Hasta La Gadget!

So, you happen to be the only one remaining in your family who has yet to make the jump over to the smartphone universe? Well, considering the myriad of choices that are available to the masses at this point in time, we do not blame you. There are way too many hardware manufacturers out there with a slew of devices, that you would be spoilt for choice. Samsung has their waterproof line in their latest flagship with the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S5 Active, while the upcoming LG G3 is a charmer in all aspects. Nokia is flying the Windows Phone flag really high with their advancements in camera technology, while HTC is starting to gain consumer trust again with their HTC One M8. Folks in Europe, if none of the above fit the bill because you are in the market for the slimmest smartphone in Europe, then you would not be able to go wrong with the Allview X2 Soul.

The Allview X2 Soul happens to be from Romania, with Allview being the top smartphone and tablet brand in that part of Europe. Measuring a mere 5.55 mm in terms of thickness, the Allview X2 Soul would definitely take its place at the top classification of the thinnest phones in the world, bar none.

The Allwinner X2 Soul sports both sides that come with a thin layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, and it ought to be able to last you the distance considering Allwinner has done as much as it can to squeeze in a decent 2,300 mAH battery which is touted to deliver up to 10 hours of talk time.

Apart from that, other hardware specifications include an octa-core processor, 16GB of internal memory, 2GB RAM, a 5” Full HD Super Amoled display, and a couple of cameras – one 13MP shooter at the back with a front-facing 5MP camera. You have black or white shades to choose from, with the Allwinner X2 Soul arriving at a winning price tag of 333 Euros, unlocked.

Press Release
[ Allview X2 Soul is slimmest smartphone in Europe copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

QR codes are showing up everywhere. I have to admit it took me a while to understand the appeal. I’m finally starting to see how useful these odd little pattern filled squares are. A simple scanning app, and you can be connected to all sorts of information. Is it any surprise that they are making their way onto wearable items, and into social media?

Well, check out Skanz… a cool new product, that that lets you wear your entire social profile, by means of a trendy little QR-coded bracelet. Simply choose a thin, or a wide band in the color of your choice, register it with skanz.com, and create your own personal, mobile “Skanzsite”. Skanzsites allow anyone that scans your unique QR code with their smartphone to connect all of your social media accounts, like Facebook,  or Instagram,  any contact info you would like to share, like phone numbers, or addresses, and your favorite photos, music and more.

The Skanz bracelets also come in a Jr. version that allows your kids to build a fun homepage that includes all the fun things they would like to share, like TV shows, music videos, favorite things, all without revealing any personal info, that could be dangerous. There is never any charge to customize or maintain your Skanzsite and both regular and Jr. Skanzsites have the ability to be password protected.

If you’d like to get in on the newest way to indulge in your social media obsession, or just want another way to answer the question “can I have your number?” then a Skanz bracelet is just what you’re looking for. Get yours at amazon.com for under 12 bucks.
[ Skanz – Where Social Media and Fashion Collide copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

All right, so the Fairphone is not all that it is cracked up to be – there is no balance to the Force that needs to be done, although on certain levels, some people might agree that there is a need for the smartphone manufacturing industry to encourage a change that will keep things sustainable in the long run. Apparently, the manufacturing process of smartphones do seem to come with its fair share of environmental and social issues, ranging from their use of conflict minerals all the way to the working conditions at the factory for the workers there. The Fairphone hopes to change that, being an idea from a social enterprise.

What kind of positive vibes does the Fairphone bring with it? Well, for starters, it will make use of conflict-free raw materials during its construction and manufacturing, while the workers who work at the assembly lines will be paid a fair wage, which in turn would reduce exploitation of manpower while raising the standard of living in the community around. Not only that, there is also the effort to set up e-waste recycling programs that will ensure that such consumer electronics devices will be recycled or disposed off properly at the end of their life cycle.

As for the materials used by the Fairphone, it will contain conflict-free tin where its soldering paste is concerned, hailing from conflict-free mines in the South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The tantalum in its capacitors too, have been extracted from coltan sourced from Mai Baridi, Kisengo and Luba, which so happens to be conflict-free mines located in the northern part of the Katanga Province, DRC.

The other hardware specifications include a durable and scratch-resistant 4.3″ touchscreen display, 16GB of internal memory, cameras at the back as well as in front, a quad-core processor, and the Fairphone OS which is based on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Available in Europe for 310€ each, it remains to be seen whether it will be released worldwide or not.

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[ Fairphone intends to bring balance to the Force copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

When it comes to rolling out smartphones for the masses, the folks over at Samsung are certainly one of the more productive companies out there, as they seem to have a little bit of something for everyone. In fact, their latest device to be revealed would be the Samsung Galaxy Ace Style, and this is an unheralded handset simply because it does not occupy the higher echelons of smartphones when it comes to the hardware specifications. I suppose if you are in the market for an entry level smartphone that gets the job done, then the Samsung Galaxy Ace Style would be able to fit the bill nicely.

After all, what kind of hardware specifications are we looking at with the Samsung Galaxy Ace Style? First of all, it will run on Android 4.4 KitKat, which is a good thing since you need not wait for a software update to remain ahead of the competition when it comes to the latest features that Android offers. At the back lies a 5MP shooter, while there is a VGA camera in front for selfies. Underneath the hood, you will be able to find a dual-core 1.2GHz processor that is accompanied by 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal memory that thankfully, can be expanded by another 64GB thanks to a microSD memory card slot, a 4″ WVGA TFT display, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi connectivity, NFC support to keep up with the times, and a 1,500mAh battery.

There will also be Samsung’s intuitive touch-user interface that is known as TouchWiz Essence, while the One Camera Preview feature would pave the way for easy access for both video recording and picture taking in full High Definition glory. You will also be able to find ChatON pre-loaded on the handset so that you can share images, icons and chat with friends right from the get go. No idea on pricing, but it ought to be in the budget realm, where you can choose from Cream White and Dark Gray colors from this month onward.

Press Release
[ Samsung Galaxy Ace Style smartphone announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

When Nokia decided to go with the Windows Phone from Microsoft on an exclusive basis some years back, I am quite sure that there were a few folks out there who decided that the Finnish smartphone company (which has since been purchased by Microsoft) would meet its demise pretty quickly, considering what a behemoth iOS and Android were (and still are today) back then, not to mention BlackBerry in a pretty good shape then, too. Well, fortune has favored the Windows Phone platform, where it has overtaken BlackBerry in many markets now, and Nokia’s still at it with a growing reputation for their Windows Phone handsets. Their latest model to be revealed? The Nokia Lumia 930.

The Nokia Lumia 930 is said to blend the best of Microsoft and Lumia beautifully with a collection of features that have been incorporated in order to meet the needs of today’s forward-thinking smartphone owner. For starters, you will find that the 20-megapixel PureView camera which features optical image stabilization (OIS) and ZEISS optics are able to deliver pin-sharp shots and the flexibility to zoom into any shot right after you’ve taken it, while a front-facing HD 1.2 MP wide-angle camera would pave the way for great looking selfies, even if there is a bunch of you there.

A quartet of high performance microphones would also be able to make sure that your videos would sound great as though the viewer is there watching it live, while surround sound capture allows one to hear the world around you like never before. Integrated OIS would be able to counteract the shaky hand syndrome, and your eyes will not be disappointed by the 5” 1080p Full HD display (at 1920×1080 resolution and 441ppi) with Gorilla Glass 3, Super Sensitive Touch and a near 180-degree viewing angle.

Underneath the hood, you will find a speedy 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 32GB of internal memory (with 7GB of free OneDrive cloud storage) and 2GB RAM, ensuring that slowness in speed will not be an issue at all. The Nokia Lumia 930 will retail for $599 a pop as it arrives this June worldwide.

Press Release
[ Nokia Lumia 930 ups the ante yet again copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]