Category Archives: Android

Apple iPhone 6s vs HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5 – Camera Night Shots

May 19, 2016Android, Apple, Tech NewsApple iPhone 6S vs HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Daylight was disappearing fast and before you knew it, it was pitch black in the haunted graveyard of the Church of St Michael & All Angels, Princetown, Dartmoor, UK.

Fortunately I was not afraid as I was armed with 4 of the latest and top flagship smartphones to protect me from the ghosts and spirits.

The task was simple, take a number of shots using the 4 smartphones to decide a clear winner. There were a few surprises on the way with this test too. With all the phones I shot in auto and where available pro modes. I have shown the exif data with each shot, and if you want to pixel peep, you can click on each photo to explore the full size photo.

Each photo has the exif data and time taken. The photos are in order of time. Please be patient as there are 25 shots in total to view.

HTC 10 – Auto – 1/25 ISO 500 – 9.23pm

The HTC 10 produced a very realistic shot in terms of how dark it was at the time and the colours and white balance.

LG G5 – Auto 1/13s ISO 350 – 9.24pm

Oodles of detail from the G5. Great shot.

LG G5 – wide – auto – 1/15s ISO 550 – 9.24pm

With just a little light the wide angle lens on the G5 does a good job.

Samsung S7 – Auto – 1/13 ISO 200 – 9.24pm

These dusk to darkness shots are excellent from the S7.

HTC 10 – 1/6s ISO 100 – 9.26pm

A cracking shot from the HTC 10. I really like this.

HTC 10 – 1/2s ISO 100 – 9.26pm

A great shot again from the HTC 10.

Samsung S7 – Pro Mode – 0.5s ISO 50 – 9.26pm

The difference of 0.5 seconds. A good shot from the S7.

LG G5 – Manual mode – wide – 2s ISO 50 – 9.27pm

The 8mp 135º wide angle lens of the G5 looks amazing but pixel peeping reveals its weaknesses.

LG G5 – Manual mode – wide – 2s ISO 50 – 9.27pm

It wasn’t daylight but at 2 second shutter even with the wide lens, a great picture is captured.

Apple iPhone 6S – f/17 ISO 640 – 9.28pm

An average shot from the iPhone 6S, but not at the same league as the other phones.

Apple iPhone 6S – 1/17s ISO 400 – 9.29pm

Once it got too dark, the iPhone 6S was really struggling as this is evident when you pixel peep.

Apple iPhone 6S – 1/17s ISO 640 – 9.29pm

So with the ISO increased, the photo looks brighter but its still falls short compared to the other phones.

Samsung S7 – Pro Mode – 1s ISO 50 – 9.30pm

A vivid and sharpened shot from the S7, but one that look good.

Samsung S7 – Pro Mode – 2s ISO 50 – 9.30pm

One extra second shutter time from the S7 shot above and it looks too bright. But lots of detail.

HTC 10 – 1s ISO 100 – 9.32pm

A good photo from the HTC. Lots of detail.

HTC 10 – 1s ISO 100 – 9.34pm

An average shot with the HTC 10. I had thought I had pushed a 2 second shutter, the max in pro mode, but the exif data only shows 1 second.

LG G5 – Auto – 1/9 – Night mode activated – 9.36pm

A wide angle lens shot again, lots of noise and artefacts.

LG G5 1/9s ISO unknown AUTO – 9.36pm

Like the wide angle shot above, in auto mode at night, the G5 activated some photo mode to obtain the best shot.

LG G5 – Manual mode – 5s ISO 50 – 9.37pm

The G5 is doing a good job again this late at night.

LG G5 – Manual mode – 8s ISO 50 – 9.37pm

Wide lens at 8 seconds shutter is not enough to stop noise and artefacts.

Apple iPhone 6S – 1/17s ISO 1250 – 9.37pm

Very high ISO and a loss of detail from the iPhone 6S.

Samsung S7 – 1/10s ISO 1000 Auto – 9.37pm

In this shot the S7 made the photo appear not as dark as it really was. Lots of noise and artefacts in this shot. At ISO 1000 this is to be expected.

LG G5 – Manual mode – wide – 8s ISO 50 – Edited WB – 9.37pm

With a bit of fun with the white balance I created the shot below.

Samsung S7 – Pro mode – 4s ISO 50 – 9.38pm

As it became near pitch black, the street lamp just outside of the perimeter of the church wall played havoc with the white balance. Not very good and the processing is all over the place.

Samsung S7 – Pro mode – 8s ISO 50 – 9.38pm

Again when it got very dark the S7 just failed to cope with the white balance as above but there is detail in this shot despite noise and processing.

In terms of ranking the Apple iPhone 6S comes last. When it was pitch black except for a nearby street lamp, the S7 lost control of the white balance. So that left the G5 and HTC 10. Very close call and sometimes in between pitch black and dusk the S7 did a good job.

Also, if any of the shots from the iPhone were shared to twitter or social media, nobody would be any the wiser.

So in terms of the HTC 10, LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7 its a close call. The G5 has more pixels and up to a 30 second shutter speed. It also has the amazing wide angle lens. The HTC 10 has the largest pixels and at times it shows. And the the Samsung Galaxy S7 with its f/1.7 and fast focussing is superb until it gets pitch black.

So who is your winner?

Audioquest Dragonfly RED – The Latest & Greatest DAC the size of a USB stick – review

May 18, 2016Android, Apple, Audio, Reviews, Tech News, WindowsAudioquest Dragonfly RED, Review, specsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Audioquest Dragonfly Red. The Dragonfly Red is a USB DAC, Preamp and Headphone amplifier all squeezed into the size of a USB memory stick.

The Key Specification

– USB Stick-Sized Digital-to-Analog Converter
– Plays all music files: MP3 to high-res
– Compatible with Apple and Windows PCs, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices (requires Apple Camera Adapter or Made for Android/OTG adaptor)
– Drives headphones directly
– Fixed output feeds preamp or AV receiver
– Asynchronous transfer ensures digital timing integrity
– High output (2.1 volts) drives almost all headphones, including power-hungry models
– 32-bit ESS 9016 DAC with minimum-phase filter
– Bit-perfect digital volume control
– Firmware upgradeable

The Sound Quality and Experience

For the purposes of this review I tested the Dragonfly Red using my iPad, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Macbook. Headphone used were Oppo PM-3, Dunu Titan 5, Sony XBA-1, Sennheiser HD598se and Audio Technica M50x.

All three source components had no issues functioning with the Dragonfly Red. To use with the iPad I needed to use the Apple Camera adapter and with the Samsung Galaxy S7 an OTG adapter. Samsung include an OTG adapter in the box which is handy.

Also worth noting on the S7, to get the best experience you must use an app called USB Audio Player Pro. If you listen to the S7 using other music services/apps they don’t connect to the digital direct drive volume so at max levels the volume may not be high enough. With UAPP the volume is immense.

When using portable devices or your smartphone, the Dragonfly Red does drain the battery of your device faster than normal. This is to be expected as its needs power from somewhere. However, unlike other portable DAC/Headphone amps that have an built in battery, it never goes flat or needs recharging.

I listened to a number of different genres – dance, classical, jazz, rock and blues. I found the Dragonfly Red provided oodles more power and control than using the source components own headphone jack. Also the layering and delicacy of the music was lovely at times. This was more noticeable with classical and jazz genres. The soundstage improved too with the DAC. Overall the music was clearer, more defined, better layered and provided a decent lift in quality.

Conclusion

A remarkable piece of kit from Audioquest. Top notch sound quality bundled in such a small package. Recommended.

For more information and the latest deals on Amazon UK, click HERE.

Android Pay comes to the UK – details and how to install

May 18, 2016Android, Tech NewsAndroid Pay comes to the UK, details, how to installGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Google has announced that Android users in the UK will be able to safely and securely pay from their devices using the operating system’s tap and pay functionality.

Excited to announce that Android Pay is coming to the UK soon. Check out details here: https://t.co/zWu9ugqUD8 pic.twitter.com/SBbrMX4gEo

— Android (@Android) March 23, 2016

MasterCard and Visa debit and credit cards will be supported from a variety of banks including, but not limited to, the Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA, and Nationwide Building Society.

Natwest have stated that they are not supporting Android Pay yet, but an announcement is imminent.

Now just as Google made the announcement that Android Pay was live in the UK, Google changed their mind. So don’t panic. Natwest have already told me their announcement was imminent and its the start of Google I/O. So expect to see some action over the next day or so!

To install Android Pay, click Google Play Store Link to Android Pay and install the app.

LG G5 – 26 Part Mammoth Review – The modular phone becomes a reality – With all the LG Friends & Modules

May 17, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsLG Friends and All Modules review, LG G5 reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the LG G5.

This review has been written after spending 1 month with the LG G5. It has also had a firmware update during this time. Before this review I have published several ongoing posts with guest posts from readers Mark and Mat.

UPDATE – February 2017 – I have now re-reviewed the LG G5 running android nougat. Click HERE.

LG G5 – Can you manage without an app drawer

LG G5 – First Shots from the Camera

LG G5 – My fav shots so far with comments

LG G5 – First Impressions

LG G5 – How to get 10 hours screen on time

LG G5 – More shots from the camera

LG G5 – Shots from London Docklands with Comments

LG G5 – One Week later

LG G5 – How to unlock the bootloader

LG G5 – 2 Weeks Later

LG G5 – First Minor update

LG G5 – What I like about the G5 camera so far

LG G5 – Time Lapse and 360 Cam footage

LG G5 – highlights from the weekend

Mat shares his photos and views on his new LG G5

Camera Decisions – LG G5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7

How I see the pros and cons of the LG G5 and S7

LG G5 vs Samsung S7 – Another camera comparison

Mark shares his views on why he picked the S7 over the G5

LG G5 vs Huawei P9 – camera comparison

Hardware and Design

LG decided to be bold and create a modular phone. A phone where the bottom end detaches and allows for other components to be fitted. So far there is a HiFi Plus and Cam Plus module. What comes next is anyones guess. LG also created LG Friends for the G5. Some of these Friends also work with other android phones and iOS. In fact the HiFi Plus module is also able to work with iOS, android and other OS’s in standalone mode.

I have all the modules and friends. I swap the HiFi DAC on and off regularly and there are absolutely no signs of wear and tear. None whatsoever. So the initial web reports on build quality must have been a faulty first batch. The G5 is made from metal and then painted to hide the antenna lines. Once again the internet reacted to such a scandal. Well, don’t believe everything you read as these publications need visitors to feed their advertising revenue. Nothing wrong in this, but you need to be objective. So lets start with facts. The G5 is the only flagship phone that doesn’t show my fingerprints like there is no yesterday. The Samsung S7 is a disaster for fingerprints. There are also no scratches or marks on my G5 after one month. So LG got something right!

In reality, if you put a case on any phone, it looks no different from another phone.

LG G5 Modules, Friends and Accessories. Below are all the links to the individual reviews –

LG G5 BCK-5100 Hybrid Battery Dock Charger review

LG Cam Plus – review

LG 360 Cam review

LG 360 VR review

LG HiFi Plus review – and reviewed with the S7

LG Tone Platinum HBS-1100 Bluetooth Headset review

The Key Specficiations

– Screen IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 5.3 inches (~70.1% screen-to-body ratio)
– Resolution 1440 x 2560 pixels (~554 ppi pixel density)
– Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 4
– Always-on display
– LG UX 5.0 UI
– OS Android OS, v6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
– Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820
– CPU Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo
– GPU Adreno 530
– MEMORY Card slot microSD, up to 200 GB (dedicated slot)
– Internal 32 GB, 4 GB RAM
– CAMERA Primary 16 MP (f/1.8) + 8 MP (f/2.4), laser autofocus, OIS (3-axis), LED flash,
– Features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., check quality
– Secondary 8 MP, f/2.0, 1080p@30fps, 135º wide angle
– Audio – 24-bit/192kHz audio
– COMMS WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
– Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
– GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
– NFC Yes
– Infrared port Yes
– Radio FM radio
– USB v3.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
– Sensors Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, colour spectrum for camera
– Fast battery charging: 83% in 30 min (Quick Charge 3.0)
– Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
– MP4/DviX/XviD/H.264/WMV player
– MP3/WAV/FLAC/eAAC+/WMA player
– BATTERY Removable Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery
– Stand-by Up to 400 h (3G)
– Talk time Up to 20 h (3G)
– Display Contrast ratio: 1855:1 (nominal), 2.905 (sunlight)
– Dimensions – 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm (5.88 x 2.91 x 0.30 in)
– Weight 159 g (5.61 oz)

Phone Basics

The G5 comes with LG’s latest UI launcher version 5 which has no app drawer. LG added the app drawer back in an update after a week. However, I never bothered to use the app drawer until I decided to install Nova Launcher after 3 weeks. LG launcher does have optional themes but these do not theme the entire phone UI like the Samsung Galaxy S7 themes. I would recommend either installing the Google Now launcher or Nova.

Screen viewing angles are good. Sunlight visibility can be awkward at times. Cellular and WiFi signal strengths were excellent. The G5 in my testing is better at finding signal than the S7. At times the S7 had no signal whereas the G5 had 2 bars whilst on the same network.

The G5 moves to nano sim and USB Type C with Quick charging 3. With the fast charging provided, the G5 charges blisteringly fast. Unlike every other flagship, the G5 has an infra red blaster for controlling your TV, DVD, air conditioner and much much more. Battery life averaged 4-5 hours screen on time based on my setup which included location settings on high and with a connected wearable. With Quick Charge 3 and user swappable batteries power will never be an issue with the G5.

The rear fingerprint scanner/power button works quickly and accurately. The G5 has the option of an always on display. This is useful as it displays icons of all your notifications without the need of turning the phone on. However, its hard to view in bright light.

Camera

The cameras on the LG G5 are brilliant. It comes with a 8mp front camera and 2 rear lenses. A standard 16mp f/1.8 and a 8mp f/2.4 135 degree wide angle lens. The wide angle lens is phenomenal. You can get shots as shown below from it –

The wide angle lens is so wide at 135 degrees you can capture the whole scene with ease. It also means you don’t have to worry about not having enough room to step back further to capture the entire scene. Below the whole harbour in one shot.

Of course the standard 16mp lens is just as awesome and has no issues capturing kids and pets.

The 16mp lens shoots at 16:9 and provides oodles of detail and the ability to crop and crop.

In fact if you want to see more photos from the G5, head over to my dedicated Flickr album where there are 100 shots to view – Click HERE.

The LG camera interface is similar to the LG G4. You have 3 shooting options. Simple (touch screen to shoot), Auto and Manual. Unlike the LG V10, the G5 has no manual controls for video which is disappointing. In Auto mode you have mode options auto, popout, multi view ,snap, panorama, slo mo and time lapse. Pop out is pointless IMO. See my Flickr album for samples. All the other modes work well. The 8mp from camera is good and offers a sliding scale of beautification. Other settings include photo ratio (16:9, 4:3 and 1:1) video resolution (4K, FHD at 30fps and HD), HDR Auto, 9 filters, timer, voice control, OIS on or off, Electronic Video stabilisation on or off and grid lines. You can also select the 16mp or 8mp wide angle lens or if you zoom in and out it switches on the fly. Manual mode allows RAW capture. Flash has another option over auto called R. Reduced flash. You can also have a histogram showing. Other manual controls are for white balance, manual focus, EV, ISO (50-3,200), Shutter speed (1/3200 to 30 seconds) and AE-L. As mentioned above there are no manual controls for video which means videos can be over exposed sometimes and there is no option to reduce the exposure or anything.

The G5 can record video at 4K and the results are superb with proviso mentioned above. Photo image quality from all 3 lenses are excellent.

Audio Quality

The G5 has an option for adding a HiFi DAC module. But without this it is still a great phone for audio quality. The single bottom firing loudspeaker is really loud. Bluetooth audio is better than all current flagships as it has APT-X HD. This is the Hi Res 24bit bluetooth codec from Qualcomm. With APT-X HD enabled headphones the results are fantastic. The wired audio from the top mounted headphone jack is also good quality and has a much louder output than that of the Samsung S7.

The Extra Experience with the Modules

Of course the G5 currently has 2 modules that replace the bottom section. The HiFi Plus DAC provides 32 bit sound. This DAC is really good, see links above for review. It improves the sound quality a lot and can power many headphones. It also provides a louder loudspeaker. The cellular antennas are also inside this along with the mic. The other module is the Cam Plus. Again see review links above. If you are going to be out all day taking photos this improves the photo taking experience.

Of course, more modules could arrive and add more functionality. As to if and when and what only time will tell.

Conclusion

The LG G5 is a real workhorse. It has many unique features and functions over the competition and is one of my favourite phones to date. Currently it is on sale at Amazon UK for £449 which makes it great value.

More information and the latest pricing on Amazon UK – Click HERE.

More information and the latest pricing on the LG Friends and modules on Amazon UK – Click HERE.

Sony announces the Sony Xperia XA Ultra – Full Details

May 17, 2016Android, Tech NewsSony Xperia XA Ultra, specs and viewsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Sony has announced a new “Ultra” phone for 2016, the Sony Xperia XA Ultra.

Key Specs

– Operating System Android 6.0 Marshmallow
– Display 6-inch 1920×1080, Mobile BRAVIA engine 2,Super Vivid mode
– Processor MediaTek MT6755 oct-core ,64-bit
– Storage 16GB, Expandable microSD up to 200GB
– RAM 3GB,
– Rear camera 21.5MP with Exmor RS
– Hybrid autofocus, HDR
– Front camera 16MP with Exmoor R, 88-degree wide angle lens,Flash, OIS,Autofocus, HDR
– Charging micro-USB
– Battery 2700 mAh
– Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS
– Miracast, Google Cast, DLNA
– Waterproofing None
– Dimensions 165.1 x 78.7 x 7.6 mm
– Weight 189.9 g
– Colours White, black, lime gold

Disappointingly the XA Ultra only comes with 16gb storage. It does however like the HTC 10 feature a front camera with OIS. However, Sony have opted for a 16mp front camera. The rest of the phone is a middle of the road device, just a big 6 inch phone.

Source

Huawei P9 review – with Leica Co-Engineered Cameras

May 16, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHuawei P9, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Huawei P9. The Huawei P9 is Huawei’s flagship phone that for the first time is available from all UK networks. The P9 is by far the best Huawei / Honor phone I have used from the software, hardware and cameras.

The Key Specifications

– Screen 5.2-inch IPS LCD, 2.5D glass, 1920×1080 resolution (423ppi)
– Cameras – Dual 12MP (colour & monochrome), ƒ/2.2 lens, Leica certified
– 8MP front camera
-Battery – 3000mAh capacity Non-removable
– Processor Huawei Kirin 955 Quad-core 2.5GHz
– 3GB or 4GB RAM
– 32 or 64GB internal storage
– microSD slot
– Dimensions – 145mm x 70.9mm x 6.95mm
– Weight – 144g

Hardware and Design

If you buy a phone just based on looks then the Huawei P9 is a winner for you. It is beautifully made. The phone is only 6.95mm thick and still comes with a 3,000 mAh battery and the twin Leica branded rear lenses do not protrude.

The phone has the fingerprint sensor on the rear along with the two lenses, two tone flash and laser auto focus. The right edge has the power and volume buttons. The bottom edge house the USB Type C connector, 3.5mm headphone jack, mic and loudspeaker. The left edge houses the nano sim card/micro SD card. I have the 3gb ram/32gb P9. The model number is EVA-L09. This specific version does have NFC. Some of the models sold in different countries have 4gb ram and sometimes don’t have NFC so it is worth checking before you buy. Any official UK model should have NFC which is important as android pay is about to go live.

Software and Phone Basics

Huawei still use EMUI, this time as version 4.1. I installed the Running theme which I felt looked the least offensive. You will either love or hate EMUI. EMUI like many other phones does not include an app drawer which really in my book doesn’t matter. If you want to change the launcher just install Google Now or Nova Launcher.

Some of the software features provided by the P9 include WiFi Direct, Data Traffic Management, NFC, Tethering, Link+ (WiFi+, Signal+, Roaming+, Link+), Normal or Easy Home layouts, Themes, Colour temperature display adjustments, LED notifications, Fingerprint gestures (show notification panel, browse photos, Floating dock (icon appears on screen so you can easily access back, home etc), motion controls (flip to mute, pick up to reduce volume, raise to ear to speak, knuckle screenshot, knuckle gestures used to draw a letter to open camera, designated app, music or weather), One handed UI (shift screen, mini keyboard), Voice control, smart cover options, smart headset control when using Huawei Music app, Gloves mode and Huawei ID. So the kitchen sink of options!

Call quality is excellent on the P9 as are most of the other cellular and connectivity options. This is a strong point for the P9. However, I did notice that if the WiFi signal was weak, it did not automatically reconnect unless you selected the WiFi network manually.

The 1080p panel offers decent viewing angles and is readable in the sun. Battery life is excellent on the P9. I always got to the end of the day with ease. The combination of the 1080p screen and a 3,000mAh battery really helps. The Kirin processor seems to play most games reasonable well. Occasionally there was some stuttering/lag.

Camera and Audio

This is where Huawei made all the focus during the P9 launch. On the rear you will find 2 lenses with LEICA branding. The lenses are not made by LEICA, merely endorsed by LEICA who helped co-engineer and worked with Huawei on the development and processing aspects.

What I initially discovered is the P9 for very fast action shots in burst mode was not fast enough. Future testing improved this slightly. However, I don’t think the shutter speed goes fast enough for very fast shots. However, the shot of George does actually look cool and you get a sense of his speed.

The P9 colour reproduction is outstanding at times. It can produce such real life like images that are better than the S7 or G5. The menu is incredible.

What you have with the rear lenses is one monochrome lens and the other a standard lens. The concept is that together more light and depth data can be gathered.

The P9 has loads of camera modes but one of them is a refocus mode. After taking the above photo, you can tap anywhere on the shot to create a focus point and then adjust the f stop from f/16 to f/0.95. You can create and save as many different refocused images from one image too.

The Huawei camera app is one of the best available. Features includes, filters, 14 shooting modes (beauty, beauty video, light painting, watermark, monochrome, HDR, night shot, slow mo, photo, video, panorama, time-lapse, document, audio note), film modes (standard, vivid colours, smooth colours), camera grid options (grid, phi grid, fibonacci spiral left, fibonacci spiral right), Timer, audio control, touch to capture, smile capture, object tracking, ultra snapshot and image adjustments. The P9 also has a Pro mode which gives you options from focus points, ISO(50-3,200), Shutter speed (1/4000 to 30 seconds), EV, AF-S, AF-C and Manual Focus and AWB. The max photo resolution is 12mp. The max video resolution is 1080p at 60fps.

I have created a dedicated Flickr album for the P9 – Click HERE. Jonathan Morris has created an open Google Photos Gallery which has over 14 different people contributing photos from their P9 phones. Click HERE.

My opinion on the P9 camera is that with some care and skill it is possible to snap some great shots. The monochrome mode is superb and works well. Some of the special light painting modes are unique to the android phones e.g. silky water. In fact the light painting modes includes car light trails, light graffiti, silky water and star track. The P9 is the only flagship phone to offer such options. RAW capture is equally impressive. Video recording is just average and there is no 4K option. The lack of OIS will mean you will end up with a few blurred shots from time to time. The front facing camera is reasonable too with plenty of beauty options to knock 10 years off your age! A weakness of the P9 is low light shots with people or movement. However, static shots using the night, light painting, monochrome or Pro modes produce stunning photos.

The headphone quality is reasonable with Dolby DTS provided. The output is loud, but not of the highest audio quality available. Bluetooth is ok too. The loudspeaker is average but acceptable.

Conclusion

When you consider everything you get in this phone, it is quite remarkable. At an official retail price of £450 there are plenty of other options available that might be more appealing. But when you consider several places are now offering the P9 at less than £400, this becomes a more viable option. Even more appealing Vodafone is offering this at £300 on Pay as You Go and is unlockable after 30 days. At this price it becomes a great option and unique.

Huawei are soon to be selling the larger version of the P9, the P9 Plus. This is slightly improved as it has a 5.5 inch AMOLED screen, not IPS. It also has 4gb ram and 64gb rom, Infra Red Blaster, 3,400 mAh battery, stereo speakers and Press Touch screen technology.

For more information on the Huawei P9 and the latest pricing on Amazon UK click HERE.

Huawei P9 – The latest shots from the Camera – Shooting with the Sun and RAW

May 15, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHuawei P9, more camera shots, RAW, shooting with the sunGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Once again I went out with the Huawei P9 and took some more photos. I have add some comments after each shot. Also don’t forget to click on each photo to view full size.

Tomorrow I will be publishing the Huawei P9 review.

Above are shots of the National Park Visitor Centre. First auto and then in monochrome. The sun was at an awkward angle just above the building i.e. I was partially shooting at the sun. Shots were both ok considering that.

Same issue with both of these shots in that the sun was in the wrong place. But again reasonable shots from the P9.

The church is well captured here. There is something really appealing about the photos from the P9. They look so life like.

Shot in monochrome and into the sun. I like this photo.

So the same view but in Pro mode and the above photo is the taken from the raw image which was post processed on the phone using Adobe Photoshop Express. I have noticed that the raw image files possess huge dynamic range.

Another Pro mode shot and using raw. Post processed in the same method as above. Here I made the image more vivid. Using raw images on the P9 really helps sometimes.

So there you have it, some more shots with the sun in awkward places and some taken in raw. Tomorrow I will have my main review covering all the other aspects of the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S7 – YouTube Live Stream on Dartmoor

May 14, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsLive Stream Camera mode, Samsung Galaxy S7Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

So I am out walking my dogs in the middle of nowhere in a place called Dartmoor.

Dartmoor is a National Park , 328 square miles in size.

Below is the Live Stream showing part of my walk with my 3 labradors and the spectacular views.

Live Broadcast is a camera mode on the Samsung Galaxy S7. It is not available on any of the other flagships by default.

Before you live stream you send SMS messages to those you want to see it. You only get choice of sms messages. The maximum resolution is that shown below. You hit record and wait a few seconds. You then get confirmation the messages have been sent. During the live broadcast you can see who is watching and any messages they live you.

Anyway. Enjoy the live stream now.

HTC 10 – Camera action shots

May 14, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech Newscamera action shots, dogs, HTC 10, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Yesterday I published the very first photos from the HTC 10. Later on I took my 3 labradors out on Dartmoor and attempted to see what the HTC 10 could achieve. Don’t forget, click on each shot to see the full size.

Below is a shot of George shaking his head. The movement is frozen fairly well.

Next up is the 2 girls Fury and Tiggy. This was part of a burst, all of which were fine.

One more from the above burst, this time with just Tiggy.

Another shot below from a burst sequence. The HTC 10 choose a decent shutter speed for this. Again ALL of the burst shots were in focus.

The photo below of George smiling is part of the burst shot above.

The photo below is a 4:3 pic cropped to create a pano style of photo of Princetown.

The photo below is the from the same image as above, just cropped differently.

Now this is just a single shot, ie. burst mode wasn’t used. I did crop the 4:3 slightly to 16:9. What was interesting was watching how the HTC 10 took the shot. I actually focused in on George and then took the photo. This was all very fast but impressive.

Again cropped and not pin sharp, but look at Tiggy’s boots 🙂 She’s jumped into a muddy bog and went back in after this shot to be totally covered in thick smelly bog mud.

It is very early days with the HTC 10. But so far I am fairly pleased with the results. I also have the LG G5, Apple iPhone 6S, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Huawei P9. The crazy thing is all the phones offer something different to each other!

HTC 10 – First shots from the camera

May 13, 2016Android, Reviews, Tech NewsCamera samples, HTC 10Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

The HTC 10 arrived earlier today thanks to the superb service from Clove Technology.

So after restoring over 100 apps and updating to the latest firmware this is what the camera can achieve with a quick shootout.

Guess what I had for dinner tonight. Nothing wrong with this photo. It does appear slightly soft in places.

Shot a photo into the sun. I was quite pleased with the result.

If you zoom into the pipe in the roof its nice and defined.

The Domino’s sign looks just as good, albeit slightly soft again. i.e. not over sharpened.

I intend to test the various modes of the HTC 10 along with the audio.

Gavin's Gadgets & Photography

Tech Reviews & Photography

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