Verizon Droid 2015 rumors: Verizon and Motorola schedule press event for Oct. 27:-

It’s time to start thinking about the Droid series. The Verizon Wireless exclusive usually launches in the October/November time frame, and we don’t expect anything different for 2015.
Last year, Motorola and Verizon collaborated on only one Droid, the Droid Turbo, whereas multiple devices were launched in prior years. Based on early rumors, Verizon is likely to offer not one, but two Droids this year.
Related: Moto X Force rumors: The tough phone may launch this December with high-end specs
Updated on 10-15-2015 by Kyle Wiggers: Added Verizon and Motorola’s announcement of an October 27th Droid event.

Droid Turbo 2

The Droid Turbo 2 may be nearly upon us: Verizon and Motorola have begun issuing invitations to an Oct. 27 event in New York City. The press flyer doesn’t give away much, but does specifically refer to “Droids” — a potential hint that more’s in store than the Droid Turbo 2.
According to @upleaks, the Droid Turbo 2 will be a rebranded Moto X Force, aka Moto Bounce. We expect the internal specs to be the same as the Moto X force, which is rumored to feature a 5.43-inch Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440 resolution) display, an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, 3GB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, a 21-megapixel rear camera, and a whopping 3,760mAh battery.
Verizon Wireless is notorious for making slight changes to its rebranded models though. It’s likely that wireless charging could be added along with Kevlar material on the back plate.
Interestingly, Phandroid revealed that not only do the aforementioned specifications ring true, but that there will be a 21-megapixel camera on the back and a 5-megapixel shooter on the front. In addition, the display looks to be “unbreakable,” due to the display being reinforced by metal edges. We’re not exactly sure if there’s more to these words, since many high-end smartphones nowadays also have metal borders, though the display is rumored to also be a Plastic OLED, or POLED, variant, the same kind of display we saw on the LG G Watch R and the G Flex.
Just as interesting is the Turbo 2 being the first Droid smartphone reportedly available through Moto Maker. If you decide to go down that route instead of hitting up Verizon directly, Motorola will reportedly offer you a one-time design swap or replacement within two years of your purchase for the low price of free. Verizon looks to back this method completely, as Big Red will reportedly dedicate some store shelf space to showing potential customers all the back covers available if you purchase the Turbo 2 online.
As for how the phone looks like, this leaked press image reveals a phone that looks very similar to the rumored Moto X Force.

Back in August, the same source that revealed the Droid Maxx 2 news, also claimed that Verizon and Motorola are cooking up a sequel to last year’s Droid Turbo.

The Droid Maxx 2

Although Motorola said the Moto X Play isn’t coming to the U.S., recent rumors suggest that it could be rebranded as the Droid Maxx 2 at Verizon. Now, Android Police has spotted hands-on pics of the Motorola XT1565 with Verizon branding, which is believed to be the Droid Maxx 2.
The Droid Maxx 2 may make an appearance at the aformentioned Verizon and Motorola event in New York City on Oct. 27, if rumors are to be believed.

The phone in the pictures is more or less a rebranded Moto X Play, but with less storage onboard, if the leaked screenshots are to be believed. The Moto X Play comes in 16 and 32GB versions, but this version is listed with just 8GB built in. Of course, a MicroSD card slot could solve that problem, assuming the Droid Maxx 2 comes with the option of expandable storage.

Previously, reliable leaker hellomotoHK posted images of what appears to be the Droid Maxx 2’s back cover in late August, and you can clearly see the Verizon and Droid logos at the bottom of the lime and white covers.
It’s not clear if these will be the only color options, and we presume a black version will be added to the mix at the very least. The fourth photo below shows the two Droid Maxx 2 covers along with two Moto X Play covers to show the resemblance.
In mid-August 2015, A very reliable source indicated that the recently announced Moto X Play will be launched on Verizon Wireless as the Droid Maxx 2. The Moto X Play is a more affordable version of the Moto X Style (and Pure Edition), but with a humongous battery. Even though it’s only a rumor that the Play will be rebranded at Verizon as the Droid Maxx 2, it makes a lot of sense since the first Maxx was all about the battery life.
Related: The Moto X Play is a more affordable version of the Moto X Style with a gigantic battery
It’s not clear if Motorola and Verizon will make any changes to the Moto X Play before re-branding it, but we wouldn’t be surprised if at least the body material is changed to reflect the Droid tradition of Kevlar.
As far as specs go, the Moto X Play features a 5.5-inch 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixel) screen, a 1.7GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of internal storage, a MicroSD slot for expanded storage, 21-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 3,630mAh battery.
The Moto X Play was announced a few weeks ago alongside the Moto X Style (and Pure Edition), but Motorola specifically said that it wouldn’t be coming to the U.S. This was surprising at the time, since Motorola doesn’t usually offer phones exclusively outside the U.S. Assuming this rumor is true, it’s now clear what was going on behind the scenes.

 

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Samsung announces early app partners for Gear S2:-

Samsung has over 1,000 developers working on apps for the Gear S2, its latest wearable based on Tizen OS, and decided to show off some of the early app partners. The eight apps highlighted are all unique and offer something special for the Gear S2. Samsung claims that more will be added before the end of the year.
Nike+ Running lets you keep track of your regime, organize runs, and motivate you to hit goals. Twitter Trends shows the latest trends, conversations, and tweets from around the world. Line has added a range of cute characters on the Gear S2 to send to friends. Yelp lets you review restaurants, flights, and coffee shops on the go.
Related: Samsung Pay wasn’t breached in state-sponsored LoopPay hack, executives say
Volkswagen has created two apps, Car-Net in the U.S. and e-Remote in Europe. Both offer the ability to check if the doors are locked, start the air conditioning, and stop the car from charging if it is an electric vehicle.
Samsung’s subsidiary SmartThings have built an app for the Gear S2, letting you control your smart home devices from outside the house. UniKey has built a new app called Kevo, which lets you open doors with the smartwatch using an eKey. Voxer is a new messaging service that features “audio live,” a “walkie-talkie” style of audio messaging.
Related: Samsung Gear S2 news: Buy it now at Best Buy, Amazon, and Macy’s
Samsung has also partnered with a transportation service in South Korea, which lets people on the subway or bus by scanning the Gear S2 on card readers. Transport for London offers similar contactless functionality on the London Underground.
The Gear S2 is already available in the United States and a few other countries. The 3G model is “coming soon” on Samsung’s site. It is getting a lot of attention thanks to its new rotating bezel that is the basis for most of the user interface, which apparently works better than Android Wear’s current system.

Read more Information on :- Gadget stream

 

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Microsoft Lumia 735 review:-

 

The Microsoft Lumia 735 has finally made its way to the U.S. as a Verizon Wireless exclusive. Back in 2014 when it first launched, it was one of the last Nokia-branded Lumia phones. It has now been re-branded to Microsoft, following the completion of the company’s buyout of Nokia.
Unfortunately for Windows phone fans, the Lumia 735 is another mid-range device, priced competitively at $192 or $8 per month for 24 months. But is it worth your money?
Editor’s Note: Robert is an avid Android user. This is the first time he’s used a Windows phone for any period of time. As such, this review reflects not just this particular phone but the experience anyone might have moving from Android or iOS to Windows Phone.

Basic design

The Lumia 735 looks a lot like other Windows phones with its straight corners and rounded edges. The polycaronbonate back is removable, giving you the ability to easily swap it for another color. It’s not your normal removable back, either ,since it includes the sides of the phone as well. At first glance, you would have no idea that it’s removable, and it just might be the best implementation of a removable back I’ve ever seen.

Underneath the back cover is the SIM slot, MicroSD slot, and removable battery. The back cover itself houses a Qi wireless charging plate, which is a pretty nice option in a phone at this price point.

The Microsoft Lumia 735 offers a great customizable design and impressive battery life on a budget, but other phones can do more for your money.

You will find the power button and volume rocker along the right side, a microphone jack at the top, and the Micro USB port at the bottom. The back of the phone has a 6.7-megapixel camera along with the LED flash, and the front of the phone has a 5-megapixel selfie shooter at the top right.
At 4.7 inches, the Lumia 735 might be considered tiny by some. While bigger displays are more in demand, 4.7 inches is the sweet spot for comfort and one-handed operation. Unfortunately, the phone does have larger bezels at the top and bottom of the display, which make it a little bigger than it really needs to be.
The phone feels solid for the money, and the ability to customize it with different colors is a nice touch.

Last year’s specs

The Lumia 735 launched back in 2014, so you can’t expect it to sport the most up-to-date specs. It’s powered by a 1.2-GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400, which is what powers most Android Wear smartwatches. Couple that with 1GB of RAM, and this phone is far from a powerhouse. However, it’s more than adequate for the casual user looking to just text, read emails, browse the Web, and update Facebook status. The Windows software moves without hiccups since it requires limited power, but you can forget about high-end gaming.

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

The OLED screen is 720p (1,280 × 720), which is behind the times, but just like the processor, it’s more than adequate for the average user. A 1080p (1,920 × 1,080) display might have looked sharper, but it would have hurt battery life and increased the price of the phone significantly.
There’s 16GB of internal storage, which is above the norm for this price point, plus you can add up to an additional 128GB via the MicroSD slot if that’s not enough.

Impressive battery life

The 2,220mAh removable battery is one of the highlights of this phone. I ran my usual video rundown test, in which I loop continuous video while the phone is connected to 4G LTE and the display set to medium. The Lumia 735 was able to last 11 hours and 17 minutes, which is impressive to say the least.
Related: When will my Lumia get Windows 10?
However, we do understand that your normal usage won’t be running constant video, so how does this translate to your average day? With moderate use, you will have no issue going from morning to bedtime, and then some. It will easily last 20 to 24 hours on one charge, which is almost double what the Galaxy S6 can offer.

Average Camera

The rear 6.7-megapixel camera is pretty low by today’s standards, but higher megapixels doesn’t necessarily mean better photos. Still, this is a mid-range phone, so you can’t expect flagship performance. With that said, I found the camera to be on par or better than most mid-range Android phones. The colors aren’t always accurate and low light shots include some noise.
Microsoft’s software does allow for some decent editing options such as cropping and adjusting blur, temperature, clarity, brightness, shadows, and vibrance. You can also choose from 14 different filters to apply.

Another feature called Living Photos makes a short (a couple of seconds) video just before you capture a photo. These “Living” videos are played every time you view a photo giving it a more “emotional” look. This is very similar to Apple’s new Live Photos feature found on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
Storyteller is another app, and it groups photos, videos, and Living Photos by event. It’s similar to Google Stories in that you can create slideshows with captions for each photo.
Related: Read our hands on with the Lumia 950 and 950XL
Microsoft added a wide-angle 5-megapixel shooter at the front, which was a little ahead of its time 9 months ago, but not so much today. We won’t complain, though, because some flagships don’t offer much better.

Limited software and app store

But enough about the hardware: What about the Windows software versus Android and iOS? Being an everyday Android user, I was dying to see what Microsoft had to offer.
The Lumia 735 has Windows Phone 8.1 Denim onboard, but it is eligible for the update to Windows 10. I found the interface fairly intuitive in that I didn’t need to go online too often for help. In a nutshell, the interface is simple, but useful. The main screen is similar to the modern Windows desktop interface: It’s made up of tiles featuring whatever apps you want. Many of these are “live tiles” in that they show you useful information such as how many new emails or messages you have or the weather forecast. You can place the tiles where you want on the main screen and even re-size them.

The Windows software moves without hiccups since it requires limited power, but you can forget about high-end gaming.

A quick swipe to the left will show all the apps that are installed on the phone, and a quick swipe down will reveal your notifications, as well as shortcuts to various settings.
The contacts app, called People, will obviously show all your contacts, but a swipe to the left shows your Facebook and Twitter timelines. Swipe to the left again and you get options to create “Rooms” or “Groups.” Rooms are where you can chat and privately share your calendar and photos with select individuals. Groups make it easy to keep up with social media activities for a specific “group” of friends.
My biggest gripe, coming from an Android phone, is the lack of Google services and the limited number of overall apps. Let’s start with Google services. There’s no Gmail app, but Microsoft’s own Mail app will import Gmail along with your Gmail calendar. It works well, but it will take a little getting used to if you have been using Google’s official version of the Gmail app for an extended period of time.
Related: How to use and customize Cortana in Windows 10
You won’t find Google Maps, or most other Google products, but you will find Google Search and a Microsoft version of the YouTube app in the Windows Store. Microsoft Bing is the default search app out of the box.
Although limited, I was pleasantly surprised with the Windows Store. I was expecting it to be more of a ghost town than it ended up being, even though a lot of apps I use on Android aren’t available. Many of them deal with home automation and controlling my home theater, which might be considered niche, but widely used apps like Trello and Slack are nonexistent. I also found that some apps were buggy or didn’t work exactly like I was used to on Android phones. MX Player was a perfect example of this — it crashed constantly.
Then there’s Cortana, Microsoft’s virtual personal assistant, which is still in beta and continues to evolve. It’s similar to Google Now and Siri, but not as good as either. I found that Cortana would rarely provide search results in voice form. Even when she did speak to me, it was usually much shorter and lacked information. For example, when asking Cortana what the fastest animal is, you get a bunch of search result links. Ask Google Now the same question and you get a complete answer in voice form, along with the search results. You can hear Google’s assistant read an excerpt from Wikipedia telling you that the cheetah is the fastest land animal and the peregrine falcon is the fastest air animal. You even get their respective top speeds.
Still, a virtual assistant is about more than just searching for things. Cortana can do all the same stuff as Siri and Google Now, such as make a phone call, create a reminder, schedule an appointment, set an alarm, and so on. Cortana will certainly get the job done, and I have no doubt Microsoft will continue to improve it.

Microsoft does offer all of its own apps pre-installed on the phone, including Skype, OneDrive, Outlook, and Office. This isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be since Microsoft has now made all of these apps available on Android and iOS.
Office works seamlessly with the phone’s device storage or Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage. The Lumia 735 might not be an ideal device to edit documents because of its size, but I found it sufficient to format both Word and Excel documents well. Unfortunately some formatting options like centering are non-existent, but it’s perfect when you need to make a couple of minor changes in a pinch.
The phone does come with both Bing Maps and Here Maps, which is a little confusing. Here Maps is probably the most useful with its fantastic offline navigation abilities.
The Lumia 735 will be eligible for Windows 10 when it launches for mobile devices in the fall. It will be a nice upgrade, but it remains to be seen if more developers jump on board — especially Google.

Conclusion

The DT Accessory Pack

Up your game with these accessories, hand picked by DT editors:
Tough Rugged Dual Layer Protective Case with Kickstand ($7)
Wireless Charging Shell for Microsoft Lumia 735 ($24)
SUPERSHIELDZ- Anti-Bubble HD Clear Screen Protector ($2)

The Microsoft Lumia 735 is a nice phone for the money, but it’s tough to recommend something that just launched in the U.S. so long after it was released. If it’s a Windows Phone you want, you’d be better off with a Lumia 640 XL for $57 more on AT&T or the Lumia 950, which is coming to AT&T soon, sports Windows 10, and includes flagship specs. It has a bigger 5.7-inch display and a better camera. However, if you’re stuck with Verizon Wireless, the Lumia 735 is your only option for a Windows phone.
Still not sure whether you want to be in the Microsoft ecosystem? There are a few Android phones that have better specs for the same money: The Moto G 2015 is at the top of this list, followed by the HTC Desire 626. These phones offer better specs and more available apps. The other plus is that you can still enjoy all the popular Microsoft apps like Outlook, Office, and even Cortana on these devices as well.
Me? I’m sticking with Android. Sorry, Cortana.

Highs

• Customizable design
• Fantastic battery life
• Simple interface

Lows

• Limited app store
• Limited Google apps
• Average camera
• Last year’s specs

 

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