Asus announced the Asus Zenbo, a robot for the home. It will retail at $599 which according to the CEO of Asus is unbelievable value.
My wife watched the video below from Asus and simply said “Does it do the ironing? Does it go up stairs? So it suggests a recipe, but what if you havent got the ingredient? Does it get it for you? With all these questions, the answers are no it doesn’t.
But have a look at the video below and tell me does it do enough for YOU to want one?
Welcome to my review of the HTC 10 which came from Clove Technology.
Before I delve deep into my HTC 10 review let’s cover off the key specifications.
Key Specifications
Phone Basics
The HTC 10 is made from a solid piece of aluminium. Based on the crazy YouTube stress tests, the HTC 10 is also one of the strongest handsets available, as it survived loads of bend tests. ie. it doesnt bend. Like all aluminium phones it is slightly slippery although not as bad as other phones I could mention.
Call quality was excellent and the recipient to my calls had no issue hearing me clearly. I did notice on the cellular reception the odd occassion whereby the signal strength was one or two bars less and other times when the 4g signal was stronger than my other phone running on the same network.
I had no issues with WiFi, Bluetooth but I could not send via DLNA photos to my old Sony TV as some protocol was missing with the HTC 10. My Samsung S7 and LG G5 for example could easily send wirelessly any photo. Using a Chromecast was the solution in this case.
The screen is a high quality QHD panel. Visibility in bright sun was average. Viewing angles were good too. Battery life has varied from anything to 3 to 4.5 hours screen on time. I do run a demanding setup, location services always on high, 4 email accounds pushing email, a connected smartwatch, 2 twitter acounts, facebook, flickr, 120 apps and a lot more. You get the picture, everything is on NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth and push services and notifications everywhere.
With a Snapdragon 820 and 4gb of ram the HTC 10 flies. In addition HTC has worked hard to remove bloat and duplicated apps. There is a really great feeling of fludidity using the HTC 10. The fingerprint scanner has been perfect everytime. Not one missed reading!
HTC Sense UI has consequently been toned down with the HTC 10. You still have extensive theming options and now a Freestyle mode. This is where you place small images anywhere on the screen and associate an app with this. Looks arty, in practice is not as useful unless you only every want quick access to half a dozen apps. For some people, I can see this being popular, but its not for me at all.
Audio
This is why you bought the HTC 10. Even if you didn’t you are in for a treat. 24bit 192khz Hi-Res sound as standard. Hi-res mics as standard too. That means recorded audio is at FLAC standard. The Loudspeaker arrangement is a tweeted on the top front of the phone and the bass comes out the bottom edge to provide Hi-Fi quality sound. The quality is definitely there, but sometimes I missed the higher output volume of previous HTC Boomsound speakers. Listening to podcasts or playing games, that extra speaker fidelity became noticeable for the better.
The real magic is connected wired headphones. The HTC 10 has volume, superb audio quality and the voltage to really deliver magical sound to your headphones. I connected my Sennheiser HD598se, Oppo PM-3, Dunu Titan 5 and Sony XBA-1. They all sounded the best I have ever heard them from any smartphone! Whats more the incredible sound is produced for everything you listen to from YouTube, Tidal, Spotify and more. The HTC 10 also has scale with the music. So for example, if you are listening to a classical track and it suddenly explodes with drums, the HTC 10 amp explodes with it. The underlying audio leans to a slightly warmer side but in a good way. I really “love” the audio from the phone.
Camera
Normally this is where HTC phones have not been as good as their competitors, but now with the HTC 10 it is time to rejoice. The camera is really good. The rear camera has huge pixels at 1.55 microns. And Optical Image Stabilisation with laser autofocus. The front facing camera also has large pixels, OIS and autofocus. Not only that but the mics for recording are hi-res, so you get flac audio with your recordings. The HTC Camera app has been redesigned and at first it feels alien to use. However, after a short space of time, it became second nature. There is a Pro Mode (manual) which offers shutter speeds up to 2 seconds. Camera modes include auto, pro, panorama, hyperlapse, Zoe camera and time lapse. 4K video recording is available too.
The burst mode is effective as well. In terms of image quality, I really liked the output. The post processing isnt as heavy as say the Samsung S7 and consequently I preferred many of the photos of my dogs from the HTC 10 vs the S7. I do think the photos lean towards a warmer tone and in auto ,the low light shots ISO levels are far too high, althought the end result is acceptable. In Pro mode, night shots are much better as you can force the ISO at 100. Occassionally when focusing up close the HTC 10 would fall over. Other than that, its a camera you can rely on.
Camera Samples
The HTC 10 produced some brilliant shots. George has a wicked smile! Snapped in burst mode.
Sheep crossing the road. I love the atmosphere of this shot.
Accurate colours with this photo of the tree and landscape.
Panoramic shots worked well too. Superb sky.
The large pixels really helped with the night shot of my local church.
Video Review
To compliment the written review, I have also produced a video below.
Conclusion
The best smartphone from HTC in ages with excellent audio, a decent camera, slick UI all wrapped in a premium metal unibody design. Recommended.
My thanks to Clove Technology for their good service again.
Welcome to my review of the Xiaomi Mi Max.
Key Features
Yesterday my Xiaomi Mi Max arrived. It is a monster.
– Dimensions – 173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5 mm
– Weight – 203g
– SIM Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by / or combo with micro SD)
– Screen 6.44 inch , 342 ppi , 1080p IPS
– Gorilla Glass 4
– 3/4gb ram 32/64/128gb storage
– IR Blaster
– Gorilla Glass 4
– 16 MP, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 5mp front
– FM Radio
– 4,850 mAh battery
Phone Basics
I have the 3gb 32 storage, Snapdragon 650 Mi Max. There are larger storage options along with 4gb ram and also a Snapdragon 652. In day to day use the Mi Max has been fluid with no hickups. Screen viewing angles are excellent and sunlight visibilty reasonable too. I have no bluetooth, wifi or other issues either.
The Mi Max comes a Chinese rom. Hopefully, it won’t be long for a Global rom. With the Chinese firmware, despite selecting English in the language menu, Chinese text does appear in certain apps and menus. This hasn’t stop me setting up the FM Radio channels, the Mi Remote (infra red blaster) for my TV and a lot more. The loudspeaker is mono, goes fairly loud and sounds quite good. Headphone audio is excellent. My Sennheiser HD598se were powered with relative ease.
To make this work with Google services, you will need to install Google Play Services APK. This is available from the Xiaomi forums within the Mi5 section. After installing this, you will need to go to the Download app and change WiFi limit size to unlimited, go to the security app and allow all permissions for all the Google apps and services, and allow all the Google apps and services to auto start. Then reboot. Obviously, once a global rom arrives, Google Play services will come preinstalled and minus a lot of the Chinese bloat.
MIUI v7.3 is installed and this will be upgraded to the new MIUI v8.
Battery life is wonderful. Full brightness. Everything on. And still loads of juice left at the end of the day. Every phone should have a 4,850mAh battery! Viewing media on the 6.44 inch screen is fantastic too.
Camera
Both the front and rear cameras take good photos. The front has several selfie options and I was pleased with the results. The rear camera took great photos in good light. The quality dropped in lower light. In its manual mode it only has a maximum shutter of 0.25 seconds. The camera has lots of different shooting modes shown in my video review further down. It is worth noting that optical image stabilisation is not present.
Camera Samples
Lovely colours with this shot above.
My local church above with HDR off.
Now with HDR on.
The camera is able to focus on specific areas with relative ease.
Video Review
Conclusion
At around £250 this is an amazing piece of hardware and once the global rom arrives will be even better. It also is a giant of a phone yet still manageable.
It has been 24 hours since the Xiaomi Mi Max arrived. It is an absolute beast. Currently, I am running the Chinese rom as the official global rom is not available. This meant side loading Google Play Services which was a fairly simple affair once I used the correct apk installer. I have now installed around 100 apps/games from the Google Play Store.
One of the drawbacks of using the Chinese rom is despite selecting English in the language settings, Chinese text does appear in certain apps and menus. This hasn’t stop me setting up the FM Radio channels, the Mi Remote (infra red blaster) for my TV and a lot more. The loudspeaker is mono, goes fairly loud and sounds quite good. Headphone audio is excellent. My Sennheiser HD598se were powered with relative ease.
Battery life is wonderful. Full brightness. Everything on. And still loads of juice left at the end of the day. Every phone should have a 4,850mAh battery! Viewing media on the 6.44 inch screen is fantastic too.
So what about the camera? Well below are some samples I snapped yesterday. Click on each photo if you want to pixel peep at the original.
Whilst perfect conditions for taking photos. I felt the shots were good. Just look how vivid the colours are on the telephone box, yet the sky is the correct shade of blue.
Shot of my village centre.
Now this is my local church. HDR was off.
But with HDR on, the shot is vastly improved.
The Mi Max has tap to focus. So I tried focusing on the graveyard in the distance and it worked.
So now I focused on one of the bars. And it worked again. So far I have been impressed by the camera.
More soon on the Xiaomi Mi Max.
Yesterday, I used the wide and telephoto lens and took several more photos. Below are a few of my favourites. To see the full size click on each photo.
Overall I am impressed with the wide and telephoto lenses. There is some softening at the edges but they do make a difference.
Tech Addicts Podcast is back again with new episode starring Gareth Myles, Jay Garrett, Sam Pullen and I. Tech Addicts is released every 2 weeks.
To listen to the latest episode subscribe by searching “Tech Addicts” within your favourite podcast app, iTunes or use the URL “mobiletechaddicts.libsyn.com/rss” to add directly.
Alternatively, just click listen via the embedded player below.
Have fun listening!
Yesterday I received the official Samsung Protective Lens Cover for my S7. Samsung also sell this for the S7 Edge.
Below are some camera samples and comparisons with the LG G5. To view full size click on each photo.
Samsung S7 – No lenses used. Snapped at 4:3. Cropped to 16:9.
LG G5 – 16mp
Samsung S7 -Wide Lens attached
LG G5 – 8mp Wide Angle Lens
Samsung S7 – Wide
LG G5 – Wide lens
Samsung S7 – Telephoto Lens
I have since discovered that apparently the wide angle lens can also be used for macro shots. This I need to test still. The Telephoto lens can suffer light flare easily, but this can be removed by blocking the light hitting the lens awkwardly.
All the S7 shots were originally 4:3. I just cropped then to 16:9. I really liked the dog burst shots taken with the telephoto lens. The wide shots were as expected. Quality seemed similar to the LG G5, although in places the edge does go to the S7 with the lenses attached. However, if you have the LG G5, you don’t need to attach anything.
The actual case for the S7 is a very strong and sturdy affair and even has a raised grip section on the right back end. Neat touch.
So what do you think? If you head over to my flickr I have created a dedicated album. The dog shots were all taken with the telephoto lens. CLICK HERE.
Yesterday my Xiaomi Mi Max arrived. It is a monster.
– Dimensions – 173.1 x 88.3 x 7.5 mm
– Weight – 203g
– SIM Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by / or combo with micro SD)
– Screen 6.44 inch , 342 ppi , 1080p IPS
– Gorilla Glass 4
– 3/4gb ram 32/64/128gb storage
– IR Blaster
– Gorilla Glass 4
– 16 MP, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 5mp front
– FM Radio
– 4,850 mAh battery
There are many more specs, but lets just say its a beast. Ultra slim, metal unibody that oozes quality. A 4,850mAh battery that lasts forever. Wonderful experience. Screen on time will be in excess of 12 hours.
So while I prepare my evaluate this beast, let me know if you have any questions.
And first shot off the camera below. Not bad eh!
Finally, the official Samsung Protective Lens Cover has arrived for my S7. It is also available for the S7 Edge. The lenses come in protective barrel looking cases. The barrel looking case unscrews too. Really makes for a neat way to transport the lenses safely.
First impressions are excellent. Good quality feel in the hand and some quick snaps do reveal positive signs of image quality. With the lenses attached the flash is blocked. Also the case blocks NFC.
More information and my review will follow soon plus a comparison versus the LG G5 wide angle lens. Photos will be included.
This could decide which phone I keep out of the S7 or LG G5.
More information click HERE.
Pebble announced the Pebble 2 ($99), Time 2 ($129) and Pebble Core ($69). The Pebble 2 goes looks like the original Pebble but this time adds a heart rate monitor. The Time 2 has a colour display with 50% more display and a battery that lasts up to 10 days. The Time 2 is currently only available in steel.
New to the table is the Pebble Core. Pebble has a Pebble Core for Runners and a Pebble Core for Hackers. The running version clips to clothing, and allows you to leave your phone at home as it has a sim card. You can stream spotify for example. The hackers version is a keychain computer that acts as a magic button for any command. Pebble also said Amazon’s Alexa voice will be added soon.
So what do I think. On paper these are ugly looking watches, especially the Pebble 2. But they are cheap and offer a range of functionality at this price. Pebble also seems to have cult status. The Pebble Core could become something useful and a just $69 is like a new iPod Shuffle with a modem.
Cheekily, it launched a Kickstarter campaign for each device. The target was $1m. As of typing this post it has smashed $1m and stands just under $5m.
So no matter what I think, Pebble has a niche market, a niche product already funded by a Kickstarter.
More information at Pebble Kickstarter
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 