Skip to main content

Lenovo’s Android Phone Comes into Focus?

Lenovo

Though the Chinese electronics powerhouse Lenovo is known across the world as the  manufacturer of the vaunted ThinkPad line of notebooks, not much is usually said about its lower-key line of mobile handsets, which really never appear outside China. That changed this past week, though, when striking images of an upcoming Android-based phone from Lenovo perked up interest in the company’s offerings.

Forum user “Living Sword” posted images on the ModMyGPhone forums earlier this week that depict a sleek all-touch-screen phone similar to the iPhone, with chrome accents and a shape that recall the Korean Cowon S9 media player. According to the posts, the so-called Ophone will carry a five-megapixel camera with autofocus, flash and video recording capability, Bluetooth 2.0, a virtual keyboard, and microSD slot.

The posts also indicate that the Ophone moniker comes from China’s Open Mobile System standard, which the Lenovo phone will be built to comply with. That means it will ruin a special version of Android tailored to operate on China’s own TD-SCDMA wireless data networks, the country’s own 3G equivalent.

Sadly for U.S. users, this most likely means that the phone will most likely never leave the bounds of its home country, much like the company’s earlier offerings.

Editors' Recommendations

Nick Mokey
As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…
Android 15 might add a new way to charge your gadgets
The Android 15 logo on a smartphone.

Wireless charging has been a fringe feature for over a decade, despite Apple's push into the ecosystem with the iPhone X and its later adoption of MagSafe. It has been limited to flagship phones, save for a few exceptions, mostly due to the painfully slow charging speeds. But with Android 15, Google now seems to offer phone makers additional reasons to adopt wireless charging even without dedicated hardware.

Instead of relying on a dedicated charging coil, Android 15 could enable wireless charging on phones with Near Field Communications (or NFC) tech. Android Authority dug up instances from the source code of Android 15's first user beta, which arrived last week, that suggests the implementation.
Not new, but definitely noteworthy
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends

Read more
iPhone SE 4: news, rumored price, release date, and more
The Apple iPhone SE (2022) and Apple iPhone SE (2020) together.

While the spotlight always seems to be on Apple’s mainline iPhones, the iPhone SE is a great pick for those who are on a budget. If you want an iPhone that doesn't break the bank, the SE is the way to go.

The original iPhone SE came out in 2016, and then Apple revamped it in 2020 and 2022 by giving it some more modern hardware. The iPhone SE tends to get updated every two or so years rather than annually like the traditional iPhone. This means  that we should see a new iPhone SE 4 this year, but it’s not so cut-and-dried with this particular model.

Read more
Heineken, the beer company, just launched a phone
HMD, Heineken, and Bodega's Boring Phone.

What happens when Human Mobile Devices (HMD), Heineken beer, and a Boston-based streetwear brand named Bodega meet over some Lithium lager and discuss humanity’s unhealthy digital obsession? They make a phone. And they decide to call it the “Boring Phone.”

Is this just another attempt to capitalize on the latest dumb phone trend that even had The New Yorker spilling digital ink over it? Yes. Is it the most stunning retro-modern gizmo to come out after the Pocket Analogue, and will it make any nerd lose their sleep? Also yes.

Read more