Category Archives: Android

Apple iPhone 6S – Camera comparisons with the Samsung S7 & LG G5

May 25, 2016Android, Apple, Tech NewsApple iPhone 6S, camera day out comparison, LG G5, Samsung S7Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

My wife and I were out yesterday in Widecombe in the Moor on Dartmoor. This is a beautiful place and if you happen to visit, make sure you pop into the Cafe on The Green for some tasty grub.

During our visit to Widecombe my wife took photos using her iPhone 6S and I was snapping away with my LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7. So whilst the photo viewpoints don’t always match, the conditions were identical, and this provided some great photos to compare. I also thought the photos taken were more realistic to a normal day trip, rather than trying to take photos in a prepared format.

Widecombe Village Green

First up is the shot from the iPhone 6S below. I actually prefer the iPhone 6S shot here. Look at all the clouds and sky. Slightly better exposed and more natural and realistic to the scene.

Below is from the LG G5 using the wide lens. Dramatic as always from the wide angle.

Below is the shot from the Samsung S7. Deep saturated colours. Some may prefer this screen look. Good contrast too.

St Pancras Church Shots

First up a 3 shots from the iPhone 6S. These shots are the Church and graveyard are close calls in terms of accuracy to the scenes themselves.

Below 3 shots from the LG G5. Some really great snaps from the G5.

Below are 3 shots from the Samsung S7. Sharp and saturated. Still great looking photos.

So now the remainder of the shots are by myself using the LG G5 and Samsung S7.

Macro and Flower.

Below are the 2 shots from the LG G5. The G5 does a good job, but not as good as the S7. The wind was blowing slightly when taking these shots and the ones from the S7.

Below are the 2 shots from the S7. The S7 is the clear winner here. Stunning. Oodles of detail.

The Church House

Below are 2 shots from the LG G5. One normal and the other wide. Too close to call between the 2 phones. Some areas the extra resolution means there is more detail to crop with the G5.

Below is the shot from the S7. A very good shot but not as much detail as the G5, but excellent nonetheless.

Final shot from the LG G5, using the wide lens to capture the Cafe on the Green restaurant.

This is to highlight why the G5 is ideal for visiting places. The wide lens can capture the scene in a unique way.

Inside.

And outside.

Overall all 3 phones did a great job. The iPhone is still a decent contender against the LG G5 and Samsung S7 in good lighting. The S7 did a better job with close and macro shots than the LG G5. And the LG G5 takes wonderful wide angle shots.

So what do you think? You can tap on each photo to view the full size version.

HTC 10 vs LG G5 – Roof Top Views over Exeter

May 24, 2016Android, Tech Newscamera comparison, HTC 10 vs LG G5Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

I had two phones with me yesterday, the LG G5 and HTC 10.

The HTC 10 comes with a great raw enhancement tool, that takes a raw image and automatically adjusts it for you.

So what does that translate into. Below is a shot of John Lewis, Exeter, snapped in raw and post processed on the HTC 10 using the raw enhancement tool.

So how does the HTC 10 compare with the LG G5 and its 16mp rear camera. This shot was snapped in auto.

But actually the shot I liked the most came from the 8mp LG G5 wide angle rear lens. Edited in snapseed using HDR Scape filter.

Sometimes it is just nothing to do with the pixels, but the impact of the shot.

And just one more from the LG G5 wide lens. I was standing no more than 1 metre away from the wall. This is a shot of the original City Wall of Exeter, the ruins that survived the bombing from World War Two.

Despite the fish eye effect, it is still a shot that I like and one that captures the wall.

HTC 10 – Camera Shots from the weekend

May 23, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech Newscamera shots from the weekend, HTC 10Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Over the weekend I took several shots with the HTC 10. I also had the LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7. I discarded most of the S7’s shots except one as I preferred the photos from the HTC 10. I will create a separate post for the LG G5 and S7 shots.

George – Pro mode, RAW, cropped to 16:9

Mud Bath

Panoramic Shot of Dartmoor

Tiggy

George and Tiggy

Sharp Tor

Tree

LG G5 & Samsung Galaxy S7 – Camera shots from the weekend

May 23, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech Newscamera shots from the weekend, LG G5, Samsung S7Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Most of my photos this weekend came from the HTC 10, but I did snap several from the LG G5 and S7. Sadly I was disappointed with the S7 photos versus the rest except for one shot below.

George and Fury – S7

Sharp Tor – LG G5

Soussons Forrest – LG G5

Stormy Clouds over Warren Inn, Dartmoor – LGG5 wide

Soussons Forrest – LGG5 wide

I do think the LG G5 is better for landscape type shots especially using the wide lens. It will be interesting to see how the S7 fares when I use it with the official wide lens from Samsung later this week.

HTC 10 – Hyperlapse Mode – Camera footage

May 22, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHTC 10 Hyperlapse mode, video sampleGavin Fabiani-Laymond

It was a real big, mud and water fest on Dartmoor this morning.

But I had a go at recording a Hyperlapse video. I was walking and holding the HTC 10 in Dartmoor. It was a bumpy walk too.

LG G5 with HiFi Plus DAC case

May 21, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHiFi Plus DAC case, LG G5Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

The LG G5 comes with a few modules that when fitted mean you can’t use a case.

Fortunately an eBay seller from Korea is now selling one which arrived today.

I am going to have to make one modification to the case with my drill and that is to enlarge the headphone cutout hole marginally. The hole fits several headphones except some of mine. It’s an easy tweak to do just an oversight in the design.

Anyway here’s the link to the eBay seller.

eBay link

So what else does the case offer. Well for starters it is a typical silicone TPU case. The front of the case offers between 1-2mm of a lip so you can place the phone screen side on a table. The rear of the case has cutouts for the fingerprint sensor and camera. The top edge has cutouts for the mic, IR blaster and headphone port. The volume keys on the left side are covered, but has raised plastic keys so you can operate these with ease. The sim/micro SD tray is completely covered by the case. On the bottom edge, there are cutouts for the DAC loudspeaker, mic, USB Type C port and the DAC headphone port. As mentioned above, you might find yourself needing to make the headphone holes slightly larger. If you remove the silicone case it will bend as its a clear rubber TPU silicone material. Fitted to the case its rather good.

HTC 10 – A selection of shots from the camera

May 21, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech Newscamera shots, HTC 10Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Below are a selection of photos from the HTC 10 camera. I really like the natural look of the photos.

Below is a crop from the 4:3 to 16:9.

The sheep suddenly walked across the road. The HTC 10 was quick enough to launch and snap this. Cropped again from 4:3 to 16:9.

One of several from a burst and cropped again.

Natural shot of the ponies.

The local church. Realistic shot.

Merivale Quarry with the bird in the sky. Really realistic shot again.

Overall some really pleasant shots from the HTC 10.

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Have a good weekend.

Back in the Day the Moto RAZR was King – Motorola Teases New Phones

May 20, 2016Android, Tech NewsLenovo, New Motorola phonesGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Lenovo released an advert yesterday reminding everyone of the successful RAZR flip phone and then teasing the unveiling of Motorola’s next… something… that’s all about reliving the Razr’s incredible success in the mid-2000s.

The big unveiling is on the 9th June 2016. It is quite likely that the new phones are going to be very thin, rumoured just over 5mm. Don’t ask about the battery!

Below is the advert.

Android Apps are coming to Chrome OS – Editorial

May 20, 2016Android, Editorials, Tech NewsAndroid apps are coming to Chrome OSGavin Fabiani-Laymond

On the second day of Google I/O, Google announced that the entire Google Play Store would be present and Chrome OS and Chromebooks. All the apps and games would run on Chromebooks.

Yesterday I said the following – “ultimately Google is moving towards a vision where the Google Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality control your life.”

I also mentioned “Android Instant Apps – this allows Google load and run specific parts of Android apps on devices without downloading and installing the whole app first. Apps are made in modules by developers for this to happen.”

Now merge both of these together and the Chromebook becomes a super fast, super powerful and on demand computer. If you have used a Chromebook already, you will already know it is super fast, nimble and can already manage 95% of all day to day tasks.

Provide a platform to use apps on demand and via the cloud as you need each part, and its a match made in heaven. Now this is likely 12-24 months away, but the Google Play store will arrive on Chromebooks by later this year.

I do wonder if Google have just pulled off a masterstroke against Microsoft and their cloud and Apple. Personally I would like everyone to succeed as well as someone like Amazon. As they say, competition is healthy.

Google I/O Keynote Speech – Highlights, Extras and My Thoughts

May 19, 2016Android, Apple, Tech NewsGoogle I/O, Highlights, my thoughtsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Google I/O opened yesterday with a 2 hour keynote speech. Lots of items got discussed but ultimately Google is moving towards a vision where the Google Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality control your life.

Key Highlights

– Google Assistant – An ongoing two way assistant to help you with everything.

– Allo – New messaging app for Google Assistant baked right in and that learns more over time.This is a great person to person or group messaging app. You can preregister for this app too.

– Duo – A new video calling app, which works well even over low bandwidth. Again you can preregister for this app as well.

– Virtual Reality arrives on Android using the “Daydream” standard. This was big news as Daydream will include loads of new features to make VR a top notch experience. This means that phones running Daydream will have a built-in VR interface for navigation, VR versions of Google apps and the latency and performance will be managed by Daydream to provide a great VR experience across devices. Google is providing manufacturers with open source reference platforms for a new level of VR headset and one-handed motion controller

– Android N – The final version not only downloads in the background but it actually installs itself too, without the need for you to reboot your phone. More features on Android N were made available along with a new beta.

– Android TV – support for picture in picture, HDR, live recording and new apps and extra Google cast functionality in more TV’s and devices.

– Google Home – This is Google’s response to Amazon’s Echo. Acknowledgement was made at the great job Amazon had accomplished with Echo too. Google Home goes further becoming the digital controller for music, lights , devices and more. Plus its a speaker and can control other speakers, play video on your TV and much much more. Google Home is Google’s response to HomeKit and Siri as well.

– Android Wear 2.0 – A huge update, probably bring to catch up with the Apple Watch whilst adding some new features like a new material design, app launcher, keyboard with gestures and handwriting input, and watch complications.

– Android Auto – A new feature will be the fact you will be able to run the Android Auto interface natively on a phone or tablet and not rely on a dedicated smart computer or radio in your car.

– Chrome OS – Google Play Store and Android apps will be able to run on Chrome OS. The Android Instant Apps initiative could be a method used to help support Chrome OS even more.

– Android Instant Apps – this allows Google load and run specific parts of Android apps on devices without downloading and installing the whole app first. Apps are made in modules by developers for this to happen.

Ultimately I see this as the future where you will be able to log on to any piece of hardware and have your entire app, games, media, personal data streamed via the cloud as you need it. This will be supported by Google AI and VR.

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