Skip to main content

Blu Vivo 5 and Vivo XL announced at CES 2016, two mid-range phone options

Florida-based mobile designer Blu Products has announced two new Vivo smartphones at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, named the Vivo 5 and Vivo XL.

The two smartphones join a growing range of mid-tier devices from Blu Products, which will compete in the growing budget-end of the smartphone market against such names as Motorola, ZTE, and Wileyfox.

Vivo 5

Blu-Vivo-5-003
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Vivo 5 comes with a 5.5-inch 720p HD display, 1.3GHz octa-core MediaTek processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, and a 3,150mAh battery.

The smartphone supports 4G LTE, USB Type-C, and Bluetooth 4.0, however it lacks Wi-Fi and NFC support. It comes running Android 5.1 Lollipop, with a planned upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow coming soon.

The device is built from a single block of aluminum for a unibody design, and is available in white silver or solid gold. It will be available on Amazon.com and at Best Buy in the coming weeks for $200.

Vivo XL

Blu-Vivo-XL-007
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Despite having XL in the name, the device has the same 5.5-inch 720p HD display as the Vivo 5. It also shares the same processor and graphics card, though it slumps a bit on memory with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It has the same impressive 3,150mAh battery and the same front and back camera.

Blu doesn’t mention the material used for the Vivo XL, though it looks similar to the Vivo 5 in the press photos. The back features a textured cover, instead of the minimalist metallic back offered on the Vivo 5.

The Vivo XL has a few more color options for customers, starting with liquid gold, chrome silver, midnight blue, and rose gold at launch. It will also be available at Amazon.com and Best Buy and it starts at $150.

David Curry
Former Digital Trends Contributor
David has been writing about technology for several years, following the latest trends and covering the largest events. He is…
Everything you need to know about the OnePlus 13
Official OnePlus 13 product renders showing rear panel colors.

OnePlus is an excellent brand that offers powerful flagship phones at a great value compared to some of its competitors. We followed every rumor about the OnePlus 13 for months, but now it's here — and it's everything we hoped for. It might not be available in the Western market yet, but it will be soon.

So, what makes the OnePlus 13 so special? Here's everything you need to know about OnePlus' latest flagship.
When is the OnePlus 13 being released?

Read more
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. MediaTek Dimensity 9400: the race is on
Comparison of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 processors.

The flagship mobile silicon race has entered its next phase, one that will dictate the trajectory of Android hardware heading into 2025. Merely weeks after MediaTek wowed us with the Dimensity 9400 system on a chip (SoC), Qualcomm also pulled a surprise with the reveal of the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

But this time around, the battle is not as straightforward. Where MediaTek is working closely with Arm and adopting its latest CPU and graphics innovations, Qualcomm has firmly put its faith in custom cores. These are no ordinary cores, but a next-gen iteration of the same fundamental tech stack that powers Windows on ARM laptops.

Read more
Discolored line on your new Kindle? You aren’t alone
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition on a table.

The new Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is the first full-color e-reader, and a lot of bookworms couldn't wait to get their hands on it. Sadly, many people are reporting the display has a discolored yellow area at the bottom of the screen. The problem is so widespread that the Kindle Colorsoft dropped to an average review rating of 2.6 out of 5, although it does remain the bestselling e-book reader at the moment.

The cause of the discoloration isn't clear. Some users report that it only happens when using the edge lighting feature on the Kindle, while others say it appeared after a software update. Either way, the yellowing is a problem, especially on a device that Amazon has marketed as being great for comics and graphic novel fans. It's hard to enjoy the colorwork in a comic when it's distorted.

Read more