Tag Archives: MWC 2014

Oral-B Smartphone-Connected Toothbrush Is Coming Out in June

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Oral-B Smart Toothbrush

While electric toothbrushes have been around for quite a while, dental hygiene devices that connect to apps on smartphones were unheard of until Oral-B announced the world’s first Bluetooth toothbrush.

Ever wanted to receive tips on how to brush your teeth better? The innovative toothbrush that Procter & Gamble created for its Oral-B brand connects via Bluetooth to smartphones running its companion app, in order to bring the Quantified Self even further. Mind you, this smart device does not replace your dentist, it merely makes sure you follow his advice by allowing him to program the app. This way, you will know which areas need more attention.

Michael Cohen-Dumani, global associate director for Oral-B, stated in an interview with Reuters that “Dentists always tell us: ‘People do a great job in the week before they come to visit us and in the week after they visit us. But nothing can hide the fact that when we look inside the mouth we can see all the areas they miss.’” In other words, the Oral-B smart tootbrush takes permanent care of your teeth, by pointing out which areas need additional brushing or if you brush too hard, fact that ultimately can damage your gums.

As Cohen-Dumani explained, the smartphone-connected tootbrush made by Oral-B “will guide you in terms of how to brush, and you will be able to fully personalize the brushing routine for you.” Probably the best thing about this device is that it offers instant feedback, which could made visits to the dentist’s office less frequent.

If you obsess about every detail related to your body, there are plenty of things you could do after taking care of your teeth with the Oral-B smart toothbrush. You could eat using a smart fork that prevents you from overeating. It’s probably not the best idea to do physical activities after eating, but if you’re in the mood for the white sport, you could pick up a Babolat Play smartphone-connected tennis racket or Sony’s smart tennis sensor, which also connects to an app to display your stats. Do you see where we’re heading? Soon enough, all the the products that we use will be connected either to the Internet or to our smartphones. Frankly, I think that’s not a bad idea at all, since we could improve our performance in so many ways by seeing what we did wrong.

Oral-B will unveil its smart toothbrush at MWC in Barcelona next week, and the product is expected to be available in June for $330.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the bizarre 3D printed mold that cleans your teeth in 6 seconds and what looked like the ultimate toothbrush back in 2011.

Canonical to Showcase the First Ubuntu Phone at MWC

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Ubuntu Smartphone

The software development company best known for its Debian-based Linux operating system Ubuntu respected the promise it made last year, and announced that it would launch the first Ubuntu phone at the Mobile World Congress, next week.

Canonical failed to raise the funds for its ambitious Ubuntu Edge on Indiegogo last year, but that didn’t stop the British company from pursuing its dreams. They promised that they would make Ubuntu phones in 2014, and next week we’re going to see the first results. Smartphones running Ubuntu Touch will be made by Meizu, a pretty popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer, as well as by BQ, Spain’s second largest manufacturer of unlocked smartphones.

Images of a Meizu smartphone running what was believed to be Ubuntu Touch were leaked a few weeks ago, and the fact that Canonical now confirmed that the Chinese manufacturer will be making one of the Ubuntu phones stresses the authenticity of the leaks. Unlike Mozilla and its Firefox OS, Canonical wants to have a different approach with Ubuntu Touch smartphones. Firefox OS devices are low-end, thus far, but Canonical wants to take on Android devices directly, so it announced that the Ubuntu phones will be mid-range and high-end devices capable of satisfying the needs of the ones looking for performance.

Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Canonical, stated in an interview with CNet that “While we’re happy to work with household names, we want to be involved with partners for whom we can be a significant part of their story, rather than being appended to the more complicated story of other brands.”

Meizu only makes one line of smartphones, MX3 being the most recent and probably the most popular. BQ, on the other hand, makes Android smartphones, tablets and even e-book readers, but Canonical emphasized how important it is that the Spanish manufacturer has experience in making dual-SIM phones, suggesting that the Ubuntu ones may come with such a feature.

The way I see it, the only problem Canonical might have is the app ecosystem. There are plenty of apps for the desktop version of Ubuntu, but convincing the developers to port them to mobile devices may not be very simple. What I’m saying is that I’m afraid that the Ubuntu phones will suffer the same fate as the ones running Windows Phone.

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LG Launches G Pro 2 Ahead of the Mobile World Congress

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LG G Pro 2 01

Since images of LG G Pro 2 started leaking two weeks ago, the South Korean company decided to launch this high-end smartphone ahead of MWC, at least in its homeland.

LG G Pro 2 was scheduled for an MWC launch, but the manufacturer went on to surprise South Koreans with an early release. Even so, the world has plenty of reasons to be proud of this flagship phablet, as it is a clear step forward from its predecessor, the Optimus G Pro.

Even though the resolution of the rear camera hasn’t changed, as it still has a 13 MP sensor, this aspect has also been improved, in that the camera can now record video in 4K Ultra High Definition.

This Android 4.4 KitKat phablet is powered by a Snapdragon 800 2.26 GHz Quad-Core CPU and Adreno 330 GPU to which 3GB of RAM were added. In terms of internal storage, people are able to choose between 16 and 32GB that can be furthermore expanded via a microSD card.

LG did not neglect the audio side of things, so it equipped the G Pro 2 with a 1 W speaker that’s not only clearer, but also 30% louder than the G Pro’s, while also providing a more powerful bass.

At 157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3 mm, the G Pro 2 is slimmer, wider and longer than the previous flagship. While increasing the size of the IPS display to 5.9 inch, LG decided to stick to the 1920×1080 resolution, which is a bit of a letdown, considering that the flagships of the other big players will feature qHD displays this year.

The capacity of the battery has also been slightly increased, from 3,140 to 3,200 mAh. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the device will have a longer battery life, since the new internal hardware might actually consume more power.

Besides the 13 MP rear camera featuring Optical Image Stabilizer Plus (OIS+), LG G Pro 2 also comes with a 2.1 MP front camera for video calls and selfies. The primary camera can also shoot HD video at 120 fps besides 4K. On top of that, it has been enhanced with such features as “Natural Flash”, “Magic Focus” and “Burst Shot”.

In terms of security, LG implemented Knock Code, which allows people to tap the screen in previously defined places to unlock the screen. Another revolutionary feature is Mini View, which shrinks the screen to a smaller size for one-handed use.

The price of the G Pro 2 is yet to be announced, even in South Korea, while the rest of the world will have to wait till the end of the month, when LG will launch its new flagship phablet globally, at MWC 2014, in Barcelona.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the LG G Flex, which comes with a curved display, and the LG Lifeband Touch and webOS TV that the company launched at CES 2014.

OPPO Find 7 Gets a Launch Date and a Price Estimation

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OPPO Find 7

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer that took the world by storm last year with its Find 5 and N1 has a new flagship in store for us, in the shape of the OPPO Find 7.

There are plenty of news outlets that recommend giving Chinese manufacturers a chance, and since most of these recommendations are backed by strong arguments, people should take them into consideration. The price of Android smartphones and tablets is only one of the things that should tip the balance in favor of the Chinese manufacturers. Build quality may give birth to some concerns, but in OPPO’s case, all of them are simply blown away. Find 5 and N1 both have a strong structure, a trend that will surely be followed by Find 7. On top of that, N1 came last year with a rotating 13MP double flash camera that turned video calling into a totally different experience. Wonder how the Find 7 will stack against its predecessors and its competitors?

Well, you’ll have to wait till the end of February, as recent reports suggest that OPPO will launch Find 7 at the MWC (Mobile World Congress). Given the impressive rumored specs of this Android smartphone, it would be safe to say that a lot of people are waiting to get their mittens on it.

According to one of OPPO’s recent tweets, “gloves and wet hands will not be an issue with the sensitive screen of Find 7.” Even though this doesn’t suggest that the company’s next flagship is waterproof, it still means that Find 7′s 5.5-inch QHD (1440 x 2560) display will function in all sorts of weather conditions. Besides a glove friendly screen, OPPO Find 7 is also said to feature a quad-core (even though octa-core would be the way to go now in China) Snapdragon 805 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 13 MP/5 MP cameras, 3 GB RAM, and a 4,000 mAh battery. Mind you, a mini version featuring a 5″ HD display is also rumored to be released at MWC.

As far as pricing goes, the latest reports suggest that OPPO will offer Find 7 for CNY3,598 (around $595). While not an affordable phone, it would still be able to destabilize such manufacturers as Samsung, LG or HTC. It remains to be seen what OPPO will really include in Find 7 once MWC starts in Barcelona. A lot of other great phones will be announced then, so there’ll be a lot of competition.

If you liked this post, please check the Xiaomi MI3 gaming smartphone and the rumored specs of Samsung Galaxy S5.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Debuts at MWC 2014

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A rebel yell has come out of Samsung as everything about it goes heavy metal. The South Korean giant, Samsung will reportedly launch its Galaxy S5 at MWC 2014. Mobile World Congress 2014 is scheduled...