Samsung Galaxy Note5 and S6 edge+ Review

1. Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ are finally official, the first - a month ahead of its established product cycle, the second - replacing the proof-of-concept Note Edge with a market-proven mainstream design.

It's become a tradition of sorts to expect a new Galaxy Note come September. This year the schedule has been shifted a bit in an attempt to give the phablet a head start over Apple's next gen iPhone Plus, which would probably be announced in the first third of September as well.

The Galaxy Note Edge, launched parallel to last year's Note 4, was the spark that ignited the whole edge-screen craze - a craze, which so rapidly turned into widespread adoption with only the second-gen device - the Galaxy S6 edge - that even Samsung was caught unprepared and couldn't deliver on the initial demand. This time Samsung has an even stronger trump card than last year's Note Edge - they're calling it the Galaxy S6 edge+, with hopes for the new device to inherit the immense success of the S6 edge.

Moto X Style and Moto G (3rd gen) hands-on

 

Introduction

The Moto X and Moto G are the names that brought Motorola back in the game, winning quite a lot of fans in the process. They have just reached their third generation and Motorola is sticking to its established formula for success - pure-Android approach, excellent handling and a nice little extra here and there.

Motorola managed to create a signature touch of its own, while staying as close to pure Google intentions as possible. This, combined with timely software updates has earned the company a number.

The Moto G is the device that redefined the idea of what is possible in the low-end price bracket. The first gen of the handset proved definitively that a budget-friendly phone can deliver solid smartphone experience without any major compromises.

Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, quad-band UMTS/HSPA, 150 Mbps Cat.4 LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 141.5 x 70.7 x 11 mm, 149g.
• Display: 5.0" 16M colors 720 x 1280 pixels capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~294 ppi //todo check
• CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Adreno 306
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410
• RAM: 1/2GB
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Memory: 8/16GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 13 megapixel auto-focus camera, HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging, dual-LED, dual-tone flash; Secondary 5MP front-facing camera;
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack
• Battery capacity: 2,470 mAh.

People have even higher expectations for the Moto X to deliver top-notch performance, stability and excellent handling, coupled with a clean Android experience. The lineup was initially best known for its unmatched customization options thanks to the Moto Maker, but with the last Nexus going for the less-than-mainstream 6" display size also became the go-to powerful pure Android for many.

Motorola threw in an interesting surprise this year, as the Moto X now has not one, but two successors - the Moto X Style and Moto X Play. The pair looks similar enough in terms of style and exterior, but hardware differences are pretty big and each has its own niche. While the Moto X Style is aiming for top-level performance, the X Play is all about battery life - a long-overdue response to all those that wanted to see the Maxx lineup go global.

Motorola Moto X Style at a glance:

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, six-band UMTS/HSPA, 300 Mbps Cat.6 LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 153.9 x 76.2 x 11.1 mm
• Display: 5.7" 16M-color 1440 x 2560 pixels capacitive touchscreen LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~520 ppi
• CPU: Dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A57 and Dual-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Adreno 418
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808
• RAM: 3GB
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Memory: 32/64GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 21 megapixel phase detection auto-focus camera, auto-HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging, dual-LED dual-tone flash; 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps; Secondary 5MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture and front--facing flash;
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
• Other: Water repellant nano-coating (IP52 certified); Fast battery charging; Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Battery capacity: 3000 mAh.

To quickly outline the differences - Moto X Play comes with a smaller 5.5" 1080p screen and the mid-range Snapdragon 615 chipset. It also sports a larger 3,630mAh battery, which combined with the less demanding screen and internals should make it last a whole lot longer. And, of course the Moto X Play is $100 cheaper, which makes the performance downgrade much easier to live with.

Motorola Moto X Play at a glance

• General: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, five-band UMTS/HSPA, 150 Mbps Cat.4 LTE
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 148 x 75 x 10.9 mm
• Display: 5.5" 16M-color 1080 x 1920 pixels capacitive touchscreen LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 and ~403 ppi
• CPU: Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 and quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53
• GPU: Adreno 405
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Memory: 32/64GB storage
• Cameras: Primary 21 megapixel auto-focus camera, auto-HDR mode, panorama, geo-tagging, dual-LED dual-tone flash; 1080p@30fps; Secondary 5MP front-facing camera with FullHD video capture;
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, wireless screen sharing (Miracast protocol)
• Other: Water repellant nano-coating (IP52 certified); Fast battery charging; Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Battery capacity: 3630 mAh 
  
  
  
  
  
  Join us on the next two pages as we take the Moto G (3rd gen) and Moto X Style for a spin. Unfortunately, the Moto X Play wasn't present at the announcement event, so we couldn't spend any quality time with it. 
  
  
  Few phones have managed to leave such a lasting impression in the mobile world in recent years, as the original Moto G. The budget smartphone redefined what can be achieved in a budget-friendly Android phone and sparked a whole new wave of devices, offering advanced functionality in and affordable package.
  
  
  
  
  The original Moto G took markets by storm back in 2013 and the first part of 2014 (in the UK it singlehandedly put Motorola on the map), but it also made quite a few competitors reconsider their approach to the market segment and the second-gen faced far tougher competition.
  
  That's why the second Moto G had a far tougher time replicating the success of its predecessor. Still, bringing a larger, 5.0-inch screen and a microSD card slot, it managed to further solidify Motorola's reputation as a king of the budget segment.We also saw LTE and dual-SIM variants, which extended the appeal of the lineup in certain markets.
  
  
  
  
  So is this going to be another step in the right direction or will Motorola's golden run end? On the surface, changes brought by the Moto G (3rd gen) aren't that many but most of the key areas have seen improvements.
  
  The old Snapdragon 400, which has powered the lineup through two versions, has been swapped for the 64-bit Snapdragon 410. The new SoC might not run at higher speed or have more cores than its predecessor, but its 64-bit nature lets it take full advantage of Android Lollipop and the new ART virtual machine.
  
  The CPU architecture is new too, and we already saw that alone brings a notable performance boost. The GPU upgrade on the other hand is rather small - from the Adreno 305 to the Adreno 306 and as leaked benchmarks showed the performance is more or less unchanged.
  
  As previously rumored, The Moto G finally got a RAM boost. The higher end version, which also comes with 16GB of onboard storage now has 2GB of RAM. That should notably improve multitasking and performance with heavier apps. Sadly, the smaller 8GB version is still stuck on 1GB RAM.
  
  Yet another change is the camera setup. This has been an area of constant improvement for the Moto G - from 5MP is the first iteration, to 8MP in the second and now all the way up to 13MP. This is actually the same sensor found inside the Nexus 6 and while the Google purebred is not quite the best shooter in the market, its camera should easily be among the best in this particular price range. We got to take a few shots with it and upon first inspection, quality looks really promising. Still, we are going to save our comments for the full review once we get the unit in our office.
  
  Finally, Motorola has thrown in a bigger 2,470 mAh battery, so hopefully it will offer even better power autonomy than its predecessor. It's worth mentioning though that it's not all upgrades - there is now only one loudspeaker on the device, which is a step back. For what it's worth though, the phone still sound pretty loud.
  
  After handling it for a bit, we can say that the Moto G (3rd gen) feels very similar to its predecessor, which is by no means a bad thing. That special Motorola vibe we talked about earlier is still present, even though the exterior is slightly changed. The signature pair of bars above and below the 5.0-inch 720p screen are present, although with a different, more subtle styling. In fact, the whole front side seems somewhat cleaner than the second generation and reminiscent of the first one, with all the sensors neatly aligned beside the earpiece.
  
  The back is where most of the visual changes have occurred. The texture on the removable back cover feels identical, but the camera module has been redesigned and definitely stands out from the rest of the body. The flash is no longer round, which is natural, considering that it is dual-LED and dual-tone.
  
  There is no nasty, protruding camera bump and the signature logo dimple is safe in its place, just where any avid Motorola fan would want it to be. Last, but definitely not least, the Moto G now has an IPX7 rating for water protection. This means that the phone can handle up to 30 minutes of submersion in 3 meters of fresh water.
  
  

  Moto X Style in various styles

  One of the signature features of the Moto X Style is the vast customization available through Moto Maker. We managed to browse a wide variety of options for the phone. Here are just a few shots and we can only imagine this will be the tip of the Moto Maker iceberg.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

The best PCs for Windows 10

Toshiba Kirabook (2015)

These recent laptops, hybrids and desktops are ready for a day one upgrade to Windows 10, and should work without a hitch.

Nearly every laptop, tablet, hybrid or desktop currently running Windows 8 or even Windows 7 will be eligible for a free upgrade to the new Windows 10 operating system sometime on or after July 29.

Consumers with the "home" version of their current OS will be able to download the mainstream Windows 10 Home version at no cost, for at least the first year after its launch date. Users of other versions of Windows (Professional, etc.) should be able to get comparable upgrades to one of the seven different flavors of Windows 10, but that may require some work from your company IT team if you're a professional/enterprise user.

From what we've heard from major PC makers, only a few, if any, PCs will start shipping on July 29 with Windows 10 preinstalled, so the fastest way to get the new OS may be to download and install it on your current computer.

We've done this on a wide variety of recent Windows 8 systems in the CNET Labs, using the easily available Insider preview build of Windows 10. For the most part, the experience has been trouble-free, and even our early benchmarking with this non-final version of Windows 10 has been roughly in line with Windows 8 (but we're waiting for the final build to see how Windows 10 really affects performance).

The computers profiled here represent a cross-section of systems that are perfect for a day one Windows 10 upgrade. All feature fourth-gen or fifth-gen Intel Core i-series processors, or lower-end Atom and Celeron processors, plus standard Intel integrated graphics.

Toshiba Kirabook (2015)

 

The Kirabook is light, sturdy, well-built and powerful, with a brilliant higher-resolution display. It's a great example of a premium 13-inch laptop with better-than-HD resolution and a touchscreen to take advantage of the more minimalist tile-based pop-up menus in Windows 10.

Lenovo Yoga 3 (14-inch, 2015)

 

Like past models, the Yoga 3 14 looks like a standard thin-and-light clamshell, but its two hinges allow you to rotate the screen 360 degrees back, turning it into a tablet. While Windows 8 was really built for tablet views, Windows 10 should work equally well in both clamshell and tablet modes on hybrids.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

 

It's still a leap to say this is a true laptop replacement for most people, but the Surface Pro 3 is the first Surface device one could get away with using as an all-day primary PC. As Microsoft's flagship computer, it's a great test case for Windows 10, especially as it includes a precision touchpad, required for some new Windows 10 gestures.

Dell XPS 13 (2015)

 

Taking a cue from the past few generations of television design, the screen bezel, the outer border of glass and aluminum that surrounds the display, has been reduced to mere millimeters. Microsoft has been using this as an example of a high-quality, premium laptop that is a great match for Windows 10.

Acer Revo One

 

The Revo is a great-looking, flexible small-design desktop that you won't need to hide behind a houseplant. Desktops, largely driven via keyboard and mouse, were always an awkward match for the Windows 8 tile interface, and the Revo feels more practical with Windows 10 installed on it.

HP Stream 11

 

Even the smallest and least expensive laptops can get a boost from Windows 10. The new Edge Web browser and the easier access to settings and most-used apps makes this 11-inch budget PC a bit easier to use.

Microsoft Surface 3

 

The smaller cousin of the flagship Surface Pro 3, the non-Pro version has a smaller display, and runs a lower-end Intel Atom processor. But as a Microsoft-designed hybrid, it's also going to work well with Windows 10, and makes use of the same clever keyboard cover technology we've liked so much in previous Surface systems.

If you own one of these PCs, or any other compatible system, the Windows 10 update will be available starting on July 29 (primarily for Windows Insider beta testers), and rolling out to other users over time. We'll be testing new laptops, hybrids and desktops, both with Windows 10 preinstalled and and with the Windows 10 upgrade, and reporting our performance findings. In the meantime, follow all our Windows 10 coverage here. 

5 upcoming smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor

5 upcoming smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor

The Snapdragon 810's throttling and overheating problems made the first half of 2015 quite bothersome for chipmaker Qualcomm. After building a reputation for strong, compelling products, the company found itself in the unnatural position of having to defend itself and a compromised chipset against the overwhelming criticism it faced.

Although Qualcomm's PR department did do whatever it could to exercise damage control, the company's upcoming Snapdragon 820 SoC might turn out to be exactly the form of reputation management needed. Over the years, it has been powerful, yet efficient chipsets with custom-designed cores and integrated LTE modems that built the Qualcomm powerhouse across the low, mid, and high-end device tiers. So if the Snapdragon 820 SoC, which will inevitably propel the majority of second-half 2015 and early 2016 flagships, regardless of its reliability, returns to the glory days of awesome Qualcomm chips, everyone will win. The chipmaker. The customers. Even Samsung! How so?

If the prophecy is fulfilled, Samsung will become Qualcomm's manufacturing partner for the SD 820, which will let Qcom take advantage of Sammy's established 14nm FinFET production process to build its most powerful chipset to date. Its CPU integrates four custom 64-bit CPU cores codenamed Kryo, clocked at up to 3GHz each. There's also the new Adreno 530 GPU at play, along with an advanced MDM9X55 LTE-A Cat. 10 modem.

It's way early to predict how the Snapdragon 820 will turn out, but with custom cores and an advanced production process involved, we reckon we should keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best! And to put "hope" into a more material context, here are five Snapdragon 820-powered smartphone "hopefuls" in the making. They shall be announced in the third and fourth quarter of 2015, due for release in early 2016 as Qualcomm and Samsung sort out the SD 820's mass production process.

5 upcoming smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor

1. LG G4 Pro

Expected announcement: October

LG hasn't been coy about its plans to one-up the LG G4 as little as six months after its unveiling. The Korean firm is building an LG G4 Pro phablet that's reportedly Snapdragon 820-powered, dons an all-metal build, and is to be premièred in October. It is said the device will feature a 5.8-inch 1440 x 2560 resolution display, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, and a serious camera duo - 27MP on the back, 8MP on the front. Chances are LG will blow us away with this phone like neever before, but hopefully, the software experience will match the quality hardware for real this time.

 

 

2. Xiaomi Mi5 & Mi5 Plus

Expected announcement: November

Reports out of China indicate that Xiaomi plans to unveil the Xiaomi Mi5 and Mi5 Plus sometime in November, setting the stage for an eventual early 2016 release. Reportedly, the Mi5 is to feature a 5.2-inch 2.5D glass display with a 1440 x 2560 resolution, the Snapdragon 820 SoC, and two memory configurations - 3GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage, and 4GB of RAM with 64GB of memory. There will be a 16MP rear camera at play, along with a 3000mAh battery, and it is said that the smartphone will measure just 6.1mm thick. On the other hand, the Mi5 Plus will get a 6-inch Quad-HD screen and 4GB RAM by default, along with a 20MP rear cam.

 

3. Mstar S700 Pro

Expected announcement: October

Who the heck is Mstar? Well, Mstar is a Chinese upstart that wants to make the transition from no-name white box manufacturer to one that takes smartphone building as seriously as the big guys. To get itself started on the right track, Mstar is expected to unleash the S700 Pro flagship in October. The handset will have a 2.5D glass 5.5-inch Quad-HD resolution screen and will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC, paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. There will be a 21MP camera on the S700 Pros's back, alongside a 11MP unit on the front. The package is complete by a 3500mAh battery, Android 5.1.1, an Ultrasonic Sense fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C connectivity, and a purported $480 price tag. Yummy!

 

4. HTC Aero

Expected announcement: Q4 2015

HTC knows it failed to impress anyone but design pundits and loyals with its One M9 flagship, and according to prolific leak bandit @evleaks, it already got back to the drawing board and started devising an HTC Aero "hero phone" for the fourth quarter of this year. So far, the only thing that we know about it is that it will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC. How far will HTC go into overhauling its concept for a flagship smartphone, though, remains to be seen.

 

5. Sony Xperia Z5

Expected announcement: September

According to the recent news, Sony is hard at work at a fifth-generation trio of Xperia Z series phones, and the purported chain of events could see the Xperia Z5, Z5 Ultra, and Z5 Compact unveiled as early as September in Japan, and presented to the rest of the world at IFA 2015. Reliable details about the phones are scarce at this point, and the rumor itself sounds quite flaky considering the Xperia Z3+/Z4 has barely lived on the market. But still, we're hearing of things like a Snapdragon 820 SoC, a fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, a 21MP camera with Sony Exmor RS IMX230 CMOS sensor and 4K video recording, a 4500mAh battery, and Android Lollipop rather than Android M.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 smartphones with completely unique features that set them apart from the crowd

While the era of phones with unique and sometimes downright wild features ended with the transition to the mostly homogeneous smartphone, there are still handset makers out there that dare to experiment. From phones capable seemingly bending the laws of physics, through ones that can project stuff on walls, down to odd phones that incorporate a Geiger counter of sorts to detect radiation, it's fair to say that the adventurous among us can still get their hands on something completely unique.

For the purposes of this collection, we set several rules. First off, the phones you'll find below are all available for purchase right now or very soon. Second, we decided to focus only on devices that were released to the market starting with 2013 onward to ensure that you'd actually want to buy them. And lastly, the more unique or weird the phone is, the better.

1. Turing Phone

Turing Robotics Industries (TRI), the company behind the Turing Phone, has announced its intention to make 10,000 units of the device available for pre-order starting July 31st. The cheapest, 16GB model will cost $610 in the US, with the top-of-the-line, 128GB version going up to $870.

So what's special about the Turing Phone? Well, first off, a simple look at the phone will convince you that TRI dreamed up something truly special. If we had to draw an analogy for their first smartphone, it would be one involving sports cars. But it's not just looks with the Turing Phone; the device is made out of what the company is calling Liquidmorphium, which is supposedly tougher than titanium or steel. In addition to that, TRI promises end-to-end, decentralized authentication technology that should make your device a hard target for snooping. 

2. YotaPhone 2

Russian smartphone manfuacturer Yota's YotaPhone 2, as the name implies, is the second in its line of dual-screened devices, and well-deserving of a spot on this particular list. Instead of powering two full-blown displays, however, the YotaPhone 2 totes an e-Ink display on the back, which can be used for reading, among others.

As e-reader owners (think Kindle, Nook) may know, e-Ink displays are extremely frugal with their power consumption, as power is only drawn when you turn a page and display new content. The rest of the time, the screen operates on essentially no electricity.

 

3. Samsung Galaxy Beam 2

The Samsung Galaxy Beam 2 is not a flagship device, that's for certain. But it has a very unique feature: a pico projector that resolves 800 x 480 pixels. Like the YotaPhone 2, the Beam 2 is also a successor — to the original Galaxy Beam. 

As mentioned, the phone, released in 2014, is fairly unimpressive otherwise. It has a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, a quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 5-megapixel camera.

4. PANTONE 107SH

As part of its Winter 2013 collection, Japanese carrier SoftBank released quite the unique device — the Pantone 107SH, with a built-in Geiger counter. With it, users are able to get live radiation readings at any time. In light of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown disaster, the introduction of the 107SH on the Japanese market certainly made sense.

Beyond its Geiger counter function, Pantone's phone is pretty unimpressive hardware wise. We've got a 3.7-inch display with 480 x 854 pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel camera, and IP57 certification.

5. Oppo N3

Specs-wise, Oppo's 5.5-inch N3 phablet is no less than a top-of-the-line device, but it is its camera that sets it apart and ensures it a spot on our list today.

The motorized, swivel camera has 16 megapixels, and can be used as a back and front camera. While the Oppo N3's predecessor, the N1, also had a swivel camera, it wasn't motorized, so you had to manually move it. No such problems with the Oppo N3, which can actually take panoramic photos completely automatically. You just tap to start, and the motor inside the camera on the top captures a perfectly aligned pano on its own.

6. Panasonic Lumix CM1

While cameraphones aren't exactly new, the Panasonic Lumix CM1 is quite unique in that it packs the largest camera sensor (1") ever put on a phone device. The only other device on the market with a sensor even remotely as large is the now aged Nokia PureView 808 with its 1/1.2" sensor.

The great thing about the CM1 is that it's a pretty decent device beyond just the impressive main camera. It's got a 4.7-inch, 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution display, a quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 2,600 mAh battery.

7. Amazon Fire Phone

While Amazon's first smartphone — the Fire Phone — flopped hard, today we recognize one of its completely novel features: dynamic perspective.

Alike to the parallax effect available with the iPhone's wallpapers, the Fire Phone takes things further by creating a much more comprehensive and cohesive 3D environment within the phone's interface. To do this, Amazon fitted four very power-efficient cameras and four infrared LEDs up front, all of which work together to track the position of your head in order to deliver this neat effect.

8. LG G Flex 2

While most of the devices so far on the list were fairly niche and obscure, LG's G Flex 2 is used to the limelight. Like its predecessor, the G Flex 2 is the only truly bendable phone that can also heal itself. Nope, you read that right, the phone can take quite some punishment, and any leftover scars on the back will heal over time, so long as they're not too large (think scuffs). 

9. Samsung Galaxy Round, S6 edge, and Note Edge

Speaking of stuff that flexes, we can't forget Samsung's Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy Note Edge, and Galaxy Round, all three of which feature flexed displays like we've never seen before. The only difference between these devices is the size, their particular specs sheets, and indeed — the direction of the screen flex.

That's right, while the aptly named Galaxy S6 edge and Note Edge both have their screens flowing to at least one side, the Galaxy Round's panel is actually inward sloping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CES: Smartphone Makers Know Your Battery Sucks, Here’s How They Plan To Fix It

A Samsung Galaxy S5 handset after being charged with StoreDot's flash charging system. Fionna Agomuoh/IBTimes

LAS VEGAS -- Amid all the advances in smartphones, battery technology has lagged painfully behind -- leaving users scrambling for AC outlets in awkward places like hotel lobbies, airport lounges and even public restrooms. But device makers, chip suppliers and third-party innovators hope to soon bridge the gap between the battery life consumers want and what devices can currently provide.

“I think there’s a real latent need out there for some innovation in battery. As consumers desire it more and more, that’s an opportunity somebody’s going to have to figure out,” said Michelle Leyden-Li, Qualcomm’s senior director of marketing.

Researchers are zeroing in on three main aspects of smartphone battery technology: increasing power capacity, optimizing hardware and software, and faster charging. Different areas of the mobile industry have different ideas on which aspects deserve the most focus, but all agree that the goal is to give consumers more juice over longer periods.

Bigger Batteries

Mobile batteries are getting bigger. Two years ago, capacity on many high-end smartphones was about 2500mAh (milliampere hour – a measure of the energy charge a battery can hold). The Samsung Galaxy S4, which launched in 2013, has a 2,600mAh battery. Now, some smartphones are approaching or exceeding 4,000mAh capacity. China’s Lenovo announced its P90 smartphone, which features a 4,000mAh battery, at the 2015 International CES here Monday.

Lenovo said extending capacity without compromising smartphone design is its biggest focus at the moment. “Trends are definitely moving toward the bigger battery. Companies -- including us -- are finding ways to fit a bigger battery into a slimmer profile,” said Craig Bond, Lenovo’s head of worldwide product communications.

Lenovo P90  Fionna Agomuoh/IB Times

Lenovo has already experimented with batteries and design on its Yoga brand of tablets. The tablets feature a cylindrical battery at the base, which affords higher capacity without compromising overall thickness. It also doubles as a built-in stand for the Yoga tablets. Of course, tablets traditionally have larger batteries than smartphones, so capacity is only one part of the story.

Quick Charging

In 2014, some manufacturers implemented quick-charge features on their smartphones. Motorola, a subsidiary of Lenovo, launched its Nexus 6 smartphone with its branded Turbo charge feature, which can add up to six hours to a low battery in 15 minutes. Motorola’s Droid Turbo (featuring a 3,900mAh battery) can add up to eight hours of charge in 15 minutes. Lenovo’s P90 smartphone also has a quick-charge feature, which provides a 50 percent increase in charge in 30 minutes.

Motorola Droid Turbo  Fionna Agomuoh/IB Times

Quick charging is designed to work only if a battery is low. A special adapter detects a low battery and sends an influx of power to restore the juice. “It’s kind of like a hose. I have a close to empty bucket and I can let the floodgates open. It’s like a dam; I can let the floodgates open and that’s OK,” said Ken Fong, a Motorola rep. “If your bucket is already 80 percent full, in order to not damage anything we have to trickle it down. That’s the whole concept.”

Quick charge begins at the core of a smartphone, in its processor, and that’s where companies like Qualcomm come in. Qualcomm supplies its Snapdragon chips to most Android phonemakers. Quick charge comes standard on many Snapdragon chips; however, it is up to manufacturers to enable it.

Flash Charging 

Israeli startup StoreDot knows there's a huge gap between consumer demand for battery power and what batteries can actually provide, and has found a unique way around the problem. Its flash system can take a smartphone battery from empty to full in one to two minutes.

StoreDot system charging a Samsung Galaxy S5 handset.  Fionna Agomuoh/IB Times

At a CES demo, StoreDot charged a Samsung Galaxy S5 outfitted with its after-market system from 8 percent to 100 percent in about two minutes. “With a flash battery, it depletes, but it immediately refills, so it’s like you have an endless battery,” said Doron Mysersdorf, StoreDot CEO. “I think a few years from now, everybody and everything charges fast.”

StoreDot’s system consists of a special battery and charger. The battery, developed by StoreDot, is attached to the back of a smartphone. The device is then inserted into its docking station to charge. A prior version could charge a smartphone in just 30 seconds, but the design proved too bulky. Still, StoreDot is convinced that consumers will favor faster charging over a slim design and says manufacturers have the freedom to redesign its battery case. StoreDot is in talks with major smartphone manufacturers to bring its technology to market by 2017.

StoreDot back cover superimposed on Samsung Galaxy S5 handsets.  Fionna Agomuoh/IB Times

The Software Side

Each new generation of smartphone includes some sort of battery optimization software to conserve power. Google implemented its Project Volta on its latest Android 5.0 Lollipop. Motorola smartphones such as the Droid Turbo and Moto X include software-based optimization features such as Active Display.

Active Display for messages allows uses to drag the messages icon to open a message without turning on the entire screen, thus saving battery power.  Fionna Agomuoh/IB Times

With Active Display, a user can long-press a powered-down screen to access basic information like the time without turning on the entire display, which saves battery life. “From the battery optimization aspect, you want to make everything work more efficiently on a device,” Fong said.

What’s Next?

Optimization can only go so far as smartphones get used for an increasing array of tasks, from showing movies to controlling in-home appliances. “There’s a race for applications to use more from the battery,” said Simon Litsyn, StoreDot CTO. In the short term, most manufacturers will rely on increasing battery capacity to give consumers more juice while they await more innovative solutions.

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Best Android Smartphones 2014: Your Favorite Devices And The Features That Made You Love Them

Best Android Smartphones 2014: Your Favorite Devices And The Features That Made You Love Them

While it may seem to most consumers that all smartphones are pretty much the same -- and for Apple users, they are -- Android phone manufacturers brought a diverse array of hardware to the market in 2014. The theme of the year was standout features, including large (and even curved) displays, water-resistant designs and powerful cameras. Manufacturers competed fiercely to win the favor of consumers, and many handsets stood out for very specific reasons. Below is a rundown of the best Android devices of 2014 and their best features.

Oppo N3 review

Introduction

The formula for the smartphone to top all others is the industry's elusive philosopher stone. Being complete newbies, but keen as a bean, Oppo's take is perhaps the weirdest. Yet it seems to work.

The standard ingredients include the latest chipset, a robust screen, and a high-megapixel camera. But why not try something crazy like a rotating camera that can do the best selfies in the industry? That seemed to be last year's brief. This year the module is motorized and can rotate all by itself. The camera has also seen a substantial upgrade.

Oppo N3 official photos

12 best smartphones with nano-SIM card slots (2014 edition)

Ever since nano-SIM cards made their market debut alongside the Apple iPhone 5 (the first device to make use of such a module) in late 2012, more and more manufacturers have put their faith into this SIM standard. Being noticeably more compact than the way more common micro-SIM modules, nano-SIM cards are mostly used in devices that have absolutely no spare space in tow, allowing manufacturers to pack their hardware insides like sardines.

Phiaton BT 220 NC wireless in-ear headphones review

Phiaton BT 220 NC is the Korean manufacturer’s latest wireless in-ear offering. The noise-canceling Bluetooth 4.0 headset replaces the already stellar Phiaton PS 210 BTNC on top of the company’s in-ear lineup.

12 Best Music Apps

Your smartphone already doubles as a dependable music player right out of the box, and the bevy of audio apps out there make it even better. Whether you want unlimited access to tens of millions of songs or want to turn your device into a dynamic FM radio, there’s no shortage of mobile apps that will get the job done. From Spotify to Shazam, here are our 15 favorite music apps for your smartphone or tablet.

1. iTunes Radio (Free, iOS)

Check out the most "megapixel-rich" smartphones of 2014

Check out the most "megapixel-rich" smartphones of 2014

When it comes to digital photography, more isn't always better and a high megapixels count is usually not paving the way for better looking photos. But then again, it seems that people are generally wont to fancy smartphones that are well-endowed in this aspect. Some of the more popular devices that got released during 2014 are, surely, not boasting cameras with an extremely high megapixel count, but are comfortably nestled in the golden middle, packing a relatively large sensor, potent optics, and spot-on software optimization.

Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now: Why Apple’s Siri Is Best

 Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now: Why Apple’s Siri Is Best

Siri kicked off the voice-enabled personal assistant trend, but she now has two big reasons to look over her shoulder: Cortana for Windows Phone, which is smarter in some ways, and Google Now, which many Android users have come to love.

'The Crew' Review: Ubisoft's Open-World Racer Isn't Fun

"The Crew" is Ubisoft's foray into the open-world racing genre, but it doesn't stand up to the hype. Ubisoft

“The Crew” sets out to be a massive, multiplayer racing game unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. You can form “crews” with anyone and take on other factions for money. Or you can drive from New York to Los Angeles in a single sitting. You can buy a Chevrolet Camaro and fit it with a lift kit and big tires to go offroad. “The Crew” promises so much.

Best Cyber Monday Laptop Deals 2014

Black Friday may have passed but there are plenty of great laptop deals still to be found online. Whether you’re looking for a low-cost Windows laptop or a high-end ultrabook with all the trimmings, you can save a lot of money if you know where to look this Cyber Monday. Here are our favorite Cyber Monday deals of 2014.

Google Nexus 9 vs. iPad Air 2: 5 Things Android Needs To Compete Against Apple In Tablets

Can the Nexus 9 compete against the iPad Air 2? Google

The Nexus 9 is a venture into new territory for all involved; it is Google Inc.’s first attempt at a premium tablet and manufacturer HTC Corp.’s first tablet in three years. The slate is now on sale and has received a host of positive reviews; overall pundits agree that the Nexus 9 is a solid tablet, but it's no iPad.

Samsung Galaxy Note through the years

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Galaxy Note series has always been about productivity, creativity, and functionality. It's about getting things done, about having the power to do so. So the Note line has always tried to maintain top-of-the-line guts to keep up with all of the things it knows you want to do with it. But how well has that legacy held up? We take a look back at the Notes of the past and the newest successor to the Note line.

iPad Air 2 Hands-on

Why buy an iPad Air 2 when you can get by with an iPhone 6 Plus? I asked myself that very question before I put my hands on Apple’s thinner and faster sequel. Now that I’ve spent some time with the Air 2, the answer is clear: more power, more real estate and more capability.

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 14 Makes Business Flexible

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 14 Makes Business Flexible

Last year, Lenovo pulled off a rather difficult feat — creating a feasible 2-in-1 notebook for business. The ThinkPad Yoga gave mobile professionals all the bending flexibility of the IdeaPad Yoga series and combined it with the long battery life and excellent keyboard we’ve come to expect from ThinkPads. The company is hoping to continue the trend with the ThinkPad Yoga 14. Priced at $1,199 the business-centric laptop will be available near the end of October.

Top 10 smartphones with the Longest Battery Life

With their zippy quad-core processors and big screens, smartphones have never been more powerful–or more power hungry. Yes, specs and apps matter, but what good are they if you’re hunting for an outlet by lunchtime? If you want a smartphone that endures, check out the handsets that made our list.

These devices lasted at least 8 hours on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves