Category Archives: Android

Samsung announces the Gear S – A Curved Smart Watch with 3G

Android, Reviews, Wearables

samsung-gear-s

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today unveiled the Samsung Gear S, the next generation smart wearable device that expands the smartphone experience to the wrist. The new Samsung Gear S delivers an up-to-date smart wearable experience with 3G connectivity and wearable optimised features to meet the evolving needs of consumers.

The Samsung Gear S features a 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display, providing a richer view with a beautiful and easy-to-use user interface. It allows users to read messages and notifications at a single glance with features such as conversation view and condensed font. The Samsung Gear S’s chic, curved design fits comfortably around the contours of the wrist, while its customizable screen options and changeable straps empower users to express their own taste and style.

The Samsung Gear S extends its communication capabilities to include 3G as well as Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, allowing users to stay informed with seamless notifications from social networks, calendars and applications even when away from their phone. It lets users to instantly reply to incoming messages using the onscreen keyboard, or utilize enhanced S voice functionality to ensure tasks can be completed immediately. Finally, with Samsung Gear S, people can seamlessly make and receive calls directly from their wrist, or get calls forwarded from their smartphones.

The Samsung Gear S allows consumers to control how they want to connect, switching easily between 3G and Bluetooth connections, and automatically synchronizing information when paired to a smartphone.

The Samsung Gear S provides easy access to relevant information through essential widgets and combined notification boards. Its powerful features include turn-by-turn pedestrian navigation provided by HERE, a 24-hour news and views service from The Financial Times ‘fastFT’, works together with advanced-reading technology from Spritz, and the ability to see and respond to important social notifications instantly with Facebook. Together, these features allow users to be live and actionable while on the go.
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​The Samsung Gear S is also a perfect health and fitness companion with more enhanced multi-sensors, built-in GPS, and robust S Health features. In addition, applications such as Nike+ Running allow users to track their runs and stay motivated while on the move, without their smartphone.

Samsung Gear S Product Specifications –

– Network -900/2100 or 850/1900 (3G) 900/1800 or 850/1900 (2G)
– Display -2.0” Super AMOLED (360 x 480)
– APDual core 1.0 GHz OS
– Tizen based wearable platform
– Audio Codec: MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ Format: MP3, M4A, WMA, AAC, OGG
– Features Communications: – 2G, 3G Call, Bluetooth Call
– Contacts, Notifications, Messages, Emails, QWERTY Keyboard
– Health & Fitness: – S Health, Nike+ Running
– Information:- Schedule, News, Navigation, Weather
– Media:- Music Player, Gallery
– Others:
– S Voice, Find My Device, Power Saving Mode IP67 Certified Dust and Water Resistant
– Samsung Services
– Samsung Gear Apps
– Connectivity WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS/Glonass Bluetooth®: 4.1 USB: USB 2.0
– Sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Heart Rate, Ambient Light, UV, Barometer
– Memory
– RAM: 512MB Storage: 4GB Internal Memory
– Dimension 39.8 x 58.3 x 12.5T
– Battery 300mAh Li-ion
– Typical Usage 2days

This looks like a solid offering from Samsung, just a shame it runs Tizen and not Android Wear.

Top 15 IFA 2014 announcements from the Tech World and news on the iPhone 6 & iWatch

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

Update from yesterday’s post.

1) LG announces full details on their new upcoming round smart watch. The model number is LG-W110. This won’t be available until October. It sure looks hot. Specs include a 1.2ghz Snapdragon 400, 1.3 inch P-OLED 320 x 320 screen (plastic organic LED), 4gb storage, 512 ram, 410maH battery, 9 Axis for the sensors (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG, IP67, heart rate monitor and running android wear. The strap is leather. The P-OLED display is important as it covers 100% of the display. The Moto 360 doesn’t. The display also works perfectly under bright sunlight according to LG.And being IP67 means it can be submerged underwater at to a metre in depth for 30 minutes. So far this is the watch to get out of all that have been announced. And it features a stainless steel frame and will be offered with an interchangeable 22mm calf skin leather strap.

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2) ARCHOS announces the 40 Cesium Smartphone – Windows Phone 8.1 budget phones, ultra-clear 4-inch screen. Available in September for only £79, the ARCHOS 40 Cesium is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Quad Core processor and comes with three coloured back cases – yellow, blue and black. Only good point is a LED notification.
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3) The iPhone 6 will have a new rounded true tone flash.

4) DropBox slashes its prices to remain competitive along with new features. Dropbox Pro now costs $9.99 a month for 1 terabyte of storage. You also have the ability to share links with password protection, to share links that expire on a certain date, and to share some files in “read-only” mode. Pro users also get the ability to remotely wipe a lost or missing device.

5) The new Nexus X (not Nexus 6) details have been revealed. a 5.2 inch screen, massive Snapdragon 805, 13mp camera, processor running at 2.7ghz, running android v5.0. The 64gb version retail price is around £360. Makes a mockery of the iPhone pricing! Source – http://lowdown.carphonewarehouse.com/just-in/motorola-nexus-x-price-and-specs-leak/

6) WSJ reports investors willing to pay $10 billion for Snapchat. No wonder Snapchat turned down Google’s $3 billion offer.

7) Amazon’s new purchase Twitch is suffering an online attack by a group called Lizard Squad.

8) Seagate announces world first 8 TB hard drive. Only for commercial customers which is a shame. I would kill for an 8 TB drive!

9) BlackBerry Khan – this is the code name for the new high end BlackBerry Porsche phone. Likely to cost $2,000. New specs reveal it should have 3GB RAM, a Dual-core 1.7GHz CPU, 64GB of storage and a 3.5 inch touchscreen. Clearly there is a market for this high end BlackBerry.

10) Kobo announces its new Aura H20 ereader, which is certified to be able to spend up to 30 minutes in one meter of water, making it ideal to use at the beach or in the bath or more. The device has 265 dpi e-ink technology, the highest resolution currently available in an e-reader, a 6.8 inch anti-glare touchscreen and the price will be £140 in the UK

11) Sennheiser have announced the CX 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 and 5.00. The new CX buds come with red, white or black cables and sport the Sennheiser logo on the exterior. Clearly taking on Beats Audio with the colour scheme. The CX 3.00 are likely to cost around £45. They do look good. The CX 5.00 adds a 3 button remote with mic.
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12) According to John Paczkowski at re/code, Apple’s reported September 9 event for the new iPhone will also see the launch of Apple’s first wearable. Apparently, Apple will reinvent the smart watch.

13) Pandora has been given approval for use on Google Glass

14) Sony’s new Z3 Compact Tablet will be an IPS Panel. No more shatter protectors.

15) View your twitter stats – head over to analytics.twitter.com . The dashboard should now be open to every account that has been open for at least 14 days, isn’t restricted/protected/suspended, and (curiously) that primarily tweets in English, French, Japanese, or Spanish.

16) Samsung announces the Gear S Smartwatch (see dedicated post) and Samsung Gear Circle. The Circle is a dedicated bluetooth headset.
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17) Jabra has announced new wireless in-ear fitness headphones that aim to give you a full training solution with Dolby Digital Plus sound, in-ear heart rate monitor and Sport Life App. The Jabra Sport Pulse uses standard Bluetooth connectivity and NFC, connecting to your smartphone for music and phone calls, but also to its Sport Life App.The app, which Jabra says can be integrated with existing fitness apps, can track your fitness level, consumed calories, distance, speed, pace, heart rate, heart rate zone and work-out times. The app also includes activity-based training, pre-defined training programs, interval training, zone training and target pace training.

Top 25 Latest Rumours, News and Announcements for Wednesday 27th August 2014

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Below are details of rumours and announcements since yesterday.

1) HTC teases a 64 bit, 8 core phone for China. And then HTC announced the LTE-equipped Desire 510 for a worldwide launch. The 510 is a 4.7-inch device with a fresh plastic design in either white or navy blue.
The Desire 510 pulls design notes from both the Desire 816 and 610, but has much lower-end specs with a 4.7-inch display of 480 x 854 (FWVGA), Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage (SDcard expandable) and a simple 5MP camera, Android 4.4 and Sense 6.
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2) Samsung opens registration for its Developer Conference 11-13 November at the Moscone West Centre in San Francisco. And it costs $499.

3) California law is now changed – every cellphone sold in California will now have to include a remote disabling option that lets you render a stolen device unusable. More importantly, this antitheft security measure will have to come enabled by default.

4) Moto Luge leaked by TKTechnews. Looks like a rebranded Moto R from a few years ago.
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5) Windows Phones dealt a blow by Huawei. Wall Street Journal reported that Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer business group, that although his company would be interested in building handsets based on another OS, it just makes no sense to do so right now because it’s found that consumers don’t want to buy Windows Phones.

6) Ralph Lauren is making a move in to the wearable devices market this week, as a number of ball boys and one player at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships are outfitted with new, iOS-connected nylon shirts that track health and fitness data.

7) Rumoured Phosphorus coprocessor for the iPhone 6 will be able to track information from various wearables and other built-in sensors that provide heart rate, cholesterol, blood sugar and calorie levels

8) iPhone 6S rumour – It will feature the new A9 chip that will be a 16 nanometer chipset

9) Huawei stops backing Tizen. Says it has no future.

10) Sony announces the M2 Aqua. The worlds most waterproof and dustproof phone. IP65, IP68. Other specs include a 4.8-inch qHD display (540 x 960 pixels), a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, an Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel Exmor RS rear-facing camera, 8GB of expandable storage, 4G LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and a 2,330 mAh non-removable battery.12_Xperia_M2_Aqua-578-80

11) Google releases Slides for iOS to complete its Office editing apps for iOS.

12) Motorola to releases updated SKIP as a keychain fob.

13) Sony releases the DSC-KW1. A camera that looks like perfume bottle.
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KW1 comes with a 3.3-inch OLED display to go with a 19.2 MP camera. The camera is equipped with a 21mm f2.0 lens that can be rotated 180 degrees.

16) Google on track for releasing Android One next month. Android One is supposed to be capable of offering the most recent, powerful software experience to low-end specced phones. Specs go, expect 5 MP camera, 1700 mAh battery, 1 GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 400-ish processor. The price these devices will be sold at will span from $115 to $165.

17) Moto G2 specs revealed – screen 5 inch 720p, thinner bezels, 8mp camera, micro sd, front speakers, snapdragon 400, 1gb ram, changeable back covers – bargain phone
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18) Via Appleinsider – Apple has a new patent granted by the USPTO that describes various control mechanisms that could be used with flexible displays, to replace components such as physical buttons with more durable and resilient alternatives, and to create alternate means for detecting sound output, providing haptic feedback and even performing other tricks like making it easier to open a MacBook lid.

19) Huawei to launch the Ascend Mate 7 at IFA 2014 – a 6 inch phablet, with fingerprint recognition and car integration. Other specs include 8 GB internal memory with microSD card slot, 2 GB RAM, 13 MP camera at the front and a 5 MP rear shooter along with Android 4.4.2 KitKat. Huawei is also said to be launching a sapphire display version of the Ascend P7 at the IFA

20) Bloomberg reports – Apple to release massive 12.9 inch iPad in early 2015. Now would you buy this huge tablet? Certainly seems like Apple is not going to let Samsung take control of this larger tablet size too.

21) Amazon Fire Phone likely to only have sold 35,000 units. Source Engadget.

22) Archos launches ahead of IFA 2014 connected weather station, light bulbs and beanies. The weather station will monitor temp inside and outside, include plant sensors. The Weather station will track temperature, humidity, air quality, atmospheric pressure, and noise levels. The Archos Weather Station system is expected to be available in September for $149. Sounds similar to the Netatmo Weather station. The Archos Music Light is a combination LED bulb and Bluetooth speaker that screws into an standard Edison socket for both illumination and tunes for $49. Only the music can be controlled.

23) Archos has announced some budget phones.The 5-inch 50b Platinum smartphone available next month for £119. The smaller 45c Platinum will launch around the same time for £99, and the 101 Oxygen will be following up in October for £199. The Platinum will run Android KitKat, have a quad-core processor, dual SIM support, and an 8 megapixel primary camera. The 101 Oxygen will have a 1080p display, 1.5 GB of RAM, and run on a quad-core A17 ARM processor. More info at Archos http://www.archos.com/gb/products/smartphones/index.html?#idplatinum
archos_50bplatinum

Latest Rumours, Leaks, Announcements – Tuesday 26th August 2014

Amazon, Android, Tech News, Wearables, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1) Sony Z3 Compact Tablet and Sony Smart Watch
sony
Above screen shot via Xperia Blog depicting new Sony Z3 Compact 8 inch tablet & new Sony Smart Watch.

2) Motorola Moto X – rumoured new Moto smartphone. 5.3 Inch display 2K resolution, Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.7GHZ a 13.1 MP camera with OIS. Running android v5.0.

3) Motorola Moto X+1 – rumoured 3D screen and optical zoom on camera

4) Sony Playstation Network – DDOS attack takes out service

5) BlackBerry Passport – specs revealed – a 4.4-inch square display, resolution of 1,440 x 1,440 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a large 3450mAH battery. All day usage and more possible.

6) Via TKTechnews.com. Images of the Nokia Lumia 830. Just look at that camera!
lumia

7) Via Pocketnow.com – Samsung Gear 3 Smart Watch – the next Tizen powered smart watch by Samsung will feature a curved display.

8) Via Reuters – eBay considering spinning off PayPal

9) Chrome Remote Desktop to get a recording option. Spyware he we come.

10) Huawei Ascend P7 successor to have a sapphire screen via telegraph.co.uk

11) LG announces the LG G3 Stylus. While it shares the LG G3 name, the display has been downgraded from a 2560 x 1440 resolution down to 960 x 540, but in the same 5.5-inch size. The processor similarly been downgraded to a quad-core set running at 1.3GHz. It’s only got 8GB of on-board storage, 3G data but does have a stylus and the same software experience. The camera is 13mp but at the moment I am not sure if it includes the laser focus and OIS

12) Samsung Note 4 to feature new finger print scanning tech. Apart from Paypal payments, it will also allow for web sign ins.

13) Asus teases its smart watch for IFA Berlin 2014
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14) Amazon beats Google and buys Twitch for $1bn.

September Gadget and Smartphone Madness Begins Today

Amazon, Android, Apple, RIM, Tech News, Wearables, Windows

There are going to be an outrageous amount of leaks, rumours and then a wave of new hardware being announced. Rather than clog up the news with individual posts over the next few weeks I am going to try an experiment and create a single concise post summarising all the tech snippets.

This single post will go live everyday at 6.30am UK time.

Obviously, if there is any new hardware worthy of an individual post then this be created.

In addition, there will be lots of new hardware device reviews in the months of September and October. So stay tuned.

ViewRanger – one cool piece of software

Amazon, Android, Reviews, Tech News, , , ,

Viewranger GPS Trails and Maps is a cool app that will probably soon rank as my favourite app ever.
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Above screen shot shows a track route that I walked and then shared. When the recipient opens the link the above is what they will see. They can also change the map overlay from Open Street Map to a number of drop down menu options and even change miles to kilometres. If you want to see the above shared map on your own computer or mobile phone then click below –

“I’m sharing my #walking trip with you. Total distance 1.52mi, http://my.viewranger.com/track/details/MTA4MjA1OA== . Via @ViewRanger”

ViewRanger is the complete offline mapping, navigation & guided trail service for Outdoor Enthusiasts. The app & free web tools will help you at every stage of your adventure, so it’s easy to plan trips, gives you peace of mind when you’re out on the trail and helps you to store & share your experiences. Perfect for exploring mountain ranges or simply days out in the countryside. In my case, ideal for exploring Dartmoor and the coastal paths.

ViewRanger was voted as one of the best apps in 2013 on “Google Play” .Used & trusted by over 150 Search & Rescue teams across Europe and the North America. And after using the app, I can see why this software is used by the search and rescue teams.

Now ViewRanger is just a glance away on Android wearables.
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FEATURES INCLUDED
● GPS mapped location, even without mobile signal
● Offline map mode* – store in advance using “Create Saved Map”
● Access to 10,000’s of route guides and trails
● Track recording – view your path on map to keep or share, even add Flickr photos
● Sports computer stats – view distance, speed, etc.
● Real time location sharing** – BuddyBeacon (requires data connection)
● Active Route Navigation***
● Powersave mode in the GPS settings
● Synchronises with web account for route planning, publishing and sharing.(http://my.viewranger.com)
● Share tracks via Facebook and Twitter
● Record a track, navigate and view track stats on Android Wear™
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FREE MAPS INCLUDED
● OpenStreetMap© & OpenCycleMap
● Bing Ariel Imagery, Ski map, Transport map
● GB Road Atlas from Ordnance Survey at 1:250.000, map for England, Wales & Scotland
Download Great Britain Ordnance Survey Explorer 1:25,000 & Landranger 1:50,000 maps via in-app purchase (ViewRanger Store). Licensed maps from other national mapping agency’s are also available for over 21 countries.

Below are some screen shots from the ViewRanger store giving you a tiny insight into the maps available. The app is free to download, and as mentioned above a number of the maps are free too. But the detailed Ordnance Survey maps are chargeable but well worth it if you walk off road.

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There are many ways to search for a map type, by country, type and so on.

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The track that I shared above provides the additional data as shown above and below. You can also see the detailed OS map screen shots below.

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In use you can zoom in and out with ease. In fact there are many options including a live buddy share when walking.

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Another screen shot providing information on the route.

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I am only just beginning to learn how to use this app and service, but so far have been blown away at just how useful it is. For the first time, I have real time information on my Dartmoor wilderness walks.

The app is available on iOS and android. It is also available on Symbian but not on Windows Phone. I have tested the app on my LG G3 and my wife’s iPhone 5S. Very impressive on both.

Links –

Google Play store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.augmentra.viewranger.android

Apple App Store – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/viewranger-outdoors-gps-os/id404581674?mt=8

Phones Show Chat 5th Anniversary – Podcast & Hangout

Android, Apple, Tech News, Wearables, Windows

Yesterday, I was a guest along with a number of other people on the Phones Show Chat Podcast, number 253. This was also the 5th Anniversary podcast, so a special Video Hangouts On Air was produced.

If you wish to just listen to the audio only, click here for all the info and download links. http://stevelitchfield.com/sshow/chat.html

LG Slim Guard Case for the LG G3 – review

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

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I finally managed to get hold of the official LG Slim Guard Case for the LG G3. This is the version for the G3 D855 not G3 F400. I will start by showing you some photos of the case.

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And now with the case side by side with the original back so you can get a sense of the depth and size difference. The Slim Guard case does have the Qi charging built in which means no loss of signal when using this method to charge.

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So what does the case look like fitted. Below are 3 photos.

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And finally one last shot of the case fitted next to the original back.

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So you’ve seen all the photos but what is the case like. Well first up I’ve been waiting for over a month for this to arrive. It has been massively delayed and I had high hopes for this case by LG. When I first opened it out of the wrapping I was disappointed. The entire case is a form of plastic even the edges which look like rubber. The rubber is just for effect. It is the same plastic. In terms of protection the sides of the case add for an extra ridge to grip. The back is matt and perforated. It is slightly grippier but I felt it was still not grippier enough. It clearly would offer more protection if you dropped the phone but not as much as a £5 silicone case. The disadvantage of using an add on case is that the Qi charging may not work but your phone is better protected.

You can now buy replacement original back covers for £17 on eBay. This Slim Guard case cost £21. It adds extra depth and bulk and takes away the beauty of the phone. Also due to the added depth, it is not as easy to wrap your hand around so you could end up dropping it. So the original shiny back can be held more securely as you can get more of your hand around it. So my thoughts are if I dropped it I could just spend another £17 and get a replacement back. That’s assuming it is the back that is broken. The slim guard case does offer a tiny amount of front screen protection but not enough in my book. The lip needed to be greater.

This is not a clear winner. There are pro and cons. At the moment I cannot decide whether to keep it on or just go naked with the original stunning design of the G3.

Update – since writing the above review I have found the Slim Guard case to be definitely grippier in real life outdoor situations and to offer better protection. It still is not perfect, but it is the slimmest case solution available.