All posts by Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

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About Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

President, CEO & Editor of https://gavinsgadgets.com Reviews & News of Technology

Has Samsung really left out USB-C on its new Galaxy S7 Flagship phone? – Plus more bad news

Android, Tech News,

The internet is awash with news that the new Samsung Galaxy S7 will not have the new USB standard, USB-C. Surely not.

Well it looks like Samsung has decided to stick with micro USB. This is a real shame as USB-C contains so many benefits. As an example, USB-C is reversible, just like the Apple lightning connector. It also has faster data speeds and much much more. This omission will give Samsung’s competitors a chance to score brownie points if their new flagships do include the more advanced technology.

Personally, this is somewhat disappointing.

On top of this disappointment, there is rumour that Samsung will only be selling a 32gb storage model in the USA.

Makes me wonder if Samsung is really trying to cut costs?

Would you still use Facebook Messenger if it had ads? – More info

Tech News

The Verge reported that Facebook plans to introduce paid advertisements in Messenger within the next few months, according to a new report. TechCrunch writes that Facebook has distributed a document to businesses indicating they will be able to message customers directly beginning in the second quarter of the year. Businesses will only be able to send messages to customers that have already initiated a conversation, according to the report. The move is consistent with Facebook’s move to make Messenger the primary way that customers interact with businesses for everything from shopping to customer support.

So how does that sound ? Soft adverts in your Facebook Messenger? Personally, it would turn me off ever using such a service but I know many people do use Messenger.

Taking Android Photography to the next level – Editorial

Android, Tech News,

Over the last week I have shown examples of 2 camera apps from iOS, ProCamera+ and Nightcap Pro. Both these apps produce excellent results. Nightcap Pro makes light work of long exposures to create silky water, or shoot the stars and much more.

Scenes around Dartmeet, Dartmoor #iphone6splus #LongExposureMode

ProCamera+ is all about multiple exposures to get the perfect shot, from 3 to 64 exposures to create that perfect photo. It works best shooting buildings. Below an example of a black and white HDR shot.

Architectural Porn #TamarSciencePark #iphone6splus #HDRBracketed

So many of you use android and have asked me what are the equivalent apps for this platform. The bad news is that I cannot find any app that is identical to those above. However, I am testing a few that show promise.

A Better Camera – I have a Huawei G8 and with A Better Camera I was able to produce much better quality photos than using the standard camera app. A Better Camera does have a HDR mode along with a host of other options. These include –

* HDR+ photo and video
* Panorama
* Multishot: Group portrait, Sequence shot, unwanted moving objects removal
* Night mode
* Video recording + pause
* Time lapse (video and photo)
* Pre-shot: negative shutter lag
* Burst and Expo-bracketing
* Self timer
* RAW capture (depends on device)
* Timestamps
* Manual controls (focus and shutter speed priority)
* full access to all Camera features

I will be receiving the LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7 soon so will wait to reveal my results once I can test this app with these new flagships to see what benefit a flagship phone can bring to A Better Camera. Currently it is on sale on the Google Play Store for £1.99 which is 70% off its normal price.

Camera FV-5 is another app I have been testing with some success. The key features of this app include –

* All photographic parameters are adjustable and always at hand: exposure compensation, ISO, light metering mode, focus mode, white balance and program mode.
● DSLR-like viewfinder display: see exposure time, aperture and stops display with EV and bracketing settings, in real-time!
● Full fledged exposure bracketing: from 3 to 7 frames, unlimited stops spacing, plus custom EV shifting.
● Built-in intervalometer: make stunning timelapses (even bracketed/HDR timelapses) and time-controlled picture series.
● Program and Speed-priority modes.
● Long exposure support: take beautiful night photos and light trails with long exposure times up to 30 seconds**.
● JPEG, true 16-bit RAW in DNG format*, and lossless PNG photo capturing formats, perfect for post-processing.
● Manual shutter speed: from 1/80000 to 2″, or the range available on your device*.
● All camera functions assignable to volume keys. You can adjust EV, ISO, color temperature and more using volume keys. Devices with hardware camera shutter key are also supported.
● EXIF and XMP sidecar metadata support.
● Autofocus, macro, touch-to-focus, true manual focus* and infinity focus modes. Autofocus lock feature (AF-L).
● Autoexposure (AE-L) and auto white balance (AWB-L) locks in Android 4.0+.
● In background photo and RAW developing and processing allows a smooth, uninterrupted camera operation.
● Digital zoom using multitouch pinch gesture. Also shows 35mm equivalent focal length!
● The most advanced electronic viewfinder: live RGB histogram, 10 composition grid overlays and 9 crop guides available.

Again, testing Camera FV-5 with the Huawei G8 improved upon the quality from the default camera app, but again I really want to test this app with something better and so will put this through its paces with the new flagship phones.

There is the possibility that these apps will not function with the new flagships due to the manufacturers not providing the proper camera API support. Fingers crossed this is not the case.

So my question to you all, can you name any of android apps that offer the functionality, or part of, to that of Nightcap Pro and ProCamera+ on iOS?

Xiaomi Mi 5 – Full Specifications leaked with some interesting observations – details

Android, Tech News,

mi5

Xiaomi is due to launch the Mi 5 flagship phone at MWC 2016 but GizChina managed to get hold of some of the slides being used for its presentation.

So what have we got with the Mi 5 –

– 5.2-inch Full HD display
– Snapdragon 820 SoC clocked at 2.15 GHz
– 3 GB version with have 32gb storage and a 16MP camera with OIS and laser auto focus
– 4GB ram version will have 64gb storage and a 23 MP camera with Phase-Detection Auto-Focus, super-fast 0.05 focus speed, f/1.6 aperture.
– USB Type-C
– microSD expansion
– Cat. 10 LTE, dual-SIM
– Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
– NFC
– 3,000 mAh battery

What is interesting is the 4Gb ram version with a 23MP camera with a f/1.6. This could be incredible is true. NFC and micro SD support is included along with USB Type C. Samsung is rumoured not to be using USB Type C with its new S7 flagship.

Could the Chinese now produce a flagship that is better than the competition? From my time with a Xiaomi Mi 4i and Mi Note Pro, not only was the hardware top notch but the software and software support was excellent too. I am excited to see this phone in the flesh!

Source – GizChina

Apple takes a stand against the FBI & Your Privacy – My Viewpoint – Updated

Android, Tech News, ,

Apple went on record to publicly inform its customers in writing about its position on your privacy and the request from the FBI to unlock an iPhone. The iPhone the FBI want unlocked belongs to a terrorist who let off a bomb.

Below is an extract from Apple’s letter to its customers –

A Message to Our Customers

The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand. This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake.

The Need for Encryption

Smartphones, led by iPhone, have become an essential part of our lives. People use them to store an incredible amount of personal information, from our private conversations to our photos, our music, our notes, our calendars and contacts, our financial information and health data, even where we have been and where we are going.

All that information needs to be protected from hackers and criminals who want to access it, steal it, and use it without our knowledge or permission. Customers expect Apple and other technology companies to do everything in our power to protect their personal information, and at Apple we are deeply committed to safeguarding their data.

Compromising the security of our personal information can ultimately put our personal safety at risk. That is why encryption has become so important to all of us.For many years, we have used encryption to protect our customers’ personal data because we believe it’s the only way to keep their information safe. We have even put that data out of our own reach, because we believe the contents of your iPhone are none of our business.

This case is a case on principle and it has far reaching implications if the FBI win. The FBI are trying a new tactic. Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority.

It is a difficult situation. Emotional thoughts say this phone belonged to somebody who killed people with a bomb. Maybe in some circumstances there might be a justifiable reason to break and unlock this iPhone?

However, that is not what the FBI want. Specifically, the FBI wants Apple to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.

What if Apple made this an exception for the FBI. Next step would be countries demanding the same. So my view is Apple are correct to stand firm regardless of the emotional angst that might be attacked to this case. Apple aren’t ignoring the FBI either, They have assisted the FBI with information requested by legal means and assigned Apple engineers to help them. But what Apple won’t do is create a special version of iOS for the FBI. I agree with Apple’s stance.

Update – Google has gone on record supporting Apple.  

Why Apple Pay is so much safer than a Contactless Bank Card?

Apple, Tech News,

This tweet was doing the rounds on twitter yesterday.

https://twitter.com/tweetyaca/status/699713171767083009

What’s special about this tweet is the person is in possession of a point of sale card reader, that means with this POS reader, it could authorise payments of £30 from your contactless card without you knowing. The reader could process payment of a bank card even if it was in a wallet or purse.

Apple Pay is so much safer as you need to authenticate the payment with your fingerprint, secondly nobody gets to see or read your actual credit card data, each transactions creates a random card number to protect your actual card number and lastly the data is secured into the secure element/chip inside your iPhone.

Contactless cards are quick and easy but as you can see above, if you’re unlucky you could get scammed quite easily.

Apple Pay is a securer option.

Sony announces new state of the art smartphone sensor – details

Tech News

The Sony IMX318 sensor is a 1/2.6-inch stacked 22.5 megapixels CMOS image sensor, more compact than previous generations, improved performance and greater image quality. It’s the first imaging sensor to be equipped with built-in hybrid autofocus, which can result in focus speeds of up to 0.03 seconds. 3-axis image stabilisation is included as standard. Video options include 4K recording at 30fps, 1080p and 720p offer 120fps and 240fps, respectively.

This looks like a decent sensor and will probably add to thinner phones or phones without a camera bump protruding from the rear. What will also count is the software and image processing chip that supports this hardware. It sure looks promising on paper though!

Source – AndroidCentral

Shot on an iPhone – 57.8 second long exposure photo

Apple, Tech News, ,

Views of Paignton Beach #iphone6splus #NightcapPro #LongExposureMode #60seconds

Well yesterday was a 45 second exposure shot, so today is nearly a minute. Actually, this was meant to be a 15 second exposure, but then a person walking their dog appeared into the shot, so I kept the shutter rolling for longer, and voila the final version did not have them in the shot. If you look very closely you will see a slight ghosting. The above shot was with a tripod again, and using a Shoulderpod S1 smartphone all in one mount. The app used was Nightcap Pro for this shot and the one below in long exposure mode.

Now just as a second bonus, I noticed their was this odd piece of wood lying on the beach. So using a Joby GorillaPod SLR-Zoom Tripod along with a smartphone mount, I took the long exposure shot below. The Joby tripod is about a foot tall and is built like a tank. Highly flexible and sturdy, and wraps around posts, poles and branches really well. So roughly my iPhone was about 1 foot high from the beach sand. The shot below was a long exposure of 20.31 seconds.

Views of Paignton Beach #iphone6splus #NightcapPro #LongExposureMode

If you want to see how clever Nightcap Pro app is, the developer has a wonderful gallery showing shots taken in daylight, night and a section of astronomy photos. Click HERE to view the gallery.

Weather permitting I will be attempting some astronomy photos which will involve a minimum exposure time of 15 minutes.