The LG F70 is the Korean firm’s first push into producing more affordable 4G handsets, something which many manufacturers are doing at MWC 2014.LG hasn’t announced the price of the F70, but the handset is confirmed to arrive in Europe in the coming months.In terms of design the LG F70 takes cues from the flagship G2, although LG has decided against on screen navigation keys, instead choosing to stick a physical home button below the display, flanked by touch sensitive back and menu options.The power/lock button is located on the right of the F70, while the volume switch is on the left and both are easy to hit.The lightweight, plastic build of the F70 feels sturdy, although the rear cover offers little in the way of grip, so you’ll need to make sure you’ve got a firm hold of the phone.It is a little on the chunky side too, measuring in at 127.2 x 66.4 x 10mm, but the rounded edges means the F70 still sits nicely in the hand.A 4.5-inch display dominates the front of the LG F70, although its 800 x 480 resolution is a little disappointing as I’m now starting to see 720p options arriving towards the bottom end of the market.That said, text is still perfectly legible on the F70, but if you look closely you can see that it’s a little on the grainy side.The main selling point of the F70 however is it’s 4G connectivity at a lower price point, although I was unable to test out just how quick it could access the web during my short time playing with the device.I was pleased to find Android 4.4 KitKat installed on the F70, the latest flavour of Google’s […]

The original Grand Memo arrived at last year’s MWC, so it makes perfect sense that ZTE is rebooting its phablet one year on with the Grand Memo 2 LTE.The Grand Memo 2 builds on its predecessor, growing its screen from 5.7 to a full 6-inches, putting it on par with the Lumia 1520 and above the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and HTC One Max.The 6.44-inch Sony Xperia Z Ultra still rules the roost in terms of size though.A big phone needs big power and ZTE has equipped the Grand Memo 2 relatively well, but the 1.2GHz quad-core processor is a little disappointing.You also get 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD slot and a sizable 3200mAh battery ZTE claims will last for 15 days in standby.Battery life may actually be alright on the Grand Memo 2 as it’s not rocking a full HD display. Instead you’ve got to make do with a 1280 x 720 resolution, which doesn’t look particularly amazing stretched over such a large area.The handset itself doesn’t ooze premium quality either, with a cheap plastic finish highlighting the Grand Memo 2 may well be one of the more affordable big screen phones around.At first look the Grand Memo 2 does appear to be a relatively premium device, but pick it up and you’ll notice the overly plastic body and buttons that rattle inside the chassis.This does mean that the Grand Memo 2 is surprisingly light, making it slightly easier to hold in one hand, although I still had to stretch my fingers across the device.For the most part I’d recommend a two handed grip on the Memo 2, just to be on the safe side.There’s good news in the fact ZTE […]

In today’s Android and iOS-dominated market, Jolla’s ambition in putting out an “indie” operating system might seem a risky move to most, but it’s hugely refreshing.Jolla is the creation of a few ex-Nokia bods who decided to go it alone when the company abandoned MeeGo for Windows Phone. As far as Nokia was concerned, the Nokia N9 was the the birth and death of that Linux-based operating system.Jump forward to now and we’re holding what many would consider the N9’s spiritual successor. It’s pleasing in the hand, nicely weighted and compact in design, with a 4.5-inch, 540 x 960 display. Chugging along inside is a dual-core 1.4GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Throw in an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facer, and you’ve got yourself a nice little proposition for €399.But beyond the surface-level specs and bog standard slab shape, Jolla has added some of its own personality to the handset. The phone is actually formed of two “halves”, with an interchangeable backplate.It’s not just about making your Jolla Phone look nicer though. The backplates also include NFC, which will cause the OS to morph depending on what you attach. We were shown an Angry Birds backplate that gave the UI a unique touch of the avian variety, while another changed the colour themes of the Jolla’s unique OS.That OS is Sailfish, a Linux-based system inspired by MeeGo. With Sailfish, Jolla wanted to create an OS that was perfect for one-hand operation, and indeed there are no buttons – not even capacitive – to be found on the handset.That’s because Jolla wants your thumb to become the home button, each swipe a different function depending on its direction. Swipe from left […]