This week in tech

Xperia C5 Ultra is impressive selfie phablet

MANILA, Philippines - The Sony Xperia C5 Ultra is a mid-range smartphone that is good enough to give many other flagships a run for their money. The phablet marks its Philippine debut this week and retails for just under P18,000. That’s not a lot to pay for a six-inch smartphone with a near borderless display, a 13-megapixel camera on both its front and back, and the usual Xperia goodness. The phone is available in black, white, and green.

LG to unveil dual-display smartphone on Oct. 1

Just when we thought we’d heard the last of the smartphone announcements for 2015, LG is getting ready to announce a new smartphone on Oct. 1 in New York. To be called the LG V10, the phone is rumored to have a second ticker display above the screen, beside the front camera. LG hasn’t said much except for a teaser video posted on YouTube. Leaked photos have also surfaced online, revealing a phone that’s not quite like you’d expect from LG.

First Jony Ive-designed Apple Store

A new Apple Store has opened its doors in Brussels, Belgium, but it’s not like any other Apple Store ever built. Apple’s chief design officer Jony Ive himself is the genius responsible for building these next-gen Apple Stores that feature curved glass, live trees, granite and wood, and motion-enabled pop-up outlets. While Steve Jobs was known to have contributed to designing several Apple Stores in the past, this one at the heart of Belgium is only Ive’s first.

Android-powered BlackBerry in the works

What if you could get a phone that runs Android but with that trusty QWERTY keyboard that BlackBerry is known for? You won’t have to imagine much longer, BlackBerry is said to be working on an Android powered smartphone of its own called the BlackBerry Priv. The phone comes with an 18 megapixel camera and a slide out display that reveals the BlackBerry keyboard many of us have come to know and love. There’s no word on pricing and availability yet, in fact the phone has yet to be officially announced. But from the looks of it, it’s going to be pretty special.

Alcatel Flash 2, pure Android goodness for just over P6K

At five inches, Alcatel’s latest budget phone, the Flash 2, should fit just about anyone’s hand. That’s great and all but there’s more to this phone than its ergonomic design. The Flash 2 is equipped with a 13-megapixel main camera, called “gSight” and a dedicated physical shutter button. But we’re really stoked to find out that the phone will run on pure Android Lollipop and has two SIM card slots that are both LTE-enable. At just P6,190, this looks to be a steal.