• Benchmark confirms HTC's next flagship phone will be an absolute beast

  One of the most anticipated smartphones of 2015 will without a doubt be HTC's followup to its highly acclaimed HTC One (M8) and recently leaked specs indicate that it will be an absolute monster of a device. Nowhereelse.fr has spotted a new benchmark over at AnTuTu that seemingly confirms earlier…

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• HTC Hima shows up in AnTuTu benchmark with Snapdragon 810, 3GB RAM, and 1080p display

  An alleged HTC Hima benchmark has popped up, confirming many of the device's next-gen specs. Our favorite? The practical 1080p display (and not the battery draining 1440p competitors are jumping to).

• Report: Samsung discontinues the Galaxy Alpha to focus on more affordable smartphones

  The company is reportedly preparing to end production on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha once they exhaust their remaining stock of build materials. The reasoning? To introduce something a bit more affordable.

• This might be the most surprising feature of 2015's top LG Android smartphone

  LG might be discontinuing its phablet line next year, but that doesn't mean the Android handset maker will not be ready to meet the needs of phablet buyers. In fact, a new report from Chinese publication IT Home seems to suggest the next top Android flagship from LG will pack a certain special…

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• Readers' Choice Awards: Best Smartphone of 2014

  As the finals days of 2014 slip away, it is time to name the best Android smartphone of the year as voted on by your fellow Phandroid readers. Voting in this category was tight, and each of the top three phones could have easily taken home the award, but only one prevailed in the end.

• Qualcomm teases a mystery phone for CES, perhaps the LG G Flex 2?

  CES 2015 is coming up fast, and Qualcomm wants you to know that you'll be seeing new hardware with a Snapdragon 800-series processor inside. The close-up graphically-transparent (probably not actually like that in real life) phone in question has hints of an LG design, down to the…

• Download the new Material Design update for Phandroid News for Android

  Just before Christmas we gave you a sneak peek at the updated version of Phandroid News for Android, totally redesigned with Material goodness and some awesome new features. At the time it was only available to the Phandroid beta community, but we're happy to announce it is now freely available…

• Franco Kernel makes its way to the Nexus 6

  Francisco Franco has brought his much-loved kernel to Google's latest enthusiast device. The developer, who says he's fallen in love with the device in his time having it, says the upgrade is being pushed out at some point later today.

• Xiaomi sees funding, $45 billion valuation heading into CES

  Though they're still not making devices available the world over, Xiaomi is still the darling of the Android world outside of the United States. In China, they've quickly become the top smartphone vendor, seeding well-made devices via their own online sales portal. Those low-cost devices leave…

• China blocks access to Gmail through apps

  Access to the Gmail website has been blocked for some time in China, but now the Chinese government is also blocking access to Gmail through apps. The block affects not just the official Gmail apps, but also accessing Gmail through third-party apps.

• Samsung Gear VR Review

  Samsung's partnership with Oculus has produced a stunning virtual reality experience with the Gear VR and Galaxy Note 4. Is it all hype or does the pairing showcase the future of mobile VR?

• 'The Interview' and the aftermath

  After a very public admonition by President Barack Obama, Sony Pictures released The Interview to Google Play, YouTube, the PlayStation and Xbox stores and now iTunes, to say nothing of over 300 independent theaters across the United States in time f...

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• Today's Amazon GoldBox deal of the day is all about accessories (up to 50% off)

  Amazon has a big accessories bonanza going for today's gold box deal of the day. If you were the lucky recipient of a smartphone, tablet or any other delicate piece of electronic this holiday season that needs to be protected, coddled and adorned, this is likely a good opportunity to make that…