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

Samsung news – Hot new phones are coming soon – details

Android, Tech News, ,

It’s Samsung’s turn for a bit of news today.

Android Authority and a number of other websites revealed details of the new Samsung Galaxy A9. This seems like a reasonable phone. The pricing will be fundamental and worth noting is that it will launch with android 5.1.1 and not 6.0.

The rest of the specs are –

– 6.0-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution
– 1.8GHz Snapdragon 620 processor
– 3GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage
– microSD expansion
– Samsung Pay
– 4,000mAh battery with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology
– 13MP rear camera with OIS and an f/1.9 aperture, 8MP front camera
– Front fingerprint sensor

The Wall Street Journal confirmed that the new Samsung flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S7 will have force touch. This will use the same tech as Apple’s iPhone 6S. It is also the same tech found already on the Huawei Mate S 128gb and a few other Chinese phones. In addition the new flagship will re-introduce the micro SD card and switch to USB Type C. The camera will feature the new 20mp Sony sensor currently found in the current Sony Xperia Z5 range.

Important! Have you updated your Apple devices to iOS 9.2 yet? – Editorial

Apple, Tech News, ,

Last week Apple released iOS 9.2. I posted details of all the 40 plus changes HERE.

Like all firmware updates, bug fixes are often included and iOS 9.2 included many of those. What is never declared is the critical nature of some of these bug fixes or how many users got impacted by the issues.

One area that effected a very significant amount of people was Apple’s iCloud, including myself. The range of iCloud issues was extensive, but let’s just say it wasn’t fun for me and many others.

However, the good news is iOS 9.2 fixes the iCloud problems so make sure you update when you can if you haven’t already. BUT. You may still get some issues so what you need to do on your iOS devices is sign out of iCloud, sign into your Apple ID on your device under the iTunes and App Store, view your account, accept any new agreement notices (if any) then make sure you sign out of the iTunes and App Store. What you are actually doing is refreshing your iCloud status with Apple’s servers. Now sign back in to everything again and you should be ok.

If you have been receiving popup screens to enter your Apple ID password daily, the above sequence should fix that as well.

BBC iPlayer arrives on the new Apple TV

Apple, Tech News,

It has not taken long but now the official BBC iPlayer app for the new Apple TV is available for UK viewers.

Let’s hope all the other channels follow the BBC along with Amazon too and then it will be a full house.

Following all the firmware updates to iOS 9.2, tvOS and for the Apple Watch, you can now control the new Apple TV via your Apple Watch. Works really well too. To control your Apple TV you use the remote app on the watch.

Apple iPhone 6S – How 3D Touch has changed the landscape – Editorial

Apple, Tech News,

I don’t dislike any mobile operating system and have 3 on the go everyday. However, since September my main sim has been in an iPhone 6S Plus. One of the touted features of iOS 9 is 3D Touch.

Initially I was unsure how useful this feature would be and whether developers would embrace this new technology. Over the last 3 months developers have been very active with 3D Touch to the point now that once again iOS has the edge over apps and their overall content, style and effectiveness. 12 months ago I would have said android was fairly level pegging with iOS except in the gaming department. But now Apple has taken the lead again with apps. One other area iOS apps have the edge is in niche areas.

When it comes to apps, I now firmly believe Apple has the edge with apps not just apps on the iPhone, but also the Apple Watch, iPad and Apple TV. Of course, if you can manage in a world without apps, then the app advantage is irrelevant.

Back to 3D Touch and they way it transforms the iPhone experience. Below are a selection of apps that use 3D Touch –

App Store, Starbucks, Wallet, Apple Store, Shopsavvy, Amazon Shopping, Contacts, Reminders, Numbers, Safari, Tweetbot, Google Drive, Dropbox, Pcalc, Pages, Keynote, Calendar, Voice Memos, Game Centre, Clock, Find Friends, Wunderground, MyFitnessPal, Maps, Flightradar, VSCO Cam, Snapseed, Flickr, Camera+, iMovie, Photos, Google Search, Apple News, Chrome, iTunes Store, Amazon Music, iBooks, Apple Music, Notes, Camera, Phone, Mail, Messages, FaceTime, Twitter, FaceBook Messenger, WhatsApp, FaceBook, Instagram, Linkedin, Skype and Badlands.

The above list comes to 52 apps and 1 game that are active on my device. All the above apps have 3D Touch shortcut menu items from the app icon on the home screen. After opening the app 3D Touch is available dependant on the app. I’ll be honest in that it took at least a month before I started using 3D Touch. But now it is as common as anything and really speeds up the process of most tasks.

I have noticed Force Touch is available and coming to other phones on android, but the number of apps developed will be significantly behind iOS for quite a while.

3D Touch is just one area where developers have improved their iOS apps. The Touch ID and Apple Pay are two other areas where iOS score above their equivalent rivals on alternative platforms.

So for the foreseeable future iOS and 3D Touch have become a new way of interacting with a phone and its still really early days. I do look forward to future developments across all operating systems too.

Is Apple on track to sell 21 million Apple Watches – The Evidence

Apple, Tech News

Cultofmac had an article discussing the real possibility that Apple could sell around 21 million Apple Watches in its first year of sale. 

If that is the case then that is truly incredible. So where did this info come from?

The projections come from Asymco analyst Horace Dediu, who presented his findings at the Glance conference in San Francisco. The conference is headlined by a number of speakers, Dediu included, with observations on the impact of the Apple Watch. 

According to Cultofmac, Dediu should be correct about Apple moving 20 million units in its first year (and he usually is), this would further cement Apple as the king of the fast-growing smartwatch segment. Only 6.8 million smartwatches were sold in 2014 by 89 companies, according to a report by Smartwatch Group, with Samsung leading the pack last year.

If these predictions run true this will be another sector Apple has entered into and taking control at the top of the ladder. It also helps that Apple is selling the watch in many third party retailers as well as their own stores. However, can it last? Whilst I own an Apple Watch, I am still not convinced it is needed. For years I stopped wearing a watch and used my phone for the time instead. For Apple to continue this level of growth will be a challenge as I cannot see people changing their Apple Watch that often. 

Take your Apple iPhone 6S Photography / Video to the next level – Editorial

Apple, Reviews, Tech News

What you see in the above tweet from myself is all coming in for review shortly. Fingers crossed it all works as advertised!

First up is a new product from Shoulderpod, the R1 Pro which is a versatile tripod rig allowing up to 3 items to be attached. I will be looking at using the R1 Pro with the Manfrotto Lumie and Rode VideoMic Go. I am hoping the R1 Pro and Manfrotto Lumie will help with portrait and macro photography and the Rode VideoMic Go will improve the video recordings. Finally, the Shoulderpod S1 is the smartphone tripod mount which I already own and have used intensively already.

Going forward I intend to use the Shoulderpod R1 Pro with up to 3 Shoulderpod S1’s attached to carry out 3 way camera shootouts.

Of course, apart from the Shoulderpod S1 which I have used for ages, the other products are an unknown so may not be as to the task. So stay tuned over the upcoming weeks when I will be reviewing these items and more phones and gadgets as usual.

If you have any questions that you would like answered, please let me know in the comments or on my social media accounts.

Photo source – Shoulderpod

More info on the Shouderpod S1 Grip and Tripod Mount

More info on the Manfrotto Lumie Range

More info on the RØDE VideoMic GO On Camera Microphone

More info on the RØDE SC7 iPhone Accessory

More info on the RØDE DeadCat GO Microphone Wind Shield

LG G5 – The specification so far

Apple, Tech News,

The LG G4 was a master craft piece of phone tech and loved mine especially the stunning still photos produced from its 16mp rear camera along with manual controls.

Then LG released the V10 which was slightly bigger and included other neat tricks including a Sabre DAC, manual controls on video as well as photos and a secondary screen.

The LG G5 is rumoured to have a snapdragon 820, its own secondary display, LG Pay, 21 mp camera, a 5.6 inch display and other goodies.

The new G5 is certainly shaping up to be a splendid phone.

The new Apple TV – Apps and my updated thoughts / review – Editorial

Apple, Reviews, Tech News, ,

So according to Engadget the Apple TV now has 2,600 apps. 50% are games and the balance are predominately in the entertainment sector.

So did Tim Cook get it right when he said the future of TV is all about apps? Maybe.

Currently, I own an Amazon Fire TV, a Google Chromecast and the new Apple TV. My TV, despite its age has WiFi via a dongle and has smart TV services. So I have plenty of choice for obtaining films, apps or TV shows over the internet.

I have stopped using the chromecast. With the Apple TV and Fire TV it offers no benefits at the moment. It also helps that I am using an iPhone instead of an android phone, although my android phone is a Huawei G8. When Amazon provides an app for the new Apple TV and BBC iPlayer arrives, that will be enough for me to unplug the Fire TV as that won’t be needed anymore.

Now to my updated thoughts on the Apple TV. A new firmware arrived a few days ago. It plugged some bugs but more importantly allowed the iOS remote app to work with it. This should have worked from Day 1. Games are plentiful and there are some good ones. Problem remains that the implementation by the developers on supporting a game controller and or the Siri Remote are inconsistent and a PITA to guess which option will work best.

I absolutely hate the Siri Remote. I keep accidentally catching the trackpad and end up skipping or jumping to another part of the film. Finding anything using the Siri Remote and the iOS app is also a PITA. Another issue is how difficult it is to watch the next episode of a TV show. Nothing works like it did on the old layout. Twice the Siri remote didn’t work as it had gone flat. And prior to the firmware update, I was unable to use the Apple TV until I had charged the remote for a short time. Now at least I can use my iPhone to operate the Apple TV via the iOS remote app.

Talking about apps, the discovering process needs to improve. It is getting harder and harder to find new and decent apps or games. The settings option’s menus have been moved and I haven’t got used to all the changes yet.

The neat stuff. During the Walking Dead, someone whispers something. I couldn’t hear. I use the Siri remote, and said “what did he say”. The TV show go back 10 second and sub titles appear temporarily to help reveal what was said. There is an audio setting that allows you to remove loud noises e.g. bangs and level off the sound. This makes it easier to here spoken words and a preferred listening mode for me. You can turn this on per film etc by swiping down on the show or film whilst its playing to reveal this option, or turn it off or on in the main settings. I also like that you can be logged in to several different iTunes accounts, even with one from the UK and another from the US.

So its ok. It needs a further update and some great apps like Amazon and BBC iPlayer.