The 11 best smartphones you can buy in 2015

By: FAIZAN HASSAN

Manufacturers are continuously evolving to develop new smartphones. It is difficult to determine which smartphone is most comfortable for you. If you’re looking for the best smartphone on the planet then you’ve come to the right place, Read in this article about the best smartphones of the moment:

LG G3:

LG G3

The LG G3 is an Android smartphone with excellent specifications, which can compete with the other top smartphones from Sony, Apple, HTC and Samsung. The device has a Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor that clocks a speed of 2.5 GHz and 2 GB of RAM. That’s about the same as the Galaxy S5, HTC One and Xperia Z2.

The device is made of plastic, but at first glance the frame of polished metal by the finish. The plastic casing allows the unit seem slightly cheaper than its competitors with metal housing. The build quality is fine and further advantage is that the back can be removed to replace the battery and insert the memory and SIM card.

LG G3

The camera application is very minimal, with a tap on the screen to create a picture.

HUAWEI ASCEND P8:

The Ascend P8 is more than just the successor to the stylish P7 from 2014. The new flagship of Huawei should namely to compete with top models like the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Apple’s iPhone 6.

Huawei Ascend P8

The Ascend P8 is without doubt the most attractive smartphone from Huawei to date. The phone combines very decent performance with a stunning 5.2-inch Full HD display, 13-megapixel camera, with 3GB RAM/32GB ROM.

HTC ONE M9:

The HTC One (M9) is a strikingly beautiful handset. The polished metal casing is made from a single piece of aluminum and the screen display looks sharp.

HTC One M9

SAMSUNG GALAXY S5:

At first glance, the Galaxy S5 looks quite like its predecessor from 2013. But with the Samsung Galaxy S5 put plenty on biometrics. But is this enough to cope with the fierce competition from HTC, Apple and Sony?

Samsung Galaxy S5

If you have the Galaxy S5 and puts Galaxy S4 side by side, you will see little difference initially. The format is pretty much the same, although the Galaxy S5 slightly bigger, thicker and heavier.

If you owned the unit have, you notice that the stiff plastic back makes the smartphone perfectly in the hand. Crazy difference from the Galaxy S4 is that the built-in thermometer just missing again on the Galaxy S5. Yet you do not feel you have a unit of about 700 euro in hands. This is mainly because the plastic finish that particularly in the silver edge kitschy happens. Quite a difference with the HTC One M8, which is made ​​entirely of metal and therefore comes across much more durable.

NOKIA LUMIA 1520:

Smartphones are getting bigger and bigger. The market for so-called ‘phablets’ picking up, and more and more manufacturers move to a screen larger than 5 inches. Similarly, Nokia. Namely they bring one of the largest smartphones currently on the market: the Lumia 1520.

The device has a screen of up to 6 inches. Fortunately, the Nokia Lumia 1520 modest, given thin edges. The rounded side edges are approximately six millimeters wide, the device still has a very slim appearance. The screen seems a little to lie on the device, making it protrudes slightly. Fortunately, the display features Gorilla Glass and you do not have to worry too much about scratches.

The new Lumia is nice slim: only 8.7 millimeters thick. This makes it easier to carry the device in your pocket. The weight can be somewhat limiting Nokia. It weighs 200 grams and a spacious leaving behind other phablets as the HTC One Max and Sony Xperia Z Ultra behind.

Nokia Lumia 1520

SONY XPERIA Z3:

If you have the Sony Xperia Z3 first gets into your hands, do you look twice the difference between this and the previous Z2 to discover. Sony has chosen to adapt little to the design. There is nothing wrong with that, the device is namely beautifully designed.

Sony Xperia Z3

Sony Xperia Z3 features like its predecessor, has a 5.2-inch full HD IPS display. The display is as good as identical to that of the Z2, Sony but nevertheless has a small difference to bring in to know. This is in the brightness. The Z3 contains according to Sony their brightest screen so far.

As you would expect from a device at the top end , he really runs like a charm. Each application opens quickly and run smoothly. Multi-tasking is obviously not a problem. The processor is the same as that in the Z2, but the clock rate is slightly stepped up from 2.3 to 2.5 GHz. Here you will otherwise continue not notice, because it is both very fast.

LG NEXUS 5:

LG Nexus 5

With the introduction of the new Android version Lollipop, was also released a new Nexus smartphone, the Nexus 5 comes with 5-inch display with a latest version of Android (5.1) and a price tag of 350 euros.. An affordable showcase from both Google and manufacturer LG, and a better deal than the new Nexus 6.

Of course the Nexus 5 comes with the latest version of Android (5.1). Big advantage of Nexus devices is that they get the updates directly from Google and therefore always run the latest version of Android.

The price tag of 400 euros makes the device a middle class, but the specifications can compete with the high-end devices of today. LG has used many components that are also in their G2 flagship smartphone which is more expensive 150 euros. The quad-core processor (2.2 Ghz), GPU (graphics chip) and memory are the same instance.

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4:

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Galaxy Note 4 has all the ingredients that we know from the series. A huge screen of 5.7 inch diameter (14.48 cm), bestial specifications remarkably good battery life, excellent camera (literally and figuratively) and unfortunately also a hefty price.

The Galaxy Note 4 is one of the most powerful smartphones we’ve seen so far. In terms of hardware, there is no weak spot in Galaxy Note 4, with a fast processor, sufficient RAM, nice camera, 32GB of storage that also is expandable and an acceptable battery life.

APPLE IPHONE 6:

iPhone 6

During my first hours of testing with the Apple iPhone 6, it soon became clear that Touch ID is more than nifty a gimmick. The scanner takes the entire iPhone user experience to a higher level. By placing your finger on the home button, the device will be unlocked (in approximately one second). Also set Touch ID you are able to purchase in the App Store to confirm, so you do not always enter your password. Delicious!

Apple introduces the iPhone 6, as expected, its best smartphone to date. The iphone 6 is also 50x faster then the previous iphone 5s, The design is also stunningly beautiful, and new features like Touch ID, full 4G coverage and rapid A8 chip mean a big step forward. In addition, there are nice features added to the camera.

In addition, the Retina HD display belongs to the most beautiful displays of the time, the battery life is more than fine.

ONEPLUS ONE:

Ever since the first rumors about the OnePlus One I’m skeptical. This new brand is not known, and it looks like a phone that is meant for lovers of Android . OnePlus promises that it is a true “flagship killer”, but the unit can make this promise true?

OnePlus One

It is a phone without limitations of telephone companies, and it contains the latest hardware; it offers a lot of customization and is also extremely affordable, starting at 269 euros for the 16GB model, while most phones with similar hardware cost double!

If you’re looking for a powerful phone without restrictions of providers, and with a beautiful screen, much customization and software supported by a dedicated team of developers, it is certainly worth considering in relation to any other Android device , It is simply a wonderful device.

HTC DESIRE EYE:

HTC Desire Eye

Maybe it’s the name, but I expected that HTC’s Desire Eye would be less expensive. “Desire” is finally the name HTC normally used for its mid-range phones, and adjust the Desire Eye seems there with its plastic body.

Credit: http://newstactics.com/mobile/the-11-best-smartphones-you-can-buy-in-2015/2719/2015/04/07/

With Apple Pay, Everyone Better Play

By Greg Petro

Apple has finally released its highly anticipated mobile payment app, Apple Pay. The tech titan released the update and app on October 20, marking its first foray into the semi-explored world of mobile payments and possibly changing the checkout line forever. But what does Apple’s entrance into the market mean for retailers? They’ve been able to drag their feet on mobile point of sale (POS) strategies…until now.

The mobile payment idea isn’t a new one, but while other players entered the market – Google, Verizon, and AT&T – Apple sat back and watched. For years, retailers weren’t motivated to embrace mobile payments for two primary reasons: first, the valuable consumer data they gather from traditional POS systems would no longer be available, and second, they felt mobile payments would make hacking and fraud even more likely. On the consumer side, mobile payment hasn’t been ubiquitous enough.

Photo courtesy of Apple

But Apple has the advantage. Consumers love Apple because they’ve earned consumer trust – Apple is an emotional, iconic brand. And, Apple has overcome many of the retailers’ concerns, which will persuade them to get on board. Happy, devoted customer, meet compliant, eager retailer.

Through the app, a user can take a picture of her credit card, storing the information from the card in her iPhone. The Verge reported that the appcurrently supports Visa, MasterCard, American Express and a few other major banks. Smaller banks and credit unions have yet to join in, though Apple stated that 500 more banks are slated for inclusion by early next year.

Along with the app’s release, Apple announced that there are 220,000 stores and retailers throughout the U.S. that already allow consumers to pay for their goods using Apple Pay. Once the app is loaded with the user’s credit card information, all he or she has to do is approach the terminal at the participating retailer, hold the phone up to it and swipe the screen, utilizing the user’s fingerprint to authenticate the purchase.

Mobile payments – money’s new frontier?

This level of convenience could change the way that consumers buy products in both brick-and-mortar stores and online. According to The New York Times, a mobile payment app like Apple Pay could have the same impact on credit and debit cards that the cards had on cash and checks. As the Times said, it’s like taking the “card” out of credit card. In 2012, there were about 750 million credit cards in use in the U.S. As smartphone adoption increases in the coming years, mobile payments could climb to similar levels.

In 2013, consumers spent only $1.6 billion through “contactless” mobile methods. Compare that to the $264.3 billion spent on e-commerce and the staggering $4.26 trillion consumers spent on traditional, in-store purchases. Right now, mobile payments account for a miniscule fraction of total payments for e-commerce and in-store purchases. The potential for growth on the consumer side of the market in the mobile payment sector is massive.

While the convenience of smartphone-enabled payments will appeal to customers, the major obstacles that plagued previous entrants into this market fell on the side of the retailers.  Moving into a digital and big data-driven world means that retailers want each transaction to generate useful customer information that can be used in predictive analytics and other vital business intelligence functions.

In addition to being bereft of the quantity and quality of data that businesses want out of their customers, previous efforts toward mobile payments have fallen short when it comes to linking up with retailers’ loyalty and rewards programs. This has been the big thorn in the side of previous mobile payment app makers and the key reason why so few retailers have gotten on board.

What makes Apple Pay different?

Tech and communications giants like Google, Verizon and AT&T have all been players in the mobile payment game for a few years now, but even with all of the clout that the three share, smartphone payments have yet to carve out a foothold in this space. But Apple Pay has a few features that may finally break ground on getting both consumers and retailers to buy in.

As The Verge noted, credit card data theft has been the bane of retail’s existence over the last few years. With mobile payment, one of the major concerns was that it would create more chances for thieves to access customer and company data. With Apple Pay, however, credit card data is not stored or even shown to the retailer. Everything is stored on the phone itself, something Apple hopes will make it much harder for hackers to access the information.

Additionally, some industry watchers believe that Apple’s previous successes in the consumer market could be what pushes mobile payments over the edge to widespread adoption. Apple has a relationship with the consumer market which is envied by many, including Google.  If Apple is putting its brand behind the new app, then consumers are likely to want it. In retail, as in all business, if the customers want something in large enough numbers, companies must respond in kind.

The question is, how will they respond? Investors have been forgiving thus far, as there wasn’t a mobile pay zeitgeist on the horizon, but that has all changed with Apple Pay. Retailers need to get in the game now, or risk losing ground. A rising tide lifts all boats – time to sink or swim with it.

In my previous article, “How Proximity Marketing Is Driving Retail Sales,” I talked about technology that is closing the gap between the consumer and retail conversion. In my next article I will discuss how Proximity Marketing and mobile payments can ultimately bridge the gap between consumers and retailers and drive loyalty to a whole new level.

Credit:http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2014/10/08/how-proximity-marketing-is-driving-retail-sales/

Xiaomi Hits Back at Apple's 'Theft' Accusation

Chinese Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi today refuted Apple's allegation of stealing iPhone technology, saying one can only judge its products after using them.

Responding to Apple's design head Jony Ive's accusation that Xiaomi has stolen iPhone technology, President Lin Bin said Ive should use a Xiaomi phone to know the difference between the two gadgets.

"Xiaomi is a very open company, which would never force anyone to use its products. However, one can only judge Xiaomi's gadgets after he or she has used them," Lin was quoted as saying by the state-run China News Service today.

"I'm very willing to give a Xiaomi cell phone to him [Jony Ive] as present, and I look forward to hearing his remarks after he uses it," Lin said.

While responding to a question in San Francisco on Thursday about common features between the two phones, Ive said, "I don't see it as flattery. I see it as theft, and it's lazy. I don't think it's ok at all".

Xiaomi surpassed Samsung and Apple to become the biggest smartphone maker in China in the second quarter of this year, according to a report from Canalys.

Lin said the biggest challenge for Xiaomi currently was to increase its productivity.

In the first half of the year, Xiaomi produced 26 million cell phones and is expected to cross a total of over 60 million this year.

"At present, we can produce 6 to 7 million cell phones each month, and we will continuously improve that," Lin said.

Lei Jun, Xiaomi's founder, said yesterday that Xiaomi would not go public in the next five years.

Credit: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/xiaomi-hits-back-at-apples-theft-accusation-605879