Blackberry Priv now available from Verizon

If you’ve been waiting for the Android-powered Blackberry to arrive at big Red, your wait is now over. Verizon is offering the Blackberry Priv for the full retail price of $720 or $30 per month for a period of 24 monthly payments.

The Blackberry Priv is Blackberry’s first comeback out of a ditch it dug itself in. It features a 5.4 inch 1440p display, Snapdragon 808 Hexa-core processor, 18MP camera, 3GB of RAM, and a 3410mAh battery. The phone also features a display that slides up to reveal a physical QWERTY keyboard, the same kind that Blackberry has pioneered into its own hardware for years.

Google Photos for Android update revamps navigation, renames Collections

The team behind Google Photos has announced a new update for the service's Android app today. This has started rolling out through the Play Store, but since Google loves staging these things it might take a few days before it reaches you.

The new version of Photos brings with it a bottom navigation bar, which lets you quickly jump to the Assistant, Photos, or Albums views. The bottom bar is reminiscent of the one introduced with the latest redesign of the Google+ app for Android, and as such it might not go down well for some, especially since it's always present.

The other new thing in the latest Photos release is that aforementioned Albums section. This is in fact the old Collections view, only renamed - based on user feedback, it turns out. The Albums area now comes with a scrolling carousel on top, giving you "easy access to your shared albums, people, places, things, animations, collages, movies, and device folders", according to Google.

All of these changes are on their way to the iOS version of the Google Photos app too, but for now they can only be found on Android.

Sony Xperia X and XA UK pre-orders kick off

At MWC last month, Sony retired the aging Xperia Z family and unveiled the new Xperia X series, comprising of three members so far - the Xperia X itself, the Xperia X Performance, and the Xperia XA.

And now two of those are already up for pre-order in the UK. We're talking about the Xperia X and XA (pictured below), since the X Performance may never be sold in the UK as it turns out.

At the moment MobileFun is the only online retailer offering the X and XA on pre-order. The Xperia X is priced at £529, while the XA is a much more affordable £249.

Unfortunately there's no information yet about when the two devices will start shipping, so if you desperately want either one all you can do right now is pre-order and then be patient. To learn more about the new Sony phones, make sure you read our detailed hands-on report.

AT&T adds Microsoft Lumia 950 to its GoPhone lineup

AT&T's branded prepaid service GoPhone has now added the Microsoft Lumia 950 to its line-up, and is selling the Windows 10-powered flagship smartphone for $598.99. Both black and white color variants are up for grabs, and shipping is free.

The phone is also being officially sold by Microsoft in the US, with the unlocked variant costing around $550. If, however, you're interested in the XL version of the Lumia 950, you'll be glad to know that B&H photo still has it listed for around $530 - Microsoft is selling the device for $649.

In case you missed, the device - along with the Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 550 - also received a new Windows 10 Mobile build last month.

Android and TouchWiz take 8GB of your Samsung Galaxy S7 storage

We all know when we buy a new smartphone, be it 16, 32, 64, or even 128GB, it actually offers less memory because of the formatting. The 16GB storage suddenly becomes 14GB; those 32GB turn out 29GB, 64GB equal 58GB, and so on.

There is also the fact that a considerable amount of storage will be occupied by the operating system itself. And by the end of the day, we usually lose a significant portion of the storage even before we open the box.

That's the reason we try to fill our phone specs with the actual available storage to the user. And now we can shed some light on the Galaxy S7 series and its internal storage.

As it turns out, the Android OS and TouchWiz launcher occupy 8GB of storage Galaxy S7 andGalaxy S7 edge. This is upon the first run, even before you begin to setup your phone with accounts, apps, etc.

The typical smartphone user also fills a few GBs the moment he starts updating apps and restoring purchases. And those precious 32GB will be halved in no time.

Luckily, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge offer microSD expansion and the option to move apps to the SD card.

Hopefully, this information helps you make the right decision - maybe you should consider waiting for the 64GB models, or purchasing a fast microSD card.

Sprint and AT&T also start shipping Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-orders

T-Mobile became the first carrier in the US to start shipping Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-orders ahead of the devices' official launch. In fact, some of the magenta carrier's customers who pre-ordered the flagships have already received their units.

Now, it is being reported that a couple of other major US carriers - AT&T and Sprint - have also begun shipping the pre-orders. In all, three of the 'Big Four' cell phone carriers in the country have now started shipping the latest Samsung flagships.

There's currently no word on whether or not Verizon has commenced its Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-order shipments. In case you aren't already aware, the devices are officially set to go on sale starting March 11, and will be available in 60 countries in the first wave of their global launch.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge pre-orders break records

According to an unofficial report, Samsung is having a blast with the pre-orders of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. The phone is up for pre-order in 60 markets and according to Eldar Murtazin in Russia the two phones are enjoying record pre-sales.

The Russian tech journalist also reveals an unofficial statistic that 64% of those who've pre-ordered the phone went for the Galaxy S7 edge, meaning that the majority of fans would gladly play the premium for the dual-curved screen.

We're yet to receive official news from Samsung regarding pre-order numbers. The two phones launch on March 11, so there's plenty of time for them to reach even higher numbers. The company will, reportedly, be making a total of 17.2 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge units by April of this year.

Upcoming 7-inch Galaxy Tab A is on pre-order in Poland already

The yet-unofficial Samsung SM-T280 tablet has been in the news a lot over the past few weeks. Most of the time, it's been thought to be sold by the Korean company as the 7-inch version of the Galaxy Tab E. However, it now looks like it will be called Galaxy Tab A instead.

That's because a Polish online retailer has already listed the SM-T280 up for pre-order. And it's calling it Tab A indeed. The device is priced at PLN 599, which at the moment translates into approximately $150 or €138. The tablet will apparently become available on March 8, which is exactly one week from today.

This Galaxy Tab A comes with a 7-inch 1,280x800 touchscreen, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage, a 5 MP rear camera, a 2 MP front-facing unit, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 4,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. Its dimensions are 186.9 x 108.8 x 8.7 mm, and it weighs 283g.

Its specs line up perfectly with past leaks, if you ignore the fact that the rumors got the name wrong. Now that it's already up for pre-order in the EU, perhaps Samsung will finally announce it soon.

Meizu Pro 6 to have 3D Touch, screenshot reveals

A feature limited to less than a dozen phones in existence, 3D Touch/Force touch/whatever commercial name the company decides to use is coming to the Meizu Pro 6. The Chinese company's VP and Flyme chief architect Yang Yan has shared a screenshot on Weibo giving a glimpse of what the implementation is going to look like.

So far we've seen 3D touch in action on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus pair, and also the recently announced Gionee S8. The Huawei Mate S and the ZTE Axon mini also have the feature in their top-specced versions but those are about as common as unicorns.

Judging by the screenshot, Meizu's way of doing things is quite similar to the iPhone 6s. Applying pressure on the display brings up a context menu with options on top of a blurred background.

Meizu Pro 5

iPhone 6s users have been quick to adopt the new feature, but there appears to be a reluctance among major players like Samsung, LG, and Sony. Chinese manufacturers, on the other hand, have obviously been more inclined to slap the buzzword on a device or two. Even so, Force Touch doesn't seem to be quite the game changer Apple hyped it up to be.

Apple iPhone 5se unboxed in front of a camera

The Apple iPhone 5se has been in our rumors sections for quite some time. Recent reports suggest the iPhone 5se will be going official on March 22, so we'll have to wait just a few weeks before we know everything.

Most of the leaks confirm the iPhone 5se will be a 4" smartphone with TouchID and upgraded 8MP snapper. It should be powered by Apple's latest A9 chipset, the same as the one ticking inside the iPhone 6s generation, but with half the RAM at 1GB.

The iPhone 5se is said to be a special edition of the iPhone 5s, with more powerful hardware and refreshed design. The new looks are now confirmed by this new leaked picture of the retail box, which shows the compact fella with a 2.5D curved protective glass on the screen.

The box, if real, also confirms the phone's name - Apple iPhone 5se, which should stand for Special Edition, or iPhone 5s Enhanced, as some rumors are suggesting.

Anyway, Apple is still mum on its plans, but the event should eventually happen on March 22. A new iPad Pro is also expected to be announced on stage, as well as a new iPad Air 3 with Apple A9X chip (currently available on the original iPad Pro).

vivo Xplay 5 Elite goes official with 6GB RAM, Vivo Xplay 5 announced too

Today vivo held a special event in China to announce its next flagship lineup - the vivo Xplay 5. As it turned out the Xplay 5 will launch in two different models - vivo Xplay 5 and vivo Xplay 5 Elite.

vivo Xplay 5 Elite

vivo Xplay 5 Elite is a more powerful model, made entirely of metal and using Gorilla Glass 4 to cover the dual-curved 5.43" Super AMOLED Quad HD screen. It is powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset with the insane 6GB RAM and integrated non-expandable 128GB storage right out the box.

The Xplay 5 Elite has a rear 16MP (Sony IMX298) snapper with phase-detection AF and dual-tone LED flash, plus an 8MP selfie snapper at the front. The Xplay 5 Elite is a dual-SIM device, supports LTE networks, Hi-Fi 3.0 (2*ES9028+OPA1612), and comes with a 3,600 mAh battery.

Finally, the Xplay 5 Elite has a rear fingerprint scanner on the back.

The Xplay 5 Elite runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop, skinned with the latest Funtouch launcher with split-screen multitasking support. It will launch on March 8 in China and will set you back CNY 4,288 ($655).

vivo Xplay 5

The vivo Xplay 5 is a more affordable version of the Elite model, which retains the same design, 5.43" Super AMOLED QHD display, camera setup, and 128GB storage, but downgrades the chipset to Snapdragon 652 with 4GB of RAM. The Hi-Fi chip configuration is also of a different kind - CS4395+AD45257.

vivo Xplay 5 will launch in China on March 8 for CNY 3,698 ($565).

In case you are not familiar with the Snapdragon models - the 652 flavor offers an octa-core processor with 4xCortex-A72 at 1.8GHz + 4xCortex-A53 at 1.4GHz, and Adreno 510 GPU. The 820 flagship chip packs a custom quad-core Kryo processor and Adreno 530 GPU.

 There are no details on international availability, but we guess both models will expand their market reach later on.

Vivo

BlackBerry Priv's Camera, Launcher and Keyboard get a round of improvements

BlackBerry has rolled updates to several key apps for the Priv, now available on the Google Play Store. Camera, Launcher and Keyboard have been improved, with new features and refinements making their way to BlackBerry's first Android-running smartphone.

Camera has been graced with a slow motion video recording mode, which shoots at 120fps, and plays back at 30fps, so you're getting 1/4x speed videos. BlackBerry doesn't state the resolution, but it's likely 720p.

Launcher now gets Recent, Personal and Work views, as well as other minor tweaks like shortcut removal with a flick and grayed out app icons when you remove the microSD card the app has been installed on. Keyboard has seen improvements in prediction where it can now learn words and numbers, as well as sift through emails and social messages to better understand its user.

You can view the complete list of updates in the links to the Play Store below, but only those with a Priv can actually reap the benefits.