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

Bluetooth iPad Mini Keyboard & Case Review

Apple, Jan 2013, Reviews, Tech News

Recently I received a Bluetooth iPad Mini Keyboard which also acts as a cover/case for the iPad Mini.

I was very curious as to how good it would be both as a keyboard and as a case. The first thing I did was unbox the keyboard. Inside there is a very clear and well written English instruction leaflet and a micro usb cable. The keyboard features bluetooth v3, designed to allow the Mini to rest upright and then close up as a case/cover, a home button, sleep mode, 60 day standby time, 55 hours uninterrupted working time and dust and waterproof resistant.

Pairing with the iPad Mini was a breeze. Turn on the bluetooth in the iPad Mini’s settings. Turn on the keyboard and hit connect. On the iPad select the keyboard and then type the pairing number on the keyboard that appears on the iPad screen, followed by enter. And that is it.

The keyboard has a home button, long pressing activates Siri. A quick double tap of the home button brings up the multitasking. The on screen keyboard automatically disappears, but you can bring this back up by pressing the dedicated keyboard button. Typing at first feels a bit cramped and I kept missing the shift key on the right hand side of the keyboard. Auto correction and capitalisation doesn’t happen automatically. However, with more usage my speed increased. In terms of design it is great for holding the Mini in an upright position, and I like how it then doubles up as a case. Photos as below. To protect the back of the Mini being scratched, I have a vinyl carbon cover attached.

Overall an average solution, but the keyboard keys are too squashed together for quick typing. It is not as quick as the on screen keyboard either, nor is it quick as a full size keyboard. Otherwise it works as described.

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Lenovo K900 phone – full info

Android, Tech News,

The Lenovo K900 is a 5.5-inch, 1080P IPS display, 6.9mm body weighing in at 162 grams. The K900 is powered by Intel’s brand new Clover Trail+ 2GHz Atom processor along with 2GB of RAM and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. This is one seriously powerful phone.

The K900’s 13 MP camera has a Sony Exmor BSI sensor with a F1.8 lens for low-light performance. The front camera has a super-wide angle lens.

The K900 is a very industrial design with sharp corners and exposed screws. It has a 400 dpi resolution screen. It’s narrow like the Samsung Note 2 but very dramatic. Compared to an iPhone this thing is huge.

I would be interested in seeing the benchmarks and battery life for this device. I just wonder what we need such a powerful chip for in a phone. Well apart from gaming.

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Blackberry BB10 Apps

Jan 2013, RIM, Tech News

With Blackberry BB10 about to explode on to the mobile scene one question in most people’s mind would be about the apps. Will BB10 be able to compete with other operating systems and their respective app stores.

Well the good news is that Blackberry held an event offering cash and hardware incentives to developers. This translated in to 15,000 apps being submitted over a period of 37 hours !

That’s a good start.

Samsung & Dropbox get Cosy

Android, Tech News,

Samsung and Dropbox have announced plans to build and integrate further the cloud storage service into more of Samsung’s phones.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 became the first device to integrate Dropbox directly into the photo and video gallery for automatic uploading of new images or movies. This was a superb service and idea. Samsung also plans to add document storage and additional sharing options to upcoming devices.

Safe backup of one’s media and documents is really important. If anything happened to your phone you can relax knowing a copy of your media and created documents sits in the cloud.

iPhone 5 Battery Cases emerge

Apple, Tech News, ,

Following Apple’s change to the new lightning connector it has taken some time for lightning accessories to appear. Battery cases are now appearing and below are just a few.

uNu’s DX Protective Case for iphone 5 costs $80 and will come in both black and white , with a 2300mAh battery built-in. It’s a slider case, with a removable top and a Lightning plug integrated into the bottom portion of the case.

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Meridian iPhone 5 Battery Case costing a similar amount, from Lenmar is similar to uNu’s option. With a 2200mAh cell, it’ll be available in white and black, as well as metallic red.

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ThirdRail’s Battery System for iPhone 5 has a removable battery that snaps in place and can be stacked with others for extra power. The battery is 1650mAh. This should cost $100.

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So What was Eric Schmidt doing in North Korea

Android, Jan 2013, Tech News,

Recently Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt was seen touring North Korea. But why?

Whilst many might start conjuring up conspiracy stories, I just reckon it was simply a PR exercise to improve relations between Google and North Korea.

Of course, business would be on the table too. Perhaps Google trying to offer more of its services without restrictions. Hopefully we will find out soon.

Do you have any thoughts?

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PC Sales Hit – Gartner

Jan 2013, Tech News

Gartner has just released new research showing that worldwide PC shipments totaled 90.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, a 4.9 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2011, caused mainly by tablets.

Gartner added that people feel much less impetus to replace their PCs if they have tablets they can use for basic functions such as reading the news and watching videos.

Gartner said the launch of Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows 8 did not have a significant impact on PC shipments in the fourth quarter, although the firm expects that Windows 8 PC sales will improve as OEMs release top-tier touch screen computers throughout 2013.

Gartner said that HP (HPQ) retained its top spot in the PC market with a 15.5% share despite seeing its overall sales drop by 0.5% year-over-year. Lenovo came in second with a 13.6% share and was the only major PC vendor to see its total sales significantly grow from the previous year. Dell (DELL) saw its PC sales shrink by 20.9% year-over-year while Acer’s (2353) sales declined by more than 11%.