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Lenovo and Motorola Unveil PHAB2 Tango AR and Modular Moto Z Smartphones (hothardware.com)
MojoKid quotes a report from HotHardware: Google has been teasing its Project Tango augmented reality (AR) platform for years but no OEMs have stepped up to the plate to deliver Tango-enabled hardware until now. Lenovo just came out with its PHAB2 Pro 6.4-inch phablet smartphone which packs a full-fledged AR experience. The PHAB2 Pro will be the first commercially available Lenovo smartphone in the U.S. and it leverages Tango AR technology in three ways. The smartphone's "eye" uses motion-tracking to determine its location in 3D. Area learning can also feed location information to the phone, and depth perception allows the phone to analyze the world around it. The PHAB2 Pro is also huge with a 6.4" QHD display covered in 2.5D curved glass. Powering the PHAB2 Pro is a Snapdragon 652 processor with 4GB of RAM, a generous 64GB of storage and a microSD slot. There's also a 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera and a 4050 mAh battery. Lenovo's Motorola Mobility division also announced the Moto Z and Moto Z Force, which are next generation Android flagships. The Moto Z is the standard model and measures just 5.2mm thick and comes with a 5.5" QHD AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM and up to 64GB of storage. Its 13MP rear camera features optical image stabilization and laser autofocus, while its 5MP front camera with wide-angle lens takes care of selfies. Then there's the new Moto Z Force, which ups the ante with a 3500 mAh battery, a 21MP rear camera and a shatterproof screen. But what truly makes the Moto Z and Moto Z Force stand out are Moto Mods. These are modular accessories that attach to the back of the smartphones via four magnets and a 16-pin connector. It's much more elegant than what LG has employed with the G5 (which requires you to remove the bottom of the smartphone). Instead, Moto Z users can simply attach an accessory, like the JBL SoundBoost Mod which brings high-end sound, with a quick snap.
...I'll stick with the Rockers.
Powering the PHAB2 Pro is a Snapdragon 652 processor
After all the hype and fuss made over Intel partnering with Google on project Tango the first consumer product is powered by a Qualcomm SoC? If I were an Intel shareholder I'd be going after the board of directors with torches, pitchforks and activist investors.
Lenovo phones are low quality junk
I've had a couple of them and none of them last
Remember that Lenovo ship hardware with Spyware/Malware/Virus/Trojan, stay far far away from their products especially cellphones.
What kind of futuristic halo phone is this, if it doesn't have a USB-C connector? My year old phone has one, my laptop charges over USB-C, and now you want me to move backwards and use micro USB again? What is this, 2013?
Tango looks cool but until someone finds a killer app for true VR, AR on your phone is going to be lacking.
Pass.
moox. for a new generation.
AR sounds interesting but I will wait for another vendor and another platform.
If the Moto Z had front facing speakers and if they produce a battery case with hardware slide out keyboard I'd buy this.
HTC had such a good setup with the Desire Z. Can it be so hard to do something similar in phablet size with front facing speakers?
The rest of us will look ridiculous putting up one to your ear, and will need a special bag to carry it. Welcome to the 80s.
I will buy infinity of these if one of the mods IS A @%^!&^ SLIDE OUT KEYBOARD.
other than a ./ summary fail???
I will never buy a Lenovo computer because of Superfish, and I will never buy another Lenovo/Motorola phone after you advertised the 2015 Moto E as guaranteed to receive support and updates and then EOL'd it after only a month.
I'm missing something here - why on earth would people want to use their phone for VR entertainment? My impression (from light "investigation" since it is not interesting to me) is that VR is meant to be a very immersive experience, and seeing an ongoing demo of the MS form of it at a local mall with an actual, physical MS store (much livelier looking place than the mall's Apple store, BTW) seems to confirm that impression.
I can see a VR tablet (or the backpack PC rigs HP and Asus are demo'ing) to take to any place where one could set up their little "play space", but I cannot envisage someone cranking it up on their phone while sitting in a waiting room, standing in line at the grocery store, or chilling at a coffee bar, which is what a phone-based device would seem to be facilitating. Would the user not feel constrained from enjoying the full, immersive experience, with physical "participation" in a public setting?
Also, what happens if you get an important text or call in the middle of a game? Could the user put the game immediately on hold, and handle that communication effectively?
It all looks goofy to me...
Snapdragon 652 processor
I read that as "Snapdragon 6502 processor"
Try it! Library of Babel