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mercredi 5 octobre 2016

Best Android phones with a removable battery (October 2016)

Metal designs, thinner profiles and pleasant aesthetics have surged in the smartphone market, but they come with a sacrifice some of you may not be willing to live with. Removable batteries have become a dying breed.

Even if battery life is generally improving, being able to carry extra batteries and swapping them to your liking is an advantage that is hard to give up. In an industry in which all the best phones tend to sport a unibody design, where are the handsets that still offer the versatility of a removable battery?

Related: Best Android phones

Look no further; we have curated a list with our very favorite smartphones with a removable battery. Let's take a look at these gadgets and see if any of them are for you.

Editor's note – We will be updating this list as more devices hit the market.
Update, October 2016: This month we removed the LG G4 and ASUS ZenFone Laser to make room for the LG V20.

Upcoming: LG V20

We still haven't gotten the chance to publish our full review of the LG V20, but we do know it's already one of the best smartphones out there.

The V20 is basically the phone for power users. It has a a big Quad HD display, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor, plenty of RAM and on-board storage, dual 16MP rear-facing cameras, and a removable 3,200mAh battery. Of course, the unique Second Screen makes a return this year, along with the addition of Quad DAC, military standard durability, and it's already running Android 7.0 Nougat.

LG is still keeping the official US launch date under wraps, but we're pretty sure it'll come to market sooner rather than later. If you're interested, you can sign up for updates from B&H at the link attached below.

  • LG V20 Tips N' Tricks
  • LG V20 vs LG V10
  • LG V20 Drop Test
  • LG V20 hands on

Specs

  • 5.7-inch IPS LCD display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 513ppi
    • Secondary display: 2.1-inch IPS LCD display with 160 x 1040 resolution, 513 ppi
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 32/64GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 256GB
  • Dual 16 and 8MP rear cameras, 5MP front camera
  • Removable 3,200mAh battery
  • Android 7.0 Nougat
  • 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6mm, 174g

Read more

Pre-order now from B&H

LG G5

While the Galaxy S7 series is a minor refresh in terms of design, the LG G5 sees a massive departure from the design language used in the G series, ditching the rear volume/power setup that first debuted with the LG G2. The G5 also adopts a unibody metallic design that has a removable cap for access to the removable battery and a port for modules that allow users to expand the phone's capabilities by adding a camera grip and other special accessories.

The distinctly different design of the LG G5 may not be for everyone, but there's little denying that LG has went out of its way to try and innovate in a market where big changes like this aren't all that common.

Spec wise, we're looking at a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 with 4 GB RAM, a 5.3-inch Quad HD display, and 32 GB storage with microSD for expansion. The specs here are certainly impressive all across the board. It's also worth mentioning that LG has revamped its software, making it faster and less bloated.

  • LG G5 Review!
  • LG G5 vs iPhone 6S
  • LG G5 vs Nexus 6P Quick Look...
  • LG G5 vs LG G4 Quick Look

Specs

  • 5.3-inch IPS LCD display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 554 ppi
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
  • 4 GB of RAM
  • 32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 200 GB
  • 16 and 8 MP dual rear cameras
  • 8 MP front camera
  • Removable 2800 mAh battery
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm, 159 g

Read more

Buy now from Amazon

LG V10

If you aren't completely satisfied with the LG G4, perhaps the V10 will suit your needs. It has the same powerful Snapdragon 808 processor and 16 MP rear-facing camera as the G4, but with a few extra features included. Most notably, the V10 sports a secondary "ticker" display LG calls the Second Screen. This extra display aims to provide its users useful information without the need to turn on the main screen. It will display app shortcuts, notifications, and even weather and battery percentage information. Although the placement is a bit wonky, we're sure you'll be pretty happy with the added benefit of having a secondary display.

The V10 also has two front-facing cameras for wide-angle selfies, a fingerprint scanner that's actually really reliable, a MIL-STD-810G Transit Drop Compliant rating for shock absorption, and a 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC electronic processor with support for Qualcomm's QFE2550 closed-loop antenna tuning solution. It's also the first smartphone ever to come with a manual mode for taking video.

  • LG V10 review
  • LG V10 durability drop test
  • LG V10 Hands On
  • LG V10 Vs LG G4 Quick Look

Specs

  • Main display: 5.7-inch IPS Quantum Display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 513 ppi
    • Secondary display: 2.1-inch IPS Quantum Display with 160 x 1040 resolution, 513 ppi
  • Hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor
  • 4 GB of RAM
  • 64 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 2 TB
  • 16 MP rear camera, 5 MP Dual Lens front camera
  • Removable 3000 mAh battery
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • 159.6 x 79.3 x 8.6 mm, 192 g

Read more

Buy now from Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Although a bit older, the Galaxy Note 4 offers good screen real estate and S Pen features for those who use their smartphones as a productivity tool.

The Note 4 still has pretty good specifications, including a 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED display, 3 GB of RAM, a 16 megapixel camera and a microSD card slot. Certainly a match for the selection of 2015 flagship smartphones, as well as plenty 2016 handsets.

  • Samsung Galaxy Note 5 vs Gal...
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy ...
  • Galaxy Note 4 Wireless Charg...
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Review...

Specs

  • 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 resolution, 518ppi
  • 2.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor
  • 3 GB of RAM
  • 32 GB of on-board storage, microSD expansion up to 128 GB
  • 16 MP rear camera, 3.7 MP front camera
  • Removable 3,220 mAh battery
  • Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm, 176g

Read More

Buy now from Amazon

Those are our favorite smartphones with a removable battery! Do you have a favorite that is not listed? Is having this feature even a big deal to you? Hit the comments to let us know!

Check out our related best lists:



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Vivo Y55L is the company’s new budget smartphone in India

vivo-y55l

Vivo has announced the launch of Y55L, an upgraded version of the Y51L launched in January 2016, in India. The Y55L offers a split-screen feature for multitasking and a unique eye protection mode that ensures comfortable screen brightness by reducing blue light that causes strain on the eyes.

Vivo Y55L Specifications

  • Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Funtouch OS 2.6
  • Display: 13.21cm (5.2-inch) HD (1280 × 720)
  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 Octa-core 1.4GHz
  • RAM: 2GB
  • Internal Storage: 16GB; expandable up to 128GB with microSD card
  • Camera: 8MP rear camera | 5MP front camera
  • Battery: 2650mAh

Priced at ₹11,980 ($180), the Y55L will be available across online and offline retailers in two colors – Gold and Space Grey.

kent-cheng-vivo-india-ceo

The company has also announced the appointment of Kent Cheng as the new CEO for India operations. Cheng joined Vivo early this year, and in his current role, he will be building strong presence of the brand across the country through marketing, sales, and strong customer service network. Vivo entered India in the late 2014 and currently has its presence in more than 400 cities with over 15,000 retailers across the country.



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Google rebranding the Cast app to Google Home, with new functions

Google Home 23

The Google Cast app has gone through a long evolution for what it basically does: mirror audio and video content from the Google Chrome browser to your television. Now, the digital media player is bound for another change as Google looks to rebrand the Google Cast app to Google Home and add new functions to it.

Before it got the name Google Cast back in March, Google used to call the app Chromecast. The switch to Google Cast was meant to reflect the tool's significant drift away from its Chrome-centered function to other purposes, including the ability to view other available Cast–compatible apps.

The rebranding of Google Cast to Google Home, therefore, doesn't come as a huge surprise after the search giant's big event yesterday, where it introduced a bevy of new software and hardware products. Google Home is one of those products, coming in the form of Google's new voice-activated speaker. The $129 device will help users control all their connected gadgets under the Internet of Things ecosystem and stream content to a wide variety of devices at home.

Google Home 17Don't miss: Google Home now up for pre-order3

The Mountain View company now aims to bring older Chromecast devices and the new Chromecast Ultra under one umbrella: Google Home. In fact, the Chromecast Preview firmware has removed all references to Chrome and has begun to adopt the brand Google Home.

It's worth pointing out that Google is not exactly ditching the name Google Cast. It remains a relevant name for what the dongle is intended to do: sending content from a source device to a high-definition TV or WiFi speaker.



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Xiaomi sells more than half a million smartphones in India in three days

xiaomi redmi note 3 (1)

In a press release, Mi India today announced that it has sold more than 500,000 smartphones in less than three days between October 1 to 3. The company claims that this is an industry first, and hence a key milestone for Mi India with about two phones sold per second in past 72 hours.

The Xiaomi smartphones and accessories were on sale across leading online retailers in India – Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, and Tata Cliq – as part of their respective festive sales.

Redmi 3S (along with Redmi 3S Prime) was the top-selling product on Flipkart during its Big Billion Days Sale where it sold more than 800,000 smartphones in one day on October 2. At Amazon's Great Indian Festival sale, Redmi Note 3 was the best-selling smartphone while four of the top six selling products within the electronics category were Xiaomi products — Redmi Note 3 (Gold), Redmi Note 3 (Grey), Mi Band 2, and 10000mAh Mi Power Bank.

We are extremely proud to be sharing this milestone with our fans, partners and employees. More than six months of rigorous planning and hard work has helped us set a new benchmark in the industry. Last year we sold more than half a million phones in 30 days during the month of October, and this year we were able to achieve a similar number within three days. Based on what we know, no other brand has ever achieved this in India.

– Manu Jain, India Head, Xiaomi

Xiaomi entered India in 2014 and since then has showed an incredible growth rate and as per IDC, it is now the third largest smartphone brand across top 30 cities in India, with Redmi Note 3 being the highest-shipped smartphone ever in India's online market in any given quarter.



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US Amazon Prime members get free e-books and magazines

amazon prime

Not an Amazon Prime member yet? Now there is one more reason to join – Amazon just announced Prime Reading which gives US Prime members access to free e-books and magazines on any device. No e-reader required: just download the Kindle app on your phone, tablet, or computer, and start reading!

Amazon Prime mailbox shutterstockSee also: Is Amazon Prime really worth it?92

Amazon's Prime membership was pretty revolutionary when it first launched: having things delivered in two days to your doorstep for an annual fee simply did not exist in North America. Since then, Amazon's added a ton of other perks such as Prime Video, Prime Music, early access to Lightning Deals, and Amazon Drive.

Well, it looks like Amazon isn't quite done yet. Amazon is introducing what is called Prime Reading: US Prime members can access unlimited reading from a selection of books, magazines, comics, and more:

Prime members can now enjoy an awesome selection of books including The Hobbit, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Man in the High Castle, plus magazines and more with Prime Reading – all for free on any device.

Although the selection is limited right now, our guess is Amazon will eventually expand its offering just like it did with Prime Video. If you are already an Amazon Prime member, you can head on over to Amazon's website to start reading. If you are not, Amazon is offering a 30-day free trial of Prime here. After your trial period, if you wish to continue, it will be $99 a year, unless you are a student, in which case it will be $49 a year.

For all Prime members out there: will you be trying out Prime Reading? Let us know in the comment section below!

Show Press Release

Introducing Prime Reading – The Newest Benefit for Prime Members

October 05, 2016 06:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–(NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon today introduced Prime Reading, a new reading benefit for U.S. Prime members. Prime members can now enjoy unlimited reading from a rotating selection of books, magazines, comics and more – at no additional cost. Prime Reading joins the growing list of all-you-can-eat benefits for Prime members including unlimited fast, free Prime shipping, unlimited access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos, Audible Channels, early access to Lightning Deals and more. Members can start reading now by downloading the Kindle app for iOS and Android or using any Kindle or Fire tablet. To learn more about Prime Reading or start a 30-day free trial of Prime, please visit http://ift.tt/2d2MEkp.

"Prime is the best deal in the history of shopping and today it got even better"
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Prime Reading features include:

  • Over a thousand popular books: Enjoy a diverse selection of titles including Red Sparrow, The Butterfly Garden, The 5 Love Languages, The Atlantis Gene, Lonely Planet travel guides and books from best-selling authors Brad Thor, Barry Eisler, Stephen Covey, James Altucher, Rachel Abbott and more.
  • Premium Magazines: Stay on top of current trends with a rotating selection of fresh, full issues of top magazines covering sports, technology, cooking and home improvement, current affairs, notable people and more.
  • Exclusive short content: Read Kindle Singles Classics – classic short-form reads by the world's top writers, from Susan Orlean to Norman Mailer. Also read from hundreds of Kindle Singles – short stories, memoirs and essays from a variety of top writers.
  • All your favorite Kindle features: Enjoy all the great Kindle features customers love such as Page Flip, Popular Highlights, X-Ray and Goodreads integration, all while using your favorite Kindle eReader or Fire tablet or free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phone, tablet and more.

"Prime is the best deal in the history of shopping and today it got even better," said Greg Greeley, Vice President Amazon Prime. "Prime members can now enjoy an awesome selection of books including The Hobbit, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Man in the High Castle, plus magazines and more with Prime Reading – all for free on any device."

"This is a new and exciting way for our premium brands to reach and engage with Amazon's Prime members," said Monica Ray, Executive Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Condé Nast. "Prime readers can now keep up with all the latest news, trends, tips and so much more with the rotating selection of our magazine brands."

Prime Reading is the latest in the growing set of reading benefits for Prime members which also includes the Kindle Owners' Lending Library and Kindle First. Prime members in the U.S. can get started by http://ift.tt/2dECzLC. Readers wanting even more can enjoy unlimited reading from over one million books, magazines, and audiobooks by starting a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

 



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You won’t be able to unlock the Verizon Pixel’s bootloader

google pixel and pixel xl first look hands on together aa-5

Google and Verizon are teaming up to bring the new Pixel phones to US customers, and the carrier is sparing us from the irritating carrier logos that you can usual spot plastered over the company's device. However, customers who opt for the Verizon model won't be able to unlock the handsets bootloader, according to prolific leakster Evan Blass and a Google representative at the San Francisco launch event.

The news isn't completely surprising though. Carrier specific handsets are often sealed off to prevent software tampering. However, previous Verizon branded Google phones, such as the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 6, both came with officially unlockable bootloaders.

For the uninitiated, a bootloader is the first thing that runs when you boot up your Android device. It's main job is to start up the operating system saved on the phone's internal memory. A bootloader is usually locked by default to prevent software tampering, but some manufacturers offer official unlocking tools for those who want to install custom ROMs and the like.

As such, a locked bootloader is unlikely to affect a large number of consumers that Google is targeting with its new Pixel phones. Especially as security updates and patches should be frequent. However for some, this news unfortunately confirms that Google is happy to sever the ties from its highly developer friendly Nexus branded smartphones with the new Pixel range.

google pixel and pixel xl first look hands on aa-38Read on: Here's where you can buy a Google Pixel in the US15

It's not all bad news for Verizon customers looking to pick up a Pixel though. As far as we know, Pixel's purchased from the Google Store will feature unlockable bootloaders and will work just fine with the carrier. It's also quite possible that ingenious coders will come up with an unofficial solution to the problem at some point as well.



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