Category Archives: Android

Noreve cases – my custom Samsung Note 4 case

Android, Reviews, Tech News

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Noreve produce cases for all phones including iPhones and the Samsung Note 4 and Note Edge. You can order off the shelf, decide between different design options eg flip,  book or other.

I quite like the above style. Instead of the standard black, I went for the exclusion leather in sable vintage. This adds about 10 euros to the cost. There are a choice of leathers, colours and other options from adding a belt clip. The most expensive leather adds 100 euros.

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The case comes in a pouch that’s then inside the red box. All very pretty but what counts is the case. The leather is awesome.  With age it will look better but it is meant to mark with ease. But as you can see the power and volume buttons are not covered. I prefer this arrangement as when covered you have more chances of pressing the buttons by accident. The only concern I have is the exposed topside bottom corners. It is also thicker than Samsung’s own protective hard case.

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Some of you may prefer the Samsung type of case. I personally like the Noreve and the vintage leather.

Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast is now live – Please RT and spread the word

Amazon, Android, Apple, Blackberry, Reviews, Tech News, Wearables, Weather, Windows,

As you know, I co-host a monthly podcast with David from UKMobileTech called Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast. It is a light hearted tech podcast broadcast.

To subscribe click here for iTunes or copy and paste this link into your favourite podcast app.

Episode 30, Hot Gadgets is now live for your listening pleasure.

If you have enjoyed the podcast, please leave a 5 star review in iTunes. It helps others find our podcast. Go now and leave a review !

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, please drop a line at feedback@gdtpodcast.com or in the comments below.

And finally, our thanks to Audible as today’s podcast is supported by Audible- get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at http://www.audibletrial.com/GavDave . Over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player. No obligation.

Every unreleased Android Flagship Specs revealed – full details

Android, Tech News,

This is full details of my exclusive “prediction/factual” of every android flagship to be announced shortly. This is world exclusive stuff that every tech website is posting. So here goes the rocket science.

Every phone will feature a 2K screen from the HTC One M9 to Samsung Galaxy S6 to Joe Bloggs. A minimum 13mp Optical Image stabilised rear camera, unless it some Chinese/Korean device that has some odd twin 8mp setup or the new iPhone. The processors used will be a Snapdragon 810. And they will all feature android lollipop out of the box.

Disclaimer – whilst the above is true it is also taking the biscuit too. But in reality expect most new android flagships to have the above as a minimum.

What I do hope is that 32gb storage for a flagship is used plus micro sd expansion. There is no way I could use anything less. Water and dust resistance will feature on many devices too. What could differentiate one flagship from another is the software unique selling points. So who will still the crown this year? Samsung, HTC, Sony, Huawei, OnePlus or another manufacturer?

Google Maps got a decent update – details

Android, Apple, Tech News

If you haven’t installed or updated Google Maps, now is the time to do so.

It has just been updated with the following –

– Filter searches for restaurants by cuisine type — Google Maps users can finally drill down restaurant searches by cuisine

– View current weather information for cities around the world

– Drop a pin for your starting and destination points in directions and navigation

– Add transit directions to your calendar

– in the Android version of Google Maps, share directions with any contact.

Source – Google

Is the Tech Press delusional – The Xiaomi Mi Note is NOT an iPhone contender

Android, Tech News

Xiaomi launched the new smartphone yesterday, the Mi Note and immediately claimed it was the best phone available as of today. Xiaomi compared the Mi Note to the iPhone 6 Plus and selected a few supposed features where it exceeded Apple’s iPhone. Then the world’s press started making comments like Xiaomi launches the Mi Note, its iPhone killer.

I respect all mobile platforms and even though my current phone of choice is the Samsung Note 4, the Xiaomi Mi Note is so not anything like the iPhone 6 Plus at all. In fact the Mi Note looks more like the Samsung Note 4. But that is as far as it goes.

So let’s not beat around the bush. The Mi Note is no iPhone killer simply because it does not run iOS 8. It does not have the same polished iOS apps. It does not have the same killer camera that the iPhone does and the list goes on and on e.g. Touch ID, Apple Pay, lightning connector and so much more. And it does not have the Apple eco system.

In fact the Mi Note is no Note 4 killer in any shape or form either. The list is huge as to why as well.

What Xiaomi have produced is last years hardware, in a svelte body and at a low price. But this feat is also being carried out by many other android manufacturers.

I am not going to say anymore on this until I have had a chance to test this phone. But please no more iPhone killer comments.

Official Samsung Hard Protective Cover Case – review

Android, Reviews, Tech News

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Cases. I have a history with buying cases that goes back years and is still part of my DNA. I can quickly spot a naff case, poor quality, poor usage and more. I had zero expectations for this case from Samsung but it is a pleasant surprise.
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The case is a made from injected moulded thermoplastic construction which provides protection against shocks and drops. The case is easy to apply and remove, but also extremely protective. The case offers protection against impacts, so your phone is protected whether it’s in a bag or pocket, or if you happen to accidentally drop it.

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The outside of the case has a special high polymer coating that gives the case a clean look, while also helping to resist dust and grease. This is prevents no unhygenic build-up of grime around the openings.

The case features a tough shock-absorbing silicone bumper, the Samsung Protective Case shields your Note 4 from damage and scratches, keeping your phone looking as good as new. The smooth textured finish also improves grip, making for a more enjoyable in hand experience, as well as reducing the risk of accidental drops.

It also has a small lip on the front edge.
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So that’s the tech speak above. It is a slim fit, quality plastic product that feel good in the hand, looks good and I really like it. Will it win over another case coming from Noreve? Find out next week 🙂

Updated – here’s some better photos taken in natural daylight

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The case is available at Amazon – Samsung Protective Hard Cover at Amazon

Xiaomi new flagship for 2015 announced – Mi Note – specs and video

Android, Tech News

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Xiaomi has just announced its new flagship phone the Mi Note. It sure looks similar to the Note 4 and style of the iPhone.

Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 on both sides, 2.5D curved glass on the front and 3D curved glass at the back, has a thickness of 6.95mm and features a 13 MP camera with OIS.

The Mi Note has a 5.7-inch 1080p display, 3.0mm bezel, Gorilla Glass 3 back and front, 2.5D curved glass on front, 3D curved glass on the rear, only 6.95mm thick, 13mp OIS rear camera using a Sony IMX214 cmos sensor. 4mp front with 2 micron pixels for great selfies. Processor is snapdragon 801 with 3gb ram. Runs MIUI 6.

The screen has adaptive contract and a blue light reducing mode.

There will also be a “pro” version of the Note with a more powerful octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor and 4gb ram and a screen resolution of 2048×1536.

Storage options are 16 and 64gb.

The regular model is powered by a 3,000mA. In terms of features it seems Xiaomi has copied Apple’s reachability for reducing the screen to the bottom half.
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And below is a video from Xiaomi.

Source – Xiaomi

Google Play Music – Limitations of Devices and Types of Devices – my dilemma

Android, Apple, Tech News

Just in case you are the person that likes to swap and change their devices often, and use Google’s Play Music service and app, then it is worth noting the following. This applies to any hardware platform.

Google offer a maximum number of devices that can be authorised in a 12 month period of 10. 5 of which are allocated to mobile phones and the other 5 for tablets, laptops, MacBooks and other things. In a 12 month period you can de-authorise a maximum of 4 devices only. Exceed these limits and you could find your new phone or tablet won’t be able to work with Play Music.

One last point, you can only have one device at a time active.

So it should come as no surprise that as a person who reviews products and changes phones often that I became a victim of these limits. Based on other people’s experiences asking Google to help resolve this was not going to be easy. In fact, Google had no obligation to resolve the situation whatsoever.

So I telephoned Google and was referred to one of their specialist music team members. It was a great phone call. We discussed our tablets (we both had Samsung Tab S’s) and had a jovial discussion about several smartphones and we joked about a few tablets (this part was really funny). I then explained my position and why it had arisen, gave him my website URL, explained I had reviewed 18 android phones in the last 18 months, and also had a habit of changing my phones a lot, and would probably continue to do so throughout 2015. Cut a long story short, he agreed that it should not be an issue to reset my devices and start from scratch. He then said if I needed to call back again for the same reason, they would be happy to help. 30 mins later my device list was reset to zero.

So moral of the story. the Google customer service experience was as good as any Apple support call.