The Internet was awash with news about android wear and the Moto360 watch.
Sadly the Moto360 will only be initially available in the US.
Source – Engadget.
Category Archives: Android
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – lifetime 3 monthly update
Ok, I know it’s not a lifetime, but 3 months worth of ownership of a single phone by my standards is a lifetime.
The real test is whether I can survive the next few months or even weeks of new phone launches. Now some of you may say I tweeted I had picked up a 5C and a LG G2. Well I did, but they were not for me but 2 friends respectively. I still had a little peek though. Loved the G2. The 5C was great too but the screen felt cramped.
Going back to the Note 3 it just keeps on impressing me the more I use it. Also the spec sheet is still ahead of many phones. It possesses stunning audio quality via headphones, a huge battery and screen and is so versatile that when I read the new specs of soon to be released phones I keep thinking I’m not buying that as it won’t change much. Even the camera on the Note 3 is way above my expectations.
The Note 3 is a joy to use and seems to excel in most areas. This is going to be a very difficult phone to part company with.
Maybe, next month I will be eating my own words. So who reckons I will have a new phone in April?
Oppo Find 7 – just landed – updated with official specs
The key facts from the launch are –
– equipped with MaxxAudio a technical Grammy award winning solution for better sound and bass.
– fast charge. 30 mins of charge takes battery to 75% .
– Video recording at 4K and 720p. 120fps slow motion.
– combines 10 photos at the backend to take 50mp photos using the super zoom.
– 538ppi 2560 x 1440 highest resolution phone available
– Snapdragon 801 3gb ram. 13mp Sony Exmor IMX214 sensor.
– 32gb storage plus expandable with micro sd to 128gb
Photo source Engadget.
Has Apple lost the plot – iPhone 5C 8gb vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Windows Phone
Yesterday Apple quietly launched the iPhone 5C with only 8gb of storage at a cost of £429. Clove Technology sells the Samsung Note 3 for £433.20 which is a comparable price. In this article I am going to show how Apple has totally lost the plot by comparing the 5C to the Note 3.
Of course I could have picked from a number of other phones that are available for less than the iPhone 5C. These include the Nexus 5, LG G2 32gb, Motorola Moto G or Moto X, Nokia Lumia 1020 or 925 or 1320, Samsung S4 and HTC One. These phones are as much as £329 less than the iPhone 5C. There are many other phones cheaper than the 5C as well. I selected all of the above as on the whole all of these phones trash the 5C in every specification from camera to storage to features except one area. One handed comfort and usage.
So let’s compare the iPhone 5C to the Note 3. They cost the same. I know what you’re already thinking. This is not a fair comparison. The Note 3 is at the cutting edge of technology and has hundreds more advantages over the 5C. And it does. And this illustrates how Apple have lost the plot. But let’s list out a few –
Camera – Note 3 wins with its 13mp camera vs the 8mp on the 5C
Screen – Note 3 wins with a 5.7 inch screen vs 4 inches on the 5C. Also I prefer the colour and clarity on the Note 3.
Storage – Note 3 wins again with 32gb vs 8gb on the 5C
Misc – the Note 3 has a stylus for handwriting input, NFC, USB mass storage, replaceable battery , micro sd slot for expanding the storage, USB 3, wireless charging, multi windows, small apps, one handed use, proper system sharing, selecting of default apps, easy customisation, widgets and theming and so much more. The iPhone 5C has none of the above.
So does the 5C have any winning areas over the Note 3? Yes. iCloud backup and restore is simply the best solution, and the simplest. iOS Apps. I don’t care what anyone says, they always are the most polished. iOS control and notification centres are extremely well designed. One handed use is the best. Also it will become the cheapest option for people to get an iPhone on contact. And anything else is not an iPhone and people want what they can’t afford.
But really is it worth all that extra money? Especially when you can buy a Samsung flagship phone or a number of top performing windows and android phones for considerably less!
Android Wear – Google just made wearables exciting
Check out the video by Google showing scenes from the new Moto360 smart watch as well as a watch from LG.
Android Wearable is the new operating system that will power a host of new wearable devices announced yesterday by Google. Apart from Motorola and LG, Fossil has stated it will be participating in making watches using this new operating system.
For the first time the Moto360 smart watch looks like something people would wear and use and makes the Pebble and Galaxy Gear seem dated in design and vulnerable.
Now all that is left is for Apple to show its hand.
For more information head over to Google.
The All New HTC One – 25th March at 4pm
HTC will be announcing its new HTC One next Tuesday 25th March 2014.
And in a rather clever move will be offering it for sale from 4pm the same day via Carphone Warehouse, Phones4u and Selfridges.
In other words the phone will be on sale weeks ahead its competitors the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2.
So will you be buying one?
Apple passes Samsung in emerging markets – why?
People want what they can’t have. For many of those living in emerging markets, that’s an iPhone.
Apple is the most desirable mobile-phone brand among inhabitants of emerging markets, according to a report from marketing firm Upstream and researcher Ovum. In the study conducted this year, Apple edged out Samsung Electronics, which was the leader in a separate survey by Upstream last year.
Samsung saw a slight decline in its share of developing-market consumers who favour its phones from 32 percent to 29 percent, according to Upstream. Apple’s share jumped dramatically from 21 percent to where Samsung was last year. More at Bloomberg.
With market research like this, Apple is very unlikely ever to lower its prices.
Nokia X – One Million pre-orders in China – not so fast
It turns out Nokia’s Weibo announcement of 1 million pre-orders for the Android Nokia X is potentially misleading according to wmpoweruser.
LiveSide.net reported that the number was generated at retailer JD.com, and that the pre-orders, which unusually for China did not require any registration or money down, was part of a contest to win the handset with instant wins ie. Click the pre-order button and you can win a Nokia X.
Entrants were also able to “pre-order” for each of the 4 colours, suggesting much less than 1 million Chinese were interested in the handset.
On the other hand LiveSide does note that at around $100 the handset is pretty cheap, even for an Android handset, so it may still do pretty well in the end. However for now we should withhold judgement until much more information is available.
Nokia won’t be the first company nor the last to manipulate sales figures. Let’s hope they can sell a lot more than this figure in any event.
Chromecast is coming officially to the UK – very soon
Techradar reported that months of waiting and procrastinating, the long-awaited Google Chromecast streaming dongle will finally go on sale in the UK this coming Wednesday 19 March, according to leaked Dixons retail inventory revealed on Twitter.
My only concern is it’s limited use at the moment. So who wants one or has obtained one already? And if you have one, what did you use it for?
Grab a bargain – Samsung Galaxy Gear being sold now for £124.99 – details
O2 online and in the retail stores from today (UK) are selling the Samsung Galaxy Gear at 50% off. So it’s now £124.99.
My local O2 store had stock too.
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