Flashback: Nokia Lumia 520 was smoother than any Android twice its price

In 2013 the best-selling Windows-powered device in the world was... wait, the Nokia Lumia 520, really? Really. To be fair, back then the PC market was in decline and Windows tablets never caught on, but neither did Windows Phone. And yet this little thing was one of the most popular smartphones for a short while. In the land of Windows Mobile, it took three years to be replaced - it was only in 2016 when the 520 was edged out by the Lumia 535, its spiritual successor. How did that happen? Price would be our first answer - the Lumia 520 launched in 2013 and before the year was over,...

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Week 40 in review: Google Pixel 4 leaks, Mate 30 loses Google apps, Microsoft event

Another week came and went and with it came the usual stories, rumors and leaks. And none of those are more frequent these days than the Pixel 4-themed ones. This week we got a full specs sheet for both the 5.7-inch Pixel 4 and 6.3-inch Pixel 4 XL, as well as official press renders of each color of the phones - Just Black, Clearly White and Oh So Orange. Specs-wise the Pixel 4 duo will have a Snapdragon 855 (non-Plus) with a new Pixel Neural Core, which is the likely replacement to the Pixel Visual Core, 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage and a dual camera with a 12MP main and 16MP...

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Top 10 trending phones of week 40

For the first time in a few weeks there wasn't a major event to shake up our popularity ranking, but it was still a very close run for the first place with the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha just managing to retain it in the end. It fought off the rapidly rising Samsung Galaxy M30s and the shocking new entry Galaxy A70s, which completed the podium. OnePlus 7T made the top 10 in the second week following its announcement with a respectable fourth. The Redmi Note 8 Pro follows it in sixth. The Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max got its podium streak broken and is now down to sixth, ahead of the upcoming...

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Huawei Mate 30 Pro vs. P30 Pro camera comparison

Huawei Mate 30 Pro vs. P30 Pro The Mate 30 Pro's camera setup differs significantly from the P30 Pro's - the main module may be the same, but the other two are different. The Mate's ultra-wide has a substantially larger sensor and slightly narrower field of view, while the telephoto unit of the new phone is the 3x one found in the P30, and not the P30 Pro's 5x periscope. An inevitable shootout ensued. Main camera comparison (Daylight) The main camera's hardware is supposedly the same, yet the resulting images aren't. The Mate 30 Pro captures finer detail and its pictures...

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Weekly poll: did Microsoft outsmart Android makers with the Surface Duo?

We have to give it to Microsoft - what seemed like a regular event about laptops set the Internet abuzz about dual screen devices. The Surface Duo in particular got people excited about the mix of Microsoft's hardware aesthetic combined with Androids mobile app ecosystem. The Surface Duo will have two 5.6" screens with a hinge between them. This isn't a foldable display and that's a good thing as it avoids all the issues plaguing their fragile screens. And it can fold 360°, which offers the best of both worlds - you can close it to keep the screens safe, open it to use both screens or flip...

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vivo NEX 3 in for review

The vivo NEX 3 beat the Huawei Mate 30 Pro by some three days to be the first smartphone announced with a waterfall display. We got to review the Mate first, but we're catching up. It's now the NEX' turn which we have here in 5G trim - same one we got to handle at the launch event. Not only was the vivo waterfall display first, but it's also missing a notch - we'll always prefer uninterrupted displays with no cutouts over notched ones, so the NEX has this going for it over the Mate. The NEX 3 has its selfie camera tucked away in a motorized pop-up module, where vivo has also fitted...

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