be used in the US on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, all for the low price of $81. Expect approximately 6.5-hours of continuous use with 3G, down from 22-hours on the 2G model, but a worthy compromise. Continue reading for another hands-on video, more pictures and information.
For those who don’t know, the Motorola V360 from 2005 was one of the first mobile phones with microSD/TransFlash slot, with maximum capacity of 512MB. Industrial designer Michael Muleba decided to give this handset a complete refresh, complete with a curved super AMOLED display and dual 12MP rear cameras. A secondary display on the back can be used to display time and other notifications. Continue reading for more pictures and information.
Nokia originally manufactured the 7610 smartphone in mid-2004, and it featured a 1-megapixel camera (1152×864 pixels), as well as several applications, including: Nokia Lifeblog, the Opera Mobile web browser and Kodak Photo Sharing. This modernized version by industrial designer Mohamed Sasa now adds a fingerprint scanner and main camera with dual LED flash on the back. Continue reading for more pictures and information.
Gone are the days of simple brick phones, and in are smartphones with a plethora of functions, that is unless…you’re talking about the Mindfulness Phone. Inspired by pebbles, it boasts only the most basic of functions, such as a standard numeric keypad and an opaque screen when not in use. One cool function is data connectivity, but only to alert the user of how much time they’ve already spent online. Continue reading for more pictures.
If you only need the most basic functions in a phone, look no further than the Halcyon. Sporting a flexible design that can easily fit in your pocket, its UI only shows if you receive new calls or texts, rather than emails, game notifications, social media. etc. Other features include a single speaker and a USB Type-C charging / data port. It’s a pay-as-you-go phone that accepts payments either via direct-debit or PayPal. Continue reading for more fascinating images from around the web.
Russia-based phone customization company, Caviar, has unveiled a $2,500 Nokia 3310 that commemorates the meeting between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. The phone’s body is made of tempered titanium, while several gold accents adorn both the front and back. Continue reading for another picture and more information.
Another day, another Google Pixel 2 concept, and this one comes from Jonas Daehnart. There’s no confirmation on whether the new phone will come with a curved 5.6″ OLED display or something slightly smaller, but recent “Google Taimen” Geekbench results show the processor clocked at 1.9GHz (Snapdragon 835) with 4GB of RAM. Continue reading for more pictures and information.
University of Washington engineers have created a cell phone capable of making calls by drawing on light or ambient radio signals, and it could be the first functioning handset that consumes almost zero power. Technically speaking, it harvests power from RF signals coming from a base station around 31 feet away, or from light using a minute solar cell. Currently, the team designed their own base station to receive and transmit radio signals, but in the future, this technology could be embedded in cell towers or Wi-Fi routers. Continue reading for another video and more information.
Flip phones may not be popular as they were, but there’s at least one company trying to modernize the design. Introducing the Samsung Galaxy Folder 2, a Motorola RAZR-inspired smartphone / flip phone hybrid. Featuring a 1.4-GHz processor, 256GB of internal storage, and 2GB of RAM, all running on Android 6.0. Continue reading for a hands-on video demonstration and more information.
