It's true that cheap affordable Android tablets are a dime a dozen at most trade shows these days, but here at CTIA 2013 we stumbled upon something that caught our eye -- a 7-inch dual-core tablet running Jelly Bean that costs just $65. The Maxwest TAB-7155DC aka. Ippo Y88 measures 182 x 122 x 10mm (7.16 x 4.8 x 0.39inch), weighs 187g (6.6oz) and comes in several hues (black, white, silver, red, blue and pink).

It features a 7-inch 1024 x 600-pixel capacitive multitouch LCD, an Infotmic IMAPx820 SoC (1GHz dual-core Cortex A5 CPU with Mali 400 GPU), 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in storage, dual VGA cameras (front and back), WiFi b/g/n and a 2800mAh battery. The screen isn't covered in glass and there's no sign of any Bluetooth or GPS radios, but then again, what do you expect for $65? You''ll find a power / lock key, DC socket, micro-USB port (with on-the-go support) and mini-HDMI output on the top edge, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack, volume rocker and microSD card slot on the right side. A microphone and speaker round things up in back.

The tablet runs a mostly stock version of Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1, to be specific) and includes the usual assortment of Google apps along with access to the Play Store. Performance is adequate -- not buttery smooth but perfectly usable. Build quality and materials are surprisingly decent for the price (the plastic is color-through), but the display leaves a lot to be desired (viewing angle are poor and the acrylic covering the screen is scratch-prone). Then again, it's only $65, right? Check out the gallery below for our rose-colored hands-on with this inexpensive tablet.

Gallery: Maxwest 7-inch dual-core Jelly Bean tablet hands-on

Filed under: Tablets, Google

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Voxx Accessories (formerly Audiovox) launched its newest Soundflow wireless audio product at CTIA this week: the Soundboard. The idea is quite simple; place just about any handset on the 3-AA battery powered Soundboard while it plays your favorite music and the device instantly amplifies and rebroadcasts it through its own built in speakers. No pairing, no wires and no hassle is the name of the game.

The concept and its ease of use is really slick, though sadly, the execution is sub-par because even if the tech works perfectly the sound is pretty terrible. The housing is so small that there is simply no bass at all so the resultant audio quality is high pitched and tinny. Voxx's rep did mention that the speaker still needs tuning, so we'll definitely wait 'til we run into it again for final judgment on the Soundboard's sonic abilities. So until that time we'll save its $29.99 list price for a decent NFC-enabled speaker that delivers almost exactly the same no muss no fuss wireless experience. Pics of the Soundboard are in the gallery below.

Gallery: Voxx accessories shows off hassle-free Soundboard for wireless audio (hands-on)

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment

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File this under "things we could have sworn already existed." Microsoft just announced two mice, the Sculpt Mobile Mouse and Sculpt Comfort Mouse, and believe it or not, this marks the first time Redmond has made a pointing device with a hotkey for the Windows 8 Start screen. In addition to bringing up the Start Menu, you can use it return to the desktop, all without having to hit the keyboard. While the Mobile Mouse has just the Start key and a scroll wheel, though, the bigger Comfort Mouse takes things a step further: the button there doubles as a capacitive surface you can swipe to toggle through open programs in Windows 8. If you swipe that strip the other way, you can also bring up a list of open applications running along the left-hand side of the screen. Note: the Comfort Mouse's Start button is located on the left, meaning it was clearly designed for righties. Or, you know, someone with a strong left pinky.

Some other differences: the Mobile Mouse requires a dongle, whereas the Comfort uses Bluetooth. Oh, and the Comfort has a more ergonomic shape, too, but you probably gathered that just by glancing at the name. Expect the Mobile version to go on sale first -- it'll hit shelves later this month for $30. The Comfort model will arrive in June, with a higher MSRP of $40. In the meantime, we've got some hands-on photos (heh) for you to check out.

Gallery: Microsoft Sculpt Mobile Mouse and Sculpt Comfort Mouse

Filed under: Peripherals, Microsoft

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Source: Microsoft

With back-to-school season upon us and Intel's Haswell launch just around the corner, now's a great time for PC makers to start unveiling their summer lineups. Two weeks ago we heard from Sony and today it's HP's turn: the company just refreshed everything from its mainstream notebooks to its high-performance machines. Heck, even the pint-sized dm1 got a makeover. With the exception of that machine (now called the Pavilion TouchSmart Notebook), everything here will be offered with Haswell. There's a little something for everybody, and it's all waiting for you in a neat summary after the break. Join us as we break it down.

Update: We've added one more model to the list, and we think you're going to like it: an Ultrabook with a 3,200 x 1,800 display. HP hadn't meant to announce it today, but you know the internet -- sometimes the cat gets out of the bag anyway. In any case, we've added a quick blurb, as well as hands-on photos. Enjoy!

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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It's official: battery-powered all-in-ones you can schlep around the house are now a thing. First Sony released the Tap 20, then Lenovo followed with the Horizon and now HP makes three, with its newly announced Envy Rove 20. As the name suggests, it's a 20-inch PC you can move from room to room -- if 11.86 pounds can really be considered portable. As with other systems in its class, that IPS, 1080p 720p display can lie nearly flat allowing you to use it as more of a tablet / twenty-first century board game machine. The difference is that there's a button to release the hinge in the back, so you don't have to pull it out by hand. Keep in mind, though, that this sophisticated design makes the Rove 20 almost half a pound heavier than the Tap 20. Sorry, you can't have it all.

On the inside, it packs a Haswell chip, with up to 1TB of storage and an 8GB SSD for caching. The built-in battery is rated for close to four hours of battery life, according to an HP rep, which would be a significant improvement over the Tap 20. Incidentally, it has both WiDi and 802.11ac, neither of which have been included on an HP all-in-one before. There's Beats Audio too (this is an HP system after all), along with a subwoofer. On the software side, meanwhile, HP's pre-installing a few board games like EA Monopoly, and there's a physical key you can use to flip the screen orientation when it's another player's turn. It'll ship sometime in July, though HP hasn't announced the price yet.

Finishing up, HP also announced two lower-end all-in-ones, the Pavilion TouchSmart 20 and 23, each of which makes use of five-point optical touch instead of a 10-point capacitive screen. Both will be available next month with a mix of 2013 AMD processors and Intel Haswell chips. The TouchSmart 20 arrives June 23rd, specifically, with a starting price of $620, while the 23 ships June 5th for $749 and up.

Filed under: Desktops, HP

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AMD has been willing to tease its 2013 ultra-mobile APU (accelerated processing unit) strategy through PCs like the Acer Aspire V5, but today it's spilling the beans in earnest. The headliner for many is the company's just-shipping Elite Mobility line, or Temash: the A4 and A6 designs are built for tablets, like Hondo was, but their Jaguar-based system-on-chip designs should be faster in both CPU and graphics power without a hit to battery life. AMD estimates that the Radeon HD 8280G video core in an Elite Mobility A6 is about five times faster a Clover Trail-based Atom and twice as fast as Hondo, but lasts about 45 percent longer on battery than an Intel Core i3. And that's while untethered -- that Turbo Dock feature is still in place to boost speeds by over 30 percent when a dock is around for extra cooling.

The E1, E2, A4 and A6 mainstream APUs based on Kabini, meanwhile, are all about tackling the Pentium and Core i3 chips that go into entry-level laptops. AMD reckons that the dual-core (E-series) and quad-core (A-series) parts are up to 88 percent faster overall than their ancestors, and can even punch above their weight class: the E1's Radeon HD 8000-level graphics are up to 66 percent faster than those of a much thirstier, Trinity-era A4 chip. Battery life is a specialty as well, with up to 10 hours when idle and 9 hours of web use. That's typically 2 to 3 hours more than Kabini's Brazos ancestor could manage. AMD wasn't specific on when these mainstream APUs would first ship when we were briefed, but we had the opportunity to benchmark an A4-based reference laptop. Read on past the break for the scores and some early impressions.

Gallery: AMD Kabini reference laptop

Gallery: AMD Kabini and Temash presentations

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, AMD

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Source: AMD

We've come across a number of GPS-based tracking devices over the years but most are rather bulky and difficult to setup. eTrak's attempting to remedy this here at CTIA 2013 with GPS+, a fob-like product that combines WiFi, cellular and GPS tracking in a small, light and easy-to-use package. The device, which is about the size and weight of a box of licorice-flavored Tic Tacs, features a panic button, multicolor status LED and charging contacts. It's meant to be attached to a keyring, and comes with a matching charging base which includes a standard micro-USB connector. Battery life is about 5 days per charge -- not too shabby for a product that packs WiFi, cellular and GPS radios. Speaking of which, eTrak's partnering with Verizon Wireless for CDMA-based network positioning. The company provides a web-based interface which supports geo-fencing with SMS and email notifications, along with iOS and Android-compatible apps. GPS+ will retail for $129 and be available soon (production's been under way since May 1st). Two plans will be available: $10 per month with a one-year subscription and $15 per month commitment-free. Want to know more? Don't miss our gallery below and follow the source link for more info.

Gallery: eTrak GPS+ tracking device hands-on

Filed under: Misc, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: eTrak

GM and OnStar were on hand at CTIA to demonstrate a few ideas of what its new service could look like once bolstered with AT&T's LTE network. The system, which we originally heard about in February at Mobile World Congress, is still in its infancy, but with all the ideas being bounced around during our whirlwind tour it's apparent that's changing fast. Without question, big change is what is driving this whole endeavor, specifically adding infotainment to its stalwart safety, security and diagnostics offerings.

GM and OnStar envision a curated app ecosystem with downloadable apps, remote car management -- including streaming video to remote devices from your car's onboard cameras -- access to U-Verse and even a built in hotspot to share with your passengers. Developers will have access to APIs that can interact with the car to grab info about speed, performance, fuel economy and other interesting metrics but are locked out of anything potentially dangerous. After our brief demo we came away mostly impressed with what we saw, though, we're still unsure if an in-car app ecosystem is a viable thing. Driver distraction issues aside, there are wealth of devices able to provide all the same services and more often than not they'll already be in your pockets and in your car. Launch of the 2015 model year cars is still quite a way off but we'll definitely be tracking the system's progress as it prepares to hit showrooms later this year. Follow on for a video of the system in action.

Gallery: GM and AT&T demo LTE-enabled OnStar connected vehicle (hands-on)

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, AT&T

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We all agree it's a terrible feeling when you drop a phone -- that fraction of a second when you realize, only too late, that your handset is headed toward the ground. Worse, of course, is knowing it won't be hitting concrete, but instead performing a beautiful swan dive into water. Rice in a bag or mysterious crystal desiccants are what most folks use as a go-to for water damage repair on their handsets, but the folks at DryBox have another answer. Using a box that will dry your phone in 25 minutes or so using a combination of heat, vacuum pump and light, DryBox claims up to 80 percent success for recovering your waterlogged handset.

A rep from DryBox explained to us that as long as a handset is left alone after getting wet and gets to them within 36 hours, the likelihood of recovery are very good; after that, your chances start to dwindle fast. Interestingly, iPhones have the best recovery record -- especially the iPhone 5 -- though whether that's because it's a sealed device or because so many exist is a mystery to DryBox. The patent-pending DryBox system isn't a home solution for sure; rather, Drybox envisions a profit sharing deal whereby stores set up the devices and share the revenue. Pricing is set by the dealer, but is typically somewhere between $20 and $40. A few locations are already up and running in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, so if you're in that area with a bricked phone, it might be worth checking them out.

Gallery: Drybox Rescue Station: the ultimate cellphone drying system hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones

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In addition to demoing its Digital Paper collaboration with Sony here at SID, E Ink is showing off some new tech that's consumer-oriented in a very different way. Its solution for ESLs -- electronic shelf labels, obviously -- enables real-time pricing readouts for retailers such as supermarkets. E Ink's Spectra electronic paper display (EPD) is purportedly the world's first to offer three pigments: black, white and, for the demo's purposes, red. That third color can be swapped out for blue or green, but the point is to make the price placards readable -- both for customers and the businesses themselves. While these panels aren't widely adopted stateside, similar tech already has a firm footing in Europe. It's certainly more efficient to update the same screens with new info rather than swapping in new paper signs every time the price of milk fluctuates -- and it looks a lot cooler, too. Spectra will become available sometime in Q3 of this year.

E Ink's new Aurora EPD is a little less exciting for the average consumer, but the company says this tech is another first. Able to withstand super-low temperatures (as cold as -25 C), these screens will be incorporated into wireless shelf tags displaying MSRPs in freezers and especially frigid climates. According to E Ink, Aurora's low-temp film allows pigment to move even in cold environments, something we couldn't exactly put to the test on the SID show floor. Still, the company seems confident in its product; it will be shipping its displays to partners starting in July.

Gallery: ​E Ink Spectra three-color retail display eyes-on

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Filed under: Displays

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Kwikset and UniKey are set to update their home entry systems, which have remained largely unchanged since they were first invented more than a hundred years ago. Using a Bluetooth daughter card in the lock mechanism, a couple Bluetooth antennas and a clever app this lock opens by simply touching a finger to the outside of the housing when you approach the door.

At its simplest, the companies' Këvo system isn't too unlike a keyless car entry system, though it takes advantage of your iPhone's Bluetooth LE -- Android and BB10 versions will arrive as soon as those platform's stacks are sorted -- or the included keyfob for the proximity technology. Security is handled through the phone or desktop app enabling you to share keys with your family as administrative users, normal users, one-off entry or even scheduled access. For those concerned about leaving your phone too near the door and thereby allowing anybody access, the system actually uses two antennas, one on the inside and one out. So should you stand behind the closed door the system won't trigger access to those outside. Battery life for the four AAs is rated for a year, and you've no need to worry about being surprised by an outage, either: the system will notify you well in advance using the lock's eight RGB LEDs or through the app. Pricing will be somewhere in the $199 range when it hits the shops, though sadly we don't have an exact date to share. We're pretty stoked to get a chance to check this system out for ourselves but until that time, check out the quick video of it in action below.

Gallery: Kwikset and UniKey's Kevo keyless entry system hands-on

Filed under: Wireless

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LG's flexible OLED display is just one of the company's many panels on show here at SID. Our next stop in the booth tour is a 5-inch HD prototype, which uses TFT Oxide technology for low power consumption and a super-slim profile. Like the 5-inch flexible panel, this guy sports a 1mm bezel, and a rep told us it utilizes IPS technology to offer wide viewing angles. The model you see here is rated at 250 nits, though LG expects a significantly higher brightness count by the time the panel makes it to market. As for when that will happen, "ASAP" is the only answer we received. Hit up our photo gallery below for a closer look.

Gallery: LG 5-inch HD Oxide mobile display eyes-on

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, LG

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Samsung's Exynos 5-based Chromebook may have been available since last October, but how about one equipped with WiMAX radio? Graced with the presence of Google and Samsung reps in Kuala Lumpur (including a video message from Google SVP Sundar Pichai), today Malaysian carrier Yes 4G unveiled this rather special laptop for the local consumers. In fact, we should have seen this coming as Google's official blog did hint this last month, but we failed to catch that blurred "Yes 4G" logo on the laptop in the blog's photo.

As Google mentioned, the ultimate goal here is to help transform Malaysia's education using the Chromebook. And now we know that this ambition will be backed by Yes 4G's rapidly growing WiMAX network -- from the initial 1,200 base stations in 2010 to today's 4,000, covering 85 percent of the peninsula; and the carrier will expand into the eastern side with 700 more sites by the end of this year. This is especially important for the rural areas, where many schools still lack access to water and electricity. As a partner of the Malaysian Ministry of Education's 1BestariNet project, Yes 4G's parent company YTL Communications has so far ensured that 7,000 local state schools are covered by its WiMAX network, with the remaining 3,000 to be connected over the next six months.

Gallery: Malaysia's Yes 4G adds WiMAX to Samsung Chromebook, aims to transform local education

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

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Source: Yes

Remember Yotaphone, the twin-display Android smartphone (color LCD in front, e-ink in back)? Today at CTIA in Las Vagas, Yota devices, the company behind the innovative handset, introduced Ruby, a sleek LTE hotspot with a small e-ink screen. We don't usually get too excited about such devices, but Ruby looks like something out of Jony Ive's workshop, with some interesting features to match. The design recalls the iPod mini but is made of white plastic instead of aluminum.

Along the top edge, you'll find the e-ink display and a two-way power switch -- slide it to the left and Ruby behaves like a secure hotspot, slide it to the right and it's a public access point. The e-ink screen shows battery and signal status, the number of connected devices and a smiley icon to confirm public mode. On the bottom edge is a trick flap that's both a micro-USB socket and a USB Type A plug depending on how it's positioned -- the micro-SIM slot is cleverly hidden behind it. A programmable RGB LED mounted behind the Yota logo completes the package on the front of the hotspot.

Ruby currently supports quad-band EDGE, plus HSPA+ and LTE for the European market, but the radio can be configured (in hardware) to support other bands. The 2100mAh battery powers the unit for about 16 hours of use (60 hours on standby) and can be charged to 70 percent capacity in about an hour. Yota's signed a few deals with carriers in Russia and Europe and the device is expected to become available to Russian customers in two to three weeks for about $120 (unsubsidized). No word on whether Ruby will land in the US (yet). Take a look at our hands-on gallery below.

Gallery: Yota devices LTE hotspot hands-on

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile

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We've already spent some quality time with Nokia's handsome Lumia 925 and while it's no secret the company's Windows Phone flagship is coming to the US courtesy of T-Mobile, we'd never actually seen the carrier-branded model -- until now, that is. Nokia brought T-Mobile's version of the handset to CTIA 2013 where we took it for a brief spin. As you'd expect, the phone is identical to its global twin save for the operator's logo below the capacitive button and the radios which support T-Mobile's bands. Unfortunately, the Lumia 925 we played with was not final, so the software was off limits. In terms of hardware, it features the same 4.5-inch 1,280 x 768 AMOLED screen, 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of storage and 8.7-megapixel camera with OIS. This is definitely one of Nokia's most attractive designs yet, and we're looking forward to getting our hands on a review unit soon. In the meantime, why not check out the gallery below?

Gallery: Nokia Lumia 925 for T-Mobile hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia, T-Mobile

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There are plenty of kits out there designed to help kids learn the ins and outs of electronics, but LightUp hopes to stand out from the crowd with not just easy-to-use building blocks but an accompanying augmented reality app as well. From resistors and LED modules to light sensors, each block represents a real component that can be attached to each other via magnetic connectors, hopefully creating a circuit in the process. LightUp even offers an Arduino-compatible microcontroller block to help kids start coding -- clip the programming wand to the block, hook it up to your computer, and away you go.

What really sets LightUp apart is the aforementioned AR app. Simply snap a picture of your circuit, and the software will let you know what's wrong with it if there's a mistake. If everything's working, it'll display an electrical flow animation atop the picture, showing kids the magic of electricity. We had a go at creating a circuit ourselves, and were delighted at how easy it was. The connectors fit in either direction, and can be attached and reattached with ease. We also saw a brief demo of the prototype application, and sure enough, it showed us when an LED block was placed backwards with an error message -- you can see it in action in the video below.

Gallery: LightUp hands-on

Filed under: Science

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Source: LightUp, Kickstarter

We haven't heard about Mirasol for a while now, but Qualcomm's reflective display tech showed up in a few proof-of-concepts on the SID Display Week floor. We got a look at a previously announced 1.5-inch panel embedded on the top of an "always-on" smartphone and on the face of a smartwatch. Though a rep took care to emphasize that these were just mockups, he said the screen will soon show up in some third-party devices.

More interesting, though, was the company's next-gen display: a 5.1-inch panel sporting a stunning 2,560 x 1,440 (577 ppi) resolution. Viewed up close, it delivers crisp images, but the reflective display kicks back a silvery tint and colors don't pop as they do on other handsets. But while the sky-high pixel count may not tell the whole story, the screen offers one huge plus: a 6x power advantage over LCD and OLED displays. In practical terms, that means devices could go days without charging. Don't expect to see this guy in your next smartphone, though: by "next-gen," Qualcomm means this tech has a few more years in the R&D phase before it'll be ready to hit a licensee's production line. For now, make do with our hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: Qualcomm 577 ppi Mirasol displays eyes-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Wearables, Mobile

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Sony's new e-ink prototype is getting the test-drive treatment at Japanese universities, but SID provides a perfect opportunity to give the North American market a demo. We found the Digital Paper slab parked at E Ink's booth -- fitting, as the company's new Mobius flexible display is the device's biggest selling point.

At 13.3 inches, the panel is larger than your typical e-reader's, but it weighs just 60 grams. That light footprint comes courtesy of E Ink's TFT tech, which allows for larger, more rugged devices without the extra weight. The Digital Paper's form factor matches the size of a sheet of A4 paper, and the on-board digitizer lets users scrawl notes on the electromagnetic induction touchscreen. Naturally, this is just one implementation of the E Ink's display, but it's neat to see a prototype in action nonetheless. Head past the break to do just that.

Gallery: Sony 13.3-inch E Ink Digital Paper hands-on

Filed under: Displays, Tablets, Sony

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You've already read our hands-on with Xbox One's new Kinect and wireless gamepad, but perhaps you noticed our inability to test the gamepad's new "impulse triggers?" Well, we're glad to tell you we've just mended that exception.

First things first, though -- we got hands-on with the new gamepad in a more finished state (which is to say "with the impulse triggers and the new Start / Back buttons). The most noticeable difference is one that most gamers will likely overlook initially: the new texture on the edge of the analog sticks. Head below with us for more!

Gallery: Xbox One hands-on

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Microsoft

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Boost Mobile launched a Mobile Wallet app and service today at CTIA 2013 with an interesting twist in that it is tied to a Visa Prepaid card. Boost Mobile customers simply hit up a store to get signed up, download an app onto their handset and once funds are added to their account can use them in a wide variety of ways. From sending money via the app to people in 135 other countries, the ability to pay more than 3,500 billers nationwide, top up your prepaid account and using the included Visa debit card any money in your account can be accessed via that card as well. The app also makes use of your handset's camera with its Quick Check feature -- which is coming soon -- allowing an account holder to snap a photo of a check and submit it using the app to have the check's value added to your mobile wallet once approved -- which is nifty, if you don't use a bank we suppose. There are no month-to-month fees for the service but each bill you pay will cost some $2 and climbs depending on how quickly you need the payment made against the account. The service launches in Los Angeles, San Diego and parts of New Jersey today with rollout to all markets expected by the end of the year.

Gallery: Boost Mobile Wallet app and prepaid Visa hands-on

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So, it's not the full laptop setup we were kinda-sorta expecting based on Samsung's announcement yesterday, but the Korean company's 13.3-inch 3,200 x 1,800 panel -- with a whopping 275 ppi -- is still plenty impressive on its own. Though the prototype was connected to a desktop PC rather than installed in a notebook, the demo gave us what we came for: a look at that sheer pixel density. You really have to see it to believe it -- with the desktop set to the screen's native resolution, menus, icons and text all appear tiny. The benefit of such a high resolution, of course, is that you can fit more information on screen, and it's more than a little reminiscent of Apple's Retina display. The booth wasn't equipped with internet access, so we couldn't test the panel's mettle with a trip to this very site, but images on the desktop and in Samsung's pre-loaded PowerPoint looked very bright and crisp.

In addition to playing up the pixel count, Samsung touted its prototype as a "green panel," claiming 30-percent lower power consumption than existing LCDs. And like the flexible LG display we saw just a bit earlier, this screen won't stay off the market for long: expect a 13.3-inch version -- with touch capability -- to ship in the next two months, though it may debut on a third-party laptop, not necessarily one manufactured by Samsung. A rep told us that 14- and 15.6-inch versions will follow. Check out our hands-on video and photos for a closer look.

Gallery: Samsung 3,200 x 1,800-pixel 13.3-inch display eyes-on

Filed under: Displays, Laptops, Samsung

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You can't blame us for rushing to see LG's flexible OLED HD panel here at SID. First announced earlier this week, the 5-inch display sports a plastic construction, which allows it to be both bendable and unbreakable. Most alluring of all, though, is LG's intimation that the screen tech will debut in a smartphone by the end of this year. Before we get lost in thoughts about a tricked-out Optimus G, let's take a look at this early prototype.

The panel is made of plastic substrates, which are both more flexible and cheaper to manufacture than their glass counterparts. In fact, cost-effectiveness seems to be the chief objective overall. Clumsy consumers will benefit as well -- in a smartphone, the glass above the screen could break, but the OLED panel would stay in tact, resulting in lower repair costs. At the company's booth, a demo area let attendees take a hammer to the standalone display and twist it every which way -- sure enough, it withstood these torture tests. In our hands, the 5-inch screen was lightweight and responsive to twists and bends; it felt like a thick film strip.

An LG rep told us the panel could sport a bigger or smaller size when it debuts in a smartphone later this year. And though the prototype on display here today was labeled merely as "HD," we're sure that resolution could be adjusted as well. For now, get an early look in our video after the break.

Gallery: LG 5-inch flexible plastic OLED display hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, LG

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If your city is one of the many that's part of Sprints ongoing LTE rollout (or will be soon), then the network's just announced three tri-band mobile broadband devices for your consideration. The hope, it seems, is that as different parts of Sprint's LTE spectrum become available (including spectrum from Clearwire), coverage and network performance of the devices will improve. The hardware offerings are Novatel's MiFi 500 LTE, the Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and 341U USB dongle, and are slated to be available by summer. No confirmed availability dates or prices just yet. Sprint also hints at tri-band LTE phones from Samsung and LG to follow. In the meantime, however, you'd better get set up with your Data Link and Static IP.

Update: We had a brief run-in with the three new broadband devices and without being able to field test at blazing LTE speeds we can only offer up impressions of their design. In short? They're all essentially what we've seen before with the MiFi's shape being our favorite because of its smaller but taller -- and ultimately more pocketable -- footprint. Gallery is just below.

Gallery: Sprint announces three tri-band LTE devices landing this summer (hands-on)

Brad Molen and Sean Cooper contributed to this report.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint

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Via: Phonescoop

Kyocera kitted us out with toques, touch-sensitive gloves and giant black faux-fur coats -- well, Brad chose white -- and led us all into a bar made entirely of ice to launch its new handsets here at CTIA. Kyocera, playing off the tough-guy thing, had the Hydro Xtrm and Edge laid out on slabs of ice in a pretty frosty environment for us to handle with our gloved hands. Both handsets will be priced toward the lower end of the spectrum, with the Hydro Edge being the least expensive and most modestly specced of the two. Both devices are decent as far as material choices go, though the Edge was perhaps our favorite even if the Xtrm beats it out in the display department somehow. There weren't any water tanks to test out both sets IPX5 / IPX7 specs so we'll simply have to take Kyocera's word for it.

The Edge and Xtrm build on the previously launched Hydro specs but with upgrades across the board. The Edge sports a dual-core 1Ghz CPU, tempered glass (instead of acrylic), 5-megapixel camera, 4-inch WVGA (480 X 800) 233-ppi display and Android Jelly Bean. The Xtrm adds LTE to the connectivity list also touts a 5-megapixel shooter, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, the same display as the Edge, and Bluetooth 4. The Xtrm launches on US Cellular May 24th for $29.99 after instant rebate with the Edge joining the fun on Boost Mobile and Sprint during "Summer 2013." Check out the cool blue-hued pics in the gallery below.

Gallery: Kyocera at CTIA 2013

Myriam Joire and Brad Molen contributed to this report.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Flickr's one of the elder statesmen of the online photo sharing world, but in recent years its UI has grown a bit long in the tooth when compared to the eye candy provided by other kids on the social sharing block. That's all changed as of today, as Marissa Mayer's team has overhauled Flickr's look on the web and in its Android app. Out goes the old layout, where text and white space commanded almost as much real estate as your photos, and in comes a tiled layout that's nothing but images.

Gallery: Flickr web redesign screenshots

Gallery: Flickr for Android version 2.0 screenshots

Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile

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