Hands On with the Kyocera Brigadier: Is the Sapphire Display Really that Tough?

Today, Kyocera sent over their newest smartphone, the Brigadier. This is the first smartphone with a Sapphire Display, and they want us to take it for a spin. So along with the phone they sent over a jar which has a ton of rocks, coins, and wool inside to test out the screen. Oh there’s also a pocket knife with it all. There’s nothing more we love than attempting to destroy a smartphone. Well it didn’t work. We put all kinds of materials to the test, which you can see in the video below.

The Kyocera Brigadier was pretty good with the drops. Only seeing scratches on the actual frame of the device and nothing on the Screen. When we got to the wool, keys and knife, we could see the scratches, but wiping off the device, and it was all gone. Amazing, right? But we couldn’t get rid of the gouges and scratches on the frame of the smartphone, unfortunately.

As far as specs go, we’ve got a 4.5-inch 1280×720 resolution display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage with a microSD card slot, 8MP camera, and a 3100mAh battery inside. So it should have great battery life, although we haven’t had enough time to test that just yet. To be clear, this isn’t a review, but just showing off how much of a beating the Sapphire Glass can take and still look good. We should start seeing Sapphire Glass in most of the upcoming smartphones, and the iPhone 6 is even rumored to have it. Which we’ll find out next month when Apple announces it.

Obviously, this isn’t a gorgeous device like the HTC One M8, Galaxy S5 or LG G3, it’s not even a high-end device. But as far as durability goes, it’s probably one of the best. Now we didn’t do all of this with the Galaxy S5 Active, but the Active didn’t have a Sapphire Glass display.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E.M Bluetooth Keyboard And F.R.E.Q.M Bluetooth Headset Lightning Review

Mad Catz isn't generally the first name you think of when pondering high-end Android accessories, but I was pretty impressed with its CTRLR Bluetooth gamepad. In fact, it's my current favorite Bluetooth controller for Android (though NVIDIA's SHIELD controller is better than anything else available today). While we're on a high note, we decided to check out the STRIKE^M Bluetooth keyboard and FREQ^M Bluetooth gaming headset. Let's dig in.

Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E.M Bluetooth Keyboard And F.R.E.Q.M Bluetooth Headset Lightning Review was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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USB 3.0 Type-C with reversible design has been finalized, looks to take the frustration out of failed USB connection attempts

Ever since we started using them in modern smartphones (old phones like the Sidekick actually used a round AC plug), current standard USB cables are not only convenient, but single handedly responsible for some of our biggest-little frustrations in life. Jabbing away at your phone with a micro USB cable, only to find out you have the damn thing upside down. Yeah, that’s what hell is going to be like. But that’s only half the equation. The same frustrations exist when using the full sized end to plug into the host device/charger. See the illustration below that explains how USB cables actually exist in the 4th dimension.

Pretty much how inserting current USB cables work every time

Okay, so we’re all familiar with the problem facing our current non-reversible USB cables — something Apple actually addressed quite well when introducing their Lightning cable — and in an ongoing fight to find out ways we can better convenience our lives, just what are we as a human race doing about this age old problem? Apparently a lot. The folks responsible for the USB standard have just finalized a new USB 3.0 Type-C connector which features not only a super handy reversible design, but a 100W power delivery spec as well.

While you would think hardware manufacturers are more than happy with current non-reversible USB connectors, apparently the USB 3.0 Promoter Group says the new Type-C design has been very well received and that “representatives from the PC, mobile, automotive, and IoT industries have been knocking down our door anticipating this new standard.”

So how long before we see this new cable/ports available in our Android an/or PCs? Given the design was only just finalized and how popular current micro USB design is, it will probably take some time before we see wide spread adoption. If we had to guess, we wouldn’t expect to see smartphones using USB 3.0 Type-C until sometime next year at the earliest. Until then, we’ll continuing doing back flips on those rare occasions we actually slip a USB into its port on the first try.

[USB]

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Featured Review: SlickWraps Black Carbon Fiber Wrap for the LG G3

We’ve already reviewed the SlickWraps wrap for the LG G Watch, which SlickWraps was kind enough to send over. So now it’s time to take a look at their LG G3 wrap, and this one is the Black Carbon Fiber, which matches the LG G Watch’s skin and they look great together.

The LG G3 skin from SlickWraps comes with 9 pieces. And as you can see in the pictures throughout this review, I didn’t use all of them. There’s the back piece, the volume rocker, camera ring, all four sides, and the top and bottom of the front. I only used the back, camera ring, volume rocker, and the front pieces, and I think it looks great. It is a bit difficult to put on, especially the camera ring and the front pieces. So when you get your own, make sure to take your time in installing it. You’ll also want to use a hair dryer to make sure it dries and stays on the LG G3. What I did with the back, was I took the battery cover off, and put it on that way, instead of it being on the G3. That way I’d still be able to take it off, and that’s also why I opted not to do the sides of the LG G3. So that I could still take off the back cover without any issues.

The skin does look really nice on the LG G3, we also have the Ebony Wood version, which is in the picture from Jeremiah’s interview with SlickWraps. Both look great on the LG G3, and SlickWraps has other materials and colors as well, that are all available on their website right now. I know many of you may not have heard of SlickWraps – heck I only just heard of them earlier this year. But they are a great company and have even sponsored our current giveaway of the LG G3 and LG G Watch. We’ve got 30 skins for each device from them as well. So make sure you hit up that giveaway.

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[Deal Alert] Refurbished Sony SmartWatch 2 Only $59.99 On CowBoom With Coupon Code

Now that Android Wear is a thing and watches are coming out that turn Google's take on the concept into a reality, it's time for the more budget-minded among us to turn their eyes over to some of the previous smartwatches that tackled the form factor before it was cool. One such option is the Sony SmartWatch 2, a device that was never mind-blowing but perfectly capable of displaying calls and notifications like the alternatives that have launched since.

[Deal Alert] Refurbished Sony SmartWatch 2 Only $59.99 On CowBoom With Coupon Code was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Google Evidently Testing 'Ultra Violet,' A New Hangouts Experience For Chrome

According to Florian Kiersch (who has uncovered many in-progress Google projects including Google Stars), Google is testing a new Hangouts experience for now codenamed Ultra Violet.

Kiersch says (and shows) that Ultra Violet will present significant interface changes for Hangouts, including a new Chrome extension that would introduce a floating, Chat Heads-style icon on desktop, which users could move around freely.

Once the circle is clicked, Kiersch says, the Hangouts welcome screen would appear to introduce users to the new experience.

Google Evidently Testing 'Ultra Violet,' A New Hangouts Experience For Chrome was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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