Almost a month ago to the day, it was revealed by The New York Times that BLU - a smartphone manufacturer that largely sells rebranded handsets from Southeast Asia in the US - was among a group of smartphone OEMs with software on their devices sending private user data like text messages back to a company in China. The offending software's behavior was quickly patched with an OTA update to the phone, but the damage, it seemed, was done. BLU and the company who created the software both claim the data theft was entirely accidental, and that all user data the company in China received was promptly deleted.
Read MoreI'm going to use Amazon's "Prime Exclusive" $60 smartphone for a month
A $60 smartphone (or rather, $50 - but hold on) is basically a headline unto itself. It is a novelty solely because of its cost. And that makes talking about it in a way that doesn’t always use “yeah, but it’s only $60” as a reflexive crutch difficult. (Which is not to say I won't do that, because I will. Probably even in this post. Several times.)
BLU’s Amazon-supported R1 HD is far from the cheapest smartphone ever. And it’s far from being a revolutionary product - the only thing interesting about it is, frankly, the business model. And in particular, Amazon’s proposition that it being a nag on your lockscreen and in your app drawer is worth $50 if you’re already a Prime member.
Read More6GB/64GB OnePlus 3 to be an Amazon Exclusive in India, priced at Rs. 27,999
The OnePlus 3 has been in the news so frequently these past few weeks that we're more than ready for the phone to be officially announced so we can move on from all the rumors. And speaking of rumors, after getting our clearest look yet at the device yesterday, we thought we were done with the leaks, but it seems that there's more to learn about the 3, and from very official and reliable sources to boot.
People in India who happened to check the Hindustan Times newspaper today might have noticed an interesting ad taking up a huge space in one of the pages.
Read MoreLatest Deals
-
8
Target unveils Black Friday discounts, best deals start November 27th
-
0
Save 20% on select Arlo Ultra and Pro 3 charging accessories right now on Amazon
-
5
The Google Nest Hub Max gets its first discount, down to $200 ($30 off)
-
12
Google Home Max drops to $250 ($50 off) just in time to rattle the windows at your holiday party
-
3
Check out Costco's Black Friday offerings: Samsung, Sonos, Ring, and more
-
8
Latest Poll
Loading ...Recent Reviews
-
20
Plantronics BackBeat 3200 review: Stable sports buds that hit all the right notes but one
-
57
Google Nest Wifi review: Effortless whole-home networking made even better
-
33
Razer Hammerhead True Wireless review: AirPods-style earbuds without a killer feature
-
476
Pixel 4 and 4 XL review: Every Pixel has a silver lining (Update: Two weeks later)
-
518
I'm an Android user who tried the Apple Watch for a month — it's now the only smartwatch I'll recommend
-
20
Latest Roundups
-
10
39 new Android games from the week of November 4, 2019: Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs, Soul Chase: Another World, and The Quest - Basilisk's Eye
-
5
26 new Android games from the week of October 21: The King of Fighters ALLSTAR, ROME: Total War - Alexander, and The Swords of Ditto
-
7
18 new and notable Android apps and live wallpapers from the last week including Walmart InHome Delivery, many Digital Wellbeing Experiments, and ZenKey Powered by T-Mobile (10/19/19 - 10/26/19)
-
3
25 new Android games from the week of October 14, 2019: Bad North: Jotunn Edition, Headed South, and Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Don't Dry
-
2
14 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Pokémon Wave Hello, PhotoStack, and Hiitmi - Interval Timer (10/5/19 - 10/19/19)
-
10
Recent Apps and Games
-
0
DJI publishes the DJI Fly app for the Mavic Mini
-
6
Chrome 'speed badging' will shame websites that load slowly
-
8
Google Play Users' Choice Awards 2019 voting has begun
-
14
Instagram will hide like counts for some US users starting this week
-
1
10 temporarily free and 38 on-sale apps and games for Veteran's Day, including Baldur's Gate
-
0
Blast from the Past
-
23
1 Year Ago Today
CloudFlare releases Android app for its 1.1.1.1 DNS
-
53
2 Years Ago Today
Google updates Assistant interface with white background and rounded cards
-
51
3 Years Ago Today
Ambi-Turner gives Pixel owners the ambient notification powers they've been missing
-
232
4 Years Ago Today
[Update: 20GB Cap Added To Data Stash] T-Mobile Hiked The Prices Of Its Data Plans Yesterday, Didn't Really Say Anything About It During Uncarrier Event
-
324
5 Years Ago Today
[Leak] Download Lollipop LRX21P Factory Image for 2012 Nexus 7 WiFi
-
27
6 Years Ago Today
24 Best New Android Games From The Last 2 Weeks (10/29/13 - 11/11/13)
-
29
7 Years Ago Today
[Weekend Poll] HTC And Apple Have Called A Truce - Are The Patent Wars Winding Down?
-
4
8 Years Ago Today
[Rumor] LG Poised To Debut Google TV At CES In January
-
28
9 Years Ago Today
We're Pretty Sure The Samsung February 2011 Flagship Device Renders Are Fake - Here's Why
-
23
