Vivo may have just tipped its smartphone plans, registering 14 new model names

as mentioned in A foldable phone is also on the way from a subsidiary of Vivo, as we told you here. The registrations were spotted by Dutch blog LetsGoDigital, which reports that Vivo submitted the 14 trademark applications on February 20 to the European Union Intellectual Property Office. At the high end, you may recall that the Vivo X21 was announced last March as the first phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor. In terms of the company's budget series, meanwhile, last Y-series phone was introduced by Vivo in November with the Y93. It's not clear when it will unveil its next budget model.

Blackview Showcases new BV9800 Rugged phone and Max 1 Projector smartphone at MWC 2019

The company has showcased two new devices, BV9800 rugged phone and a Max 1 Projector smartphone at the MWC 2019 in Barcelona. BlackView BV9800At MWC 2019, BV9800 rugged device was looking astonishing despite being a rugged device. Blackview BV9800 carries a 6.3-inch Full HD+ and in-cell V-Notch design with the resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. Blackview BV9800 rugged device is certified with MIL-STD-810G and IP69K certification. The Chinese smartphone maker also showcased Max 1 Projector phone which comprises a laser projector along with other high-end specs.

Sub-brands are the new weapon in China's smartphone war

As it stated in Sub-brands have become a popular tactic for Chinese smartphone makers to lure new demographics without undermining and muddling their existing brand reputation. As the third-ranked player by shipments in 2018 according to research firm Counterpoint, Vivo is the only one in China's top five smartphone companies without a subsidiary brand. These moves arrived as years of breakneck growth in China's smartphone space comes to an end. Overall smartphone sales contracted 11 percent in 2018 according to Counterpoint, as users become more pragmatic and less likely to upgrade their handsets. Trailing behind was Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Apple .

LG's new smartphone unlocks by recognizing the veins in your palms — here's how it works

Indeed, the LG G8 uses the veins in the palms of your hands to unlock the phone, which the company calls "Hand ID." It's a novel method, but it's the same idea as advanced facial recognition. To detect and recognize your veins, the LG G8 has what LG calls a "Z" camera that detects a users' veins with infrared light. There's also a 3D sensing "time of flight" (ToF) camera on the front of the LG G8 that detects the shape, thickness, and other individual characteristics of a user's palms. I'll be testing LG's Hand ID as I have more time with the LG G8.

collected by :John Smith