Category Archives: Android

– MediaTek Octa-core 1.50 GHz
– 5″ (1280 x 720) screen
– 13 Megapixel (Rear Camera) f/1.8, 5 Megapixel (Front Camera)
– 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage (nearly 12gb available)
– 7.78mm thin
– Gorilla Glass 3
– LTE 150Mbps
– Dual sim
– Micro SD support up to 32gb
– Android 4.4.4 (software OTA arrived for lollipop 5.1 after a few days)
– Bluetooth 4.0
– NFC excluded
– 120g weight

The Acer Liquid Jade S was kindly loaned to me for this review. Removing the Acer Liquid Jade S from its box and I thought for a moment the battery needed to be fitted as it felt too light. In fact, the battery was inside the phone, it just weighs a mere 120g. It is also narrow and thin at 7.78mm and with its 720p 5 inch screen a good phone sized phone. Being so thin did have an impact on battery life, with the end result of just making it through a working day. However, the plastic back did feel a little slippery and with the power button on the top, not an easy position to keep reaching especially with the back being so slippery.

After reviewing a few Acer devices a pattern emerges with the same mix of apps added. The Liquid Jade S is no different. It includes Acer’s BYOC (bring your own cloud) suite of apps, Acer NAV (a rebadged TomTom) and a whole range of extra apps, some of which are more bloatware than anything else. It does include a FM radio, a torch light app and polaris office 5. Otherwise it is stock android, albeit android 4.4.4. NFC is not included. Now I mentioned it came with android 4.4.4 but after a few days lollipop 5.1 OTA arrived at a download size of 0.9mb. However, you need a micro SD card in the phone to download and then install it.

Other extras include DTS HD Premium sound, with further EQ adjustments. These can be used with headphones and the loudspeaker. On screen gestures exist, 4 in total eg. drawing a Z opens the music app. L unlocks. There is also an option for a scheduled power on and off.

The 720p is clear and bright with good viewing angles. Call quality was reasonable and cell signal seemed ok too.

So apart from its thinness at 7.78mm and weight at 120g and overall smallish profile, what else is special about the phone?

Camera and Audio

Now let’s talk about the camera. The rear camera is a 13mp with an impressive f/1.8. The camera app includes a whole range of shooting modes from HDR, panorama, beautification, best shot, bright magic, smile shutter, picture with sound, multi angle view, presentation, dual shot and gourmet. Then you have scenes from auto, landscape, night, portrait. You can shoot with 4 different effects – mono, sepia, negative and aqua. You can operate the camera via voice control as well. Video offers a time lapse mode too with 1, 2, 5 and 10 second intervals. Fine tuning is available for ISO, white balance, saturation, contrast, colour and exposure. If you want to be in the photo as well, a timer with 5, 10 or 15 seconds delay is available. Video electronic stabilisation is available too, with 1080p recordings. Other options are also available, however I must admit the camera app is not laid out as logically as I would have liked, nor is it quick to switch between different modes. So let’s take a look at some camera samples.

I thought some of the camera shots looked slightly over exposed, and there is soft focus on the edges of some the photos in places. Low light and macro shots were a struggle. What do you think? Tap on each photo and select full resolution.The front camera also slightly over exposed shots.

The loudspeaker is on the rear and can be easily covered by accident. It sounds tinny and is not the loudest out there. The sound via headphones was quite reasonable. USB Audio is not supported.

Conclusion

The Acer Liquid Jade S is an unusual phone and bucks the trend in many ways with its slim and light weight design. With its recommended retail price of £199, it finds itself with tough competition that offers more and often for less money too.

Acer Liquid Jade S deals at Amazon UK

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact – Just how good is the new 23mp camera – See for yourself!

October 8, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech NewsCamera samples, camera test, Sony Xperia Z5Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Sony smartphone sensors appear on all the best flagship phones from Apple and Samsung and then appear on a whole load of other phones.

With the new Sony Xperia Z5 range, Sony has used a new 23mp sensor. So just how good is the sensor? Reader “Whitehartmart” kindly sent in some sample Z5 Compact photos from his phone. So have a look at the photos below and decide for yourself. I have uploaded the full res shots in to the post. If necessary click on photo, then select full size in the options.

So what do you think of the camera samples from the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact?

Thanks again to Whitehartmart for the photos.

Huawei G8 – First Impressions of Huawei’s Mid Market Flagship

October 6, 2015Android, Tech NewsFirst Impressions, Huawei G8, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

I have received the Huawei G8 smartphone a few days ago. I will be keeping this phone for a while now to use as my android default testing device. As to why I will be keeping this, see below.

First up this phone’s hardware is absolutely gorgeous. Curved corners, metal unibody and a very decent specification. The key specs are –

– Operating System Android 5.1 with Emotion UI
– Processor Snapdragon 615 Processor + 3gb ram + Andreno 405 GPU
– Storage 32gb (22gb available) storage plus micro SD card support upto 64gb
– Network LTE Category 4: 50 Mbit/s (UL), 150 Mbit/s (DL),DC-HSPA+: 5.76Mbit/s (UL),42 Mbit/s (DL),WCDMA: 384 Kbit/s (UL), 384 Kbit/s (DL),EDGE Class 12: 236.8 Kbit/s (UL),236.8 Kbit/s (DL),GPRS: 40 Kbit/s (UL), 60 Kbit/s (DL) – Phone has dual antennas
– GPS/AGPS/Glonass
– Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0,Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 2.4G, USB2.0 high speed
– Sensors – Accelerometer,Proximity sensor,Ambient light sensor,Compass
– Cameras 13mp OIS f/2.0 BSI 28mm wide angled rear with sapphire lens, 5mp front
– Battery – 3,000mAh
– NFC – Yes
– Screen – 5.5 inch 2.5D 1080p,
– Dimensions – 152 x 76.5 x 7.5 mm, 401 PPI
– Weight -167g
– Fingerprint sensor
– Dual sim setup with micro SD

As you can see, some fantastic specs in a beautiful body. Once I have had some more time with this phone I will report back accordingly.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please let me know in the usual way.

Huawei G8 32GB 4G Champagne at Amazon UK – special deal

Honor 7 Smartphone – my review

October 5, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHonor 7, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Honor 7 smartphone.

Basics

The key specifications of the Honor 7 are –

– 20 MP rear and 8 MP front camera f/2.0
– 5.2 inch 1080p HD display, metallic body, ceramic blasting
– 3100 mAh battery, Smart Power 3.0, Reverse Charging
– Kirin 935, 64 bit OctaCore CPU with up to 2.2 GHz, revolutionary heat dissipation design
– 4G LTE Bands: 3/7/20 (works with all UK 4G networks)
– Dual sim arrangement with option for second sim or micro SD card up to 128gb.
– Good clear loudspeaker
– Super fast fingerprint sensor
– Emotion EMUI v3.1
– 3GB ram
– Smart Key – configurable to 3 actions and or apps

The Honor 7 used for this review was kindly loaned to me in which time I have undertaken a number of tests.

First impressions are fantastic. Open the box, lift the phone and it feels so premium with it metallic unibody finish. And then you start to use it and it really becomes a joy to use. There are so many neat touches I will try and cover them all.

Basics – cellular signal and reception is excellent on the Honor 7. It seems to be a trait of Honor devices. It is a shame with mobile payments starting to take off, that NFC is not included. Call quality was also good. Honor also have their Signal+ and WiFi+ options present in this phone.

Grip – the rear has a slightly curved back and edges which helps with holding the phone.

Smart Key – on the left side is a key you can configure to do 3 different things. Press, double press, long press. You can leave each option to do nothing. Options includes ultra snapshot, voice recording, torch and screen shot or launching whichever app you required. I had screenshot, camera and Google search.

EMUI 3.1 – This is the custom launcher Honor install. I really like it. The main difference with this custom launcher is the removal of the app drawer. Think iPhone with folders or apps on home screens. There are many many themes available for EMUI to change the look as required. Of course, if EMUI is not to your liking then you can install another launcher eg. Nova or Google Now.

Screen – the screen is a 5.2 inch 1080p screen with good viewing angles.

Processor – the phone comes with Honor’s in house processor and 3gb ram. AnTuTu produces a score of 50,000 and the 3gb ram keeps everything running smoothly.

Extras –

– Its a dual sim. Only one sim has 3g and 4g. The second sim can only manage data at 2g. However, the first sim does 4g on all the UK bands. The dual sim management works well. You can select which sim is the default for data, calls and messages. Also when using 2 sims as I did, you can have 2 signal strengths showing in the status bar as well as both network names and the network speed.

– On screen menu buttons can be reconfigured and an extra menu for the notifications screen is available.

– To conserve battery there is an option for Protected apps (apps to be allowed to run in the background), Notification Manager (control apps that are allowed to be in the notification centre), Battery saving modes. If you are installing a lot of apps, you might find apps stop working in the background. It is important to make sure you setup the apps you want to run in the background. Also the phone reminds you of apps that are draining battery. This can become a nuisance.

– Fingerprint sensor that allows up to five fingers to be stored. Once unlocked the fingerprint sensor can be used a a touch panel. You can go back to previous view, back to home with a touch and hold, take photo, answer a call, stop an alarm, slide up to show the recent apps and slide down to display the notification centre. The fingerprint sensor is lightning quick to unlock.

– Voice Wakeup – by speaking at any time, “Dear Honor, where are you”, the phone plays this creepy music with a voice that gets louder whilst saying “I’m here”. You can also use the voice control to call contacts are other functions are available.

– Motions – You can flip to mute, pickup and reduce call volume, double touch to turn on, draw 4 different letters to launch an app e.g. draw a C to launch the camera.

– Glove mode. This is also available.

All the above extras are user configurable. So you could turn them all off or turn on just the features that you want.

Battery life – The standout feature for me was the battery life. I often got 5.5 hours screen on time. The worst day was only 5 hours screen on, and my best day was 6 hours 2 mins screen on time. This was with location on high, wifi and bluetooth on and connected to my FitBit Charge HR.

Camera and Audio

The camera app includes many options with shooting modes good food, video, photo, beauty, light painting (car light trails, light graffiti, silky water, star track), HDR, watermark, super night , best photo, audio note, panorama, all focus and time lapse. Within the settings you can turn on voice control, object tracking, adjust ISO, white balance, exposure, saturation, contrast, brightness and more. There is no manual mode and no raw options.

Camera sample shots below –

Above, fog had arrived on Dartmoor. A difficult shot in terms of focusing, but the Honor 7 did an okay job.

This turned out better, with the orange colour popping.

Not so impressed here. A bit over exposed and looking washed out.

And now a macro of the flower.

Again, over exposed slightly, but a fair amount of detail. The Honor 7 does have optical image stabilisation which might have assisted here.

Reasonable shot this time.

My overall thoughts on picture quality is that the Honor 7 is average is good light and can produce some ok photos, but struggles in lower light with image quality unless using super night. Some of these fancy modes like super night mode or light painting are fun to use and work surprisingly well, but tripods are needed for these to achieve a decent image.

Now to the audio. The loudspeaker pumps out volume at around 90db and is clear too. I had nearly 5,000 songs on my 128gb micro SD card and the Honor 7 had no issue managing that number of songs. However, the sound produced by the default music app was a little sharp in the treble when using headphones despite having good left and right separation. Using Poweramp app did help a little. USB Audio is not supported

Conclusion

The Honor 7 is a strong offering. Good quality build, lots of features, satisfactory camera and strong battery life. It represents good value for money and it is a shame NFC is not included which is needed for Android Pay.

Honor 7 4G UK Dual SIM-Free Smartphone deal at Amazon UK

LG’s new flagship – The LG V10 – Official Video plus detailed specs

October 1, 2015Android, Tech Newsfull detailed specs, LG V10, official videoGavin Fabiani-Laymond

LG has taken the wraps off the LG V10 and what a killer phone it is. 4gb ram. 64gb storage plus micro SD card up to 2TB. Dual front cameras. Made from SAE grade 316L stainless steel and its it’s been rated MIL-STD-810G Transit Drop Compliant for shock. Manual mode for video now on the fly. Fingerprint sensor and more. It also has a secondary front display.

Here’s the official video by LG.

And the specs –

s take a look at the full specs.

– Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Processor, Adreno 418 GPU
– Main display 5.7-inch QHD IPS Quantum Display 513ppi
– Secondary display 2.1-inch IPS Quantum Display, 160 x 1040, 513ppi
– Memory4GB LPDDR3 RAM / 64GB storage plus microSD
– Rear camera 16MP with F1.8 Aperture/OIS v2.0
– Front camera 5MP Dual Lens 80-degree Standard Angle/120-degree Wide Angle
– Battery 3,000mAh removable
– Operating system Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
– Size 159.6 x 79.3 x 8.6mm
– Weight 192g
– Network LTE-A Cat. 6
– Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, USB 2.0
– Colours Space Black, Luxe White, Modern Beige, Ocean Blue, Opal Blue
– Quick Charge 2 – 50% charge in 40 mins
– Manual mode for video – ISO, Shutter, White Balance, Frame rate, Focus, new 21:9 cinematic mode
– Electronic video stablisation
– Audio extras – 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC electronic processor
– Qualcomm’s QFE2550 closed-loop antenna tuning – first phone to deploy for better voice and network reception

Motorola Moto X Play – review

October 1, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech NewsMotorola Moto X PlayGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Motorola Moto X Play.

Basics

The key specifications of the Motorola Moto X Play are –

– Water repellent nano coating
– Android 5.1.1 Lollipop – Motorola’s quick updates
– 1.7 GHz Octa-core CPU – Snapdragon 615, Adreno 405 @ 550 MHz GPU, Natural Language Processor, Contextual Computing Processor
– 21 MP camera – f/2.0 aperture & dual LED flash
– 5.5” Full HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3
– 2 GB RAM – keep all your apps open and running quickly
– High capacity 3630 mAh battery – keep working for longer
– Front facing bottom speaker
– 16GB internal storage (9gb available), micro SD up to 128gb
– Bluetooth 4.0 LE
– Weight 169g

The Motorola Moto X Play was kindly loaned by Clove Technology, https://www.clove.co.uk/motorola-moto-x-play ,for the purpose of this review. When Motorola announced the 3 new Moto X devices, this was the one I wanted to actually own. A 5.5 inch screen with a whopping 3,630 mAh battery plus a new 21mp camera. Plus the phone runs a near stock build of android along with some snazzy Motorola additions.

The snapdragon 615 processor provides a smooth performance. AnTuTu score was 36,000. The screen viewing angles are good, with average sunlight visibility. NFC is included so android pay will work with his phone.

Motorola includes an app called Moto Assist. This understands whether you’re at home, in the car, or in the office, adapting to your needs at that moment. Eg. reading your text messages aloud while you drive or even silencing your ringer and turning off the display at bedtime. The more I used this, the more is learnt and the more useful it became.

The other feature of the X Play is the colour and finish options. This phone can be customised in many different colours and trims.

Camera and Audio

Motorola has bumped at the camera on this year’s phone using a 21mp f/2.0 rear Sony Sensor. The from sensor is a respectable 5mp. The rear camera features closed loop processing, quick Launch, Phase Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF), Instant ON Video Stabilization, Tap anywhere to capture, Colour Correlated Temperature (CCT) flash with dual LEDs, 1080p HD video (30 fps),Slow motion video,4X digital zoom,Burst mode,Night mode,Auto HDR, Panorama and Drag to focus & exposure. Lots of features but what how good are the camera shots?

I really liked the shots from the camera and whilst low light produced some noise they were still acceptable. If you would like to pixel peep, just click on photo and select full size if needed.

The loudspeaker is mono and on the front and maxed at around 90db. It is loud and clear and enjoyable to use. Headphones sound equally loud and clear. USB Audio is supported.

Conclusion

The Motorola Moto X Play is great phone and a good price. The near stock build offers an enjoyable experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the audio quality from the front loudspeaker and the superb battery life makes a change from battery guzzling QHD displays.

If you are looking for the Motorola X Play or need to read the full detailed specs, then head over to the fine people at Clove Technology – https://www.clove.co.uk/motorola-moto-x-play

This is the LG V10 – Potential new flagship

September 30, 2015Android, Tech NewsLG V10, new flagshipGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Google announced yesterday the 2 new Nexus phones, but now it’s LG’s turn to go for glory.

And below is the official press render for the V10 with its secondary display. I wonder if the camera is improved? Don’t you think it looks cool.

PS. Allow a few moments for page to load properly to see image.

LG V10 pic.twitter.com/9JP3DoE1r9

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 30, 2015

Source – @evleaks

Google announces 2 new phones, Chromecasts and Pixel C – my views

September 30, 2015Android, Tech NewsGoogle Nexus 5X, new Chromecast, Nexus 5P, pixel cGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Google held a press conference to announce two new smartphones , android 6.0 marshmallow, new updates to Google Photos, family sharing plan for Google Play Music, a new Chromecast, Chromecast Audio and the Pixel C tablet. For details on pricing and full specifications – https://store.google.com/

So Google is offering a 16gb Nexus 5X for £339 right up to a 128gb Nexus 6P for £579.The Nexus 5X also comes in a 32gb storage option, and the 6P in 32 and 64gb. Both phones feature the latest operating system from Google, android 6.0 along with the same cameras. The rear cameras feature a 12.3mp rear camera with large 1.55u pixels. The 5X is plastic and has a Snapdragon 808 processor whereas the 6P is metal with a snapdragon 810. Both include the new android sensor hub.

What is not included is a support for micro SD and optical image stabilisation for the rear camera. Qi Wireless charging has been removed too. I don’t get why wireless charging was removed as well as OIS. Micro SD is neither here nor there.

So here are my views –

Phones – The 5X is a cheaper option with lower storage too. It has 2gb ram, Gorilla Glass 3, built with plastic, 1080p screen and a snapdragon 808 processor. On paper the specs are IMO rather average. Maybe the new camera will be a surprise but there is no OIS. The 6P with a QHD display, snapdragon 810, 3gb ram and Gorilla Glass 4 and in a metal build seems like the better option but starting at around £449 for the 32gb with no micro SD card is not a bargain. I just wasn’t bowled over. But if you are in the market for a new phone, this could be one to consider. Personally some of the Nexus phones just lack features. Buy a Sony Xperia Z5 and you can link it to a Playstation Game Controller and play remote Playstation games, or listen to music through its special built in amplifier.

New Chromecasts – rather funky and look great with added wifi aerials. A no brainer. The Chromecast audio was also a great idea. Both £30 which I am sure will have lower pricing after a few months.

Pixel C – love this tablet and such a great piece of engineering. Truly liked this a lot.

Software – once again Google provided an updated and tweaked software experience to complete the package on these new phones.

For the price of the 32gb Nexus 6P, a new Chromecast and Pixel C you could buy a 128gb iPhone 6S Plus. That’s the value of the Google products.

So what did you think?

Below are videos from Google of the new phones.

Acer Iconia One 8 Tablet – review

September 28, 2015Android, Reviews, Tech NewsAcer Iconia One 8 tablet, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Acer Iconia One 8 tablet review. This is a review unit provided by Acer PR which I have been using for over a month.

The Acer Iconia One 8 is a 8 inch screen tablet available in 6 fashionable colours from white, two different blues and pinks and black. The tablet runs android 5.0 with an Intel Atom 4 core CPU running at 1.8HGz. AnTuTu kicked in at 33,198.

It has 16gb storage with 1gb ram. The screen resolution is 1280 x 800. GPS is included as well as Bluetooth 4.0. It weighs 354g. Retails for around £125. The rear is has a perforated feel which makes it easier to hold. The button placement is slightly awkward as they are slightly recessed.

One of the quirks of the device is the touchscreen which features Precision Plus 3 technology. With an Acer Accurate Stylus you can write and sketch with the idea to feel like you are actually writing on on paper. Acer also state that you can even use thin-tipped objects like pencils to make notes. I didn’t try this as I did not have a single pencil at home!

Acer add a number of extra functions and apps, some of which are useful and others you may decide to park inside a folder. The Iconia suite includes EZ Note, EZ Snap, EZ Wakeup and EZ Gadget. The EZ Snap is a function when activated that allows you to capture screen shots with a 3 finger gesture. With 5 fingers you can wake up the tablet and launch your chosen app. EZ Gadget is a floating app with access to several tools – calculator browser, text memo and calendar. It stays in its own movable and resizable window on top of other apps. It is the size of 5 icons across, so remains fairly visible and easily accessible. A standard feature of Acer devices is BYOC. Bring Your Own Cloud. Activate these apps on all your other devices and you create your own private cloud solution for music, docs, photos, files and video. Neat.

The screen resolution is 1280 x 800 which is whilst not the highest available does have a benefit of up to 10 hours battery life. In real world usage I got around 7.5 hours. The 16gb storage has around 8gb free after I installed a few apps. Smoothness. 1gb ram is just enough to keep this tablet providing a relatively reasonable experience mainly because it has a near stock build of android. Storage is expandable with a micro SD card. There are front and rear cameras, but you won’t be buying this tablet to take photos. The front camera is 0.3mp! And the rear is slightly better if that helps. The loudspeaker produces a clear sound maxing out at around 83db.

After using the Acer Iconia One 8 for a month I have no real complaints and some of the extra features and apps added by Acer were useful and others not. Note taking by writing on the screen was novel! At the end of the day it is an android tablet for around £125.

Acer Iconia One B1-820 8-Inch Tablet Special Offer at Amazon UK

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Category Archives: Android

All the Reviews from the last 30 days – iPhone 6S Plus, LG G4, Honor 7, Huawei Watch and more incl accessories

Acer Liquid Jade S – review

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact – Just how good is the new 23mp camera – See for yourself!

Huawei G8 – First Impressions of Huawei’s Mid Market Flagship

Honor 7 Smartphone – my review

LG’s new flagship – The LG V10 – Official Video plus detailed specs

Motorola Moto X Play – review

This is the LG V10 – Potential new flagship

Google announces 2 new phones, Chromecasts and Pixel C – my views

Acer Iconia One 8 Tablet – review