Category Archives: Apple

Apple’s iCloud is Hacked – or is it?

September 2, 2014Apple, Tech Newsicloud got hacked leaking nude photosGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Yesterday there was nude photos from about 100 celebrities. The photos had come from their iCloud photostream.

According to Apple, they are actively investigating. Not only is this bad timing with their new product launches around the corner, it is terrible PR and it’s the accounts of celebrities.

Hopefully, Apple will release more info, but if this is anything like an earlier hack, it could simply be another online service that got hacked, and the iCloud passwords were similar, identical or weak.

Either way, its not good news.

Apple patents a new super lightning cable

September 1, 2014Apple, Tech Newsapple patents new super lightning cableGavin Fabiani-Laymond

From the patent office, Apple patented the flowing –

“On August 28, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an improved method of producing a lightning connector that has a newly defined breaking strength. This new feature will be able to protect the receptacle lightning connector and/or the electronic device from damage when a force is applied to the lightning connector. One of Apple’s patent figures specifically presents a new docking station utilizing this new feature.”

So a more flexible lightning cable that doesn’t break when pressure is applied. I know of a few people who have broken the ends of the cable, but to date this have never happened to me (yet).

Anand Shimpi retires from writing and then joins Apple

September 1, 2014AppleAnand Shimpi retires then go to work for AppleGavin Fabiani-Laymond

A day after announcing his retirement from writing, journalist Anand Shimpi will soon be joining Apple. The move, which was reported by Re/code earlier today, was then confirmed by Apple.

Shimpi spent 17 years building the website AnandTech, focusing mostly on reviews of hardware and along the way providing detailed info on products from Apple and other consumer electronics manufacturers.

He recently wrote a review covering iOS from an android users point of view. That post now makes more sense based on his move to Apple.

Create dramatic photos in 2 mins – lightning, meteors and more

August 31, 2014Android, Applecamera360, make dramatic photos in2 minsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

First take a unedited photo.

Next download Camera360 for the Google Play or Apple AppStore.

Open app and select edit, effect and look at starry sky first. With a simple tap you can create the following below.

Want something even more dramatic. Select magic sky filter, volcano and create this shot. I quite like this version.

There are many other options in this free app so it’s well worth checking it out. If you do, let us know what your favourite filter is and why.

Thanks to Mike for the recommendation.

20 Smartphone Camera Shootout / 20 Phones Reviewed / 50 Accessories Reviewed incl Wearables – The MASTER POST – Pls RT

August 31, 2014Amazon, Android, Apple, Firefox, Historical Reviews, Reviews, RIM, Tech News, Wearables, WindowsEverything on Gavins GadgetsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Gavin’s Gadgets is just over 18 months old. And therefore I thought it would be appropriate to highlight all the content written within my blog. In fact there is over 2,500 posts.

1) First up over 20 smartphones have been reviewed, from all the current flagships of 2014, 2013 and budget offerings. Also some oddball phones like the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. Link below –

https://gavinsgadgets.wordpress.com/review-links/

2) Next up is the Accessories / Wearables reviews. This covers smart watches, Gear Fit, camera smartphone accessories, app enabled accessories, headphones, cases, power and so much more. Probably around 50 reviews or so. Link below –

https://gavinsgadgets.wordpress.com/reviews-accessories/

3) We all like the cameras on our phones. But even it you’re not fussed have a look at this 20 phone camera shootout. It includes all the flagships from 2014 across 3 different operating systems. Link below –

https://gavinsgadgets.wordpress.com/2014/07/12/wow-20-smartphone-camera-shootout-iphone-5s-lg-g3-htc-one-m8-samsung-s5-k-zoom-note-3-sony-nokia-nexus-huawei/

I have one favour to ask you all. As you will have noticed there is no advertising so I take the full burden of the costs involved in running and producing the content and receive no income in return.

So please could you help me by recommending my blog to your friends. And if you want to throw a bucket of ice water over your head when you have done so, that is entirely optional.

A few of you have sent a small donation which was incredible and appreciated. If you wish to make a donation to my paypal, please use gavinfabl at gmail dot com. Just think of all the coffee I need at 3am whilst writing the next day’s posts 🙂

And finally, have a great day whatever you are planning and keep smiling.

Apple iPhone 6 – video

August 30, 2014Apple, Tech Newsiphone 6 on videoGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Incredible, a working model of the supposed iPhone 6 built from parts.

Today’s Top 10 IFA 2014 & Apple News, Announcements and Rumours

August 30, 2014Amazon, Android, Apple, RIM, Tech News, Wearables, Windowsamazon and yahoo, chrome supports account switching and 64bit for mac, cyanogen acquistion by microsoft, iphone 6 specs update, lenovo vibe 2, nintendo 3ds and 3ds xl updated, Nokia Here maps for samsung phones and gear watches, oneplus one pre order system, pixlr comes to the desktop, samsung gear s to have nike+Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

So another day and a whole raft of news.

1) Nokia announces HERE Maps for Samsung smartphones and Gear watches. Don’t worry, the service will come to all android phones later on in the year.

2) The iPhone 6 processor will be A8 that will have be a dual-core 20nm 64-bit CPU that will clock in at 2GHz or higher, screen resolution may be 3 x retina. Rear shell should look like photo from techcrunch.com. NFC chip from NXP.

Look familiar. Some companies have a sense of humour. Lenovo.

4) There’s still life in handheld consoles. Nintendo updates the 3DS and 3DS XL with an extra analogue controller.

5) Samsung Gear S comes with Nike+ app

6) OnePlus will have a normal pre order system in October, instead of the stupid invite system for the OnePlus One. By October newer and better phones will be available.

7) Chrome Web browser gets account switcher across all desktop operating systems. Chrome for Mac now gets 64bit support.

8) Pixlr comes to the desktop for free.

9) BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Dalian Wanda group and Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) said on Friday they would set up a 5 billion yuan ($814 million) e-commerce joint venture with Baidu Inc (BIDU.O), as the firms push into the high-growth e-commerce sector.

10) Cyanogen – It is being reported by The Information that Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung, and Yahoo have all been keeping an eye on Cyanogen with an acquisition or at least a partnership in mind.

You’re stranded in the middle of a Moor in bad weather – which phone will save your life – iPhone 5S or LG G3

August 29, 2014Android, Applegps accuracy, iphone 5S vs lg g3Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Here’s the scenario. It’s Sunday evening. The weather has changed on Dartmoor really quickly as it can do on a regular basis. The sun has disappeared and the thick fog has descended, this is despite it being 4pm!

There is no visibility. A second later you’ve tripped over a piece of granite, fallen and hit your head. You’re now bleeding. Thankfully, there are 2 of you. With a torch and compass you go to take the exact location readings so you can provide these for any emergency services. The torch doesn’t work. And then the wind takes your map and it blows away into the thick fog.

Solution. Mapping services on the Apple iPhone 5S and LG G3. They both have the OS Locate app and Maps installed and ViewRanger GPS app and maps of Dartmoor. So achieving an exact location should be simple.

iPhone 5S provided the location as below –

And the LG G3 as below. As you can see both phones are on the same network and supposedly have decent signal strength.

Now, I don’t dislike the iPhone whatsoever but I was shocked to discover the 5S was clueless as to the correct GPS location. The LG G3 was spot on and would provide the correct location for the emergency services, which in turn would save your life and allow for your head wounds to receive treatment accordingly.

Following this real life situation, there is no way in a million years I would ever trust or use an iPhone 5S or earlier models.

Today’s Top 12 IFA 2014 & Apple News, Announcements and Rumours

August 29, 2014Amazon, Android, Apple, Reviews, RIM, Tech News, Wearables, Windowsapple officially announces 9th sept event, dyson robotic hoover, HERE Maps for Samsung Gear watches, huawei ascend mate 7, iphone 6 will have nfc, project wing info, samsung galaxy available for pre order now in UK, sony z3 compact phone, z3 compact tablet, z3 phoneGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Here we go again. It’s been a busy few days and is likely to explode soon.

1) Sony are teasing with the below video. But look carefully there are lots of clues. 3 new devices. Z3 Compact tablet, Z3 and Z3 Compact phones.

2) Dyson, yes Dyson has a big launch on 4th September. This new product has taken 16 years to develop, 200 engineers and a £28m investment. Maybe a robotic Hoover controlled via your smartphone? Below is the video teaser from Dyson.

3) iPhone news – via Wired.com – the next iPhone will have a payments solution that will incorporate NFC technology.

4) Nokia are about to launch HERE Maps for Samsung Gear smart watches. The official announcement will be later today.

5) Huawei Ascend Mate 7 – leaked photo below.

This is a 6 inch phone, with thin bezels and a 13mp camera. Source Weibo via GSM Arena.

6) The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is available for pre order now in the UK ahead of the smartphone’s expected launch of September 10th. The Carphone Warehouse joins EE, Phones 4u and Clove by kicking off the ability to pre-order the new smartphone. Clove link http://www.clove.co.uk/samsung-galaxy-alpha

7) Apple goes official with the 9th. If you look closely at the invite below there are several clues hidden away. The event will take place at 10:00 AM Pacific Time at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino. Expect the new iPhone 6 and wearables from Apple to be announced. However, the latest rumour suggests there is no 5.5 inch iPhone.

8) Continuing the Apple Event, it has been noted that a large 3 storey building is being built at the Flint Center. Should be a lot of new hardware inside!

9) LG’s new round smartwatch will cost 299 euros.

10) Food for Thought. Samsung Gear S smart watch has identical specs to an iPhone 4S except the storage. The Gear S only has 4gb storage, whereas the 4S has 8gb. Just shows you what a feat of engineering Samsung has achieved, unless of course Apple show the world what really can be done.

11) Apple updates iOS 8 terms and conditions. Disallows developers to sell health kit data.

12) Google releases info on Project Wing.

Google has built and tested autonomous aerial vehicles, which it believes could be used for goods deliveries.The project is being developed at Google X, the company’s clandestine tech research arm, which is also responsible for its self-driving car.Project Wing has been running for two years, but was a secret until now.Google said that its long-term goal was to develop drones that could be used for disaster relief by delivering aid to isolated areas. More info at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28964260

Top 15 IFA 2014 announcements from the Tech World and news on the iPhone 6 & iWatch

August 28, 2014Amazon, Android, Apple, Reviews, Tech News, Wearables, Windowsarchos 40 Cesium Smartphone specs, BlackBerry Khan details, cx 2.00, cx 3.00, cx 5.00 specs and pics, dropbox new pricing and features, iwatch launching sept 9th, jabra in ear headphones, jabra sport pulse headphones, Kobo Aura H20 ereader price and specs, LG new photo of round smart watch, LG-W110 specs, nexus x pricing and specs, pandora comes to Google Glass, samsung gear s and gear circle, sennheiser cx 1.00, snapchat $10bn offer, sony z3 compact tablet details, twitch under attack, twitter analytics pageGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Update from yesterday’s post.

1) LG announces full details on their new upcoming round smart watch. The model number is LG-W110. This won’t be available until October. It sure looks hot. Specs include a 1.2ghz Snapdragon 400, 1.3 inch P-OLED 320 x 320 screen (plastic organic LED), 4gb storage, 512 ram, 410maH battery, 9 Axis for the sensors (Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG, IP67, heart rate monitor and running android wear. The strap is leather. The P-OLED display is important as it covers 100% of the display. The Moto 360 doesn’t. The display also works perfectly under bright sunlight according to LG.And being IP67 means it can be submerged underwater at to a metre in depth for 30 minutes. So far this is the watch to get out of all that have been announced. And it features a stainless steel frame and will be offered with an interchangeable 22mm calf skin leather strap.

2) ARCHOS announces the 40 Cesium Smartphone – Windows Phone 8.1 budget phones, ultra-clear 4-inch screen. Available in September for only £79, the ARCHOS 40 Cesium is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 Quad Core processor and comes with three coloured back cases – yellow, blue and black. Only good point is a LED notification.

3) The iPhone 6 will have a new rounded true tone flash.

4) DropBox slashes its prices to remain competitive along with new features. Dropbox Pro now costs $9.99 a month for 1 terabyte of storage. You also have the ability to share links with password protection, to share links that expire on a certain date, and to share some files in “read-only” mode. Pro users also get the ability to remotely wipe a lost or missing device.

5) The new Nexus X (not Nexus 6) details have been revealed. a 5.2 inch screen, massive Snapdragon 805, 13mp camera, processor running at 2.7ghz, running android v5.0. The 64gb version retail price is around £360. Makes a mockery of the iPhone pricing! Source – http://lowdown.carphonewarehouse.com/just-in/motorola-nexus-x-price-and-specs-leak/

6) WSJ reports investors willing to pay $10 billion for Snapchat. No wonder Snapchat turned down Google’s $3 billion offer.

7) Amazon’s new purchase Twitch is suffering an online attack by a group called Lizard Squad.

8) Seagate announces world first 8 TB hard drive. Only for commercial customers which is a shame. I would kill for an 8 TB drive!

9) BlackBerry Khan – this is the code name for the new high end BlackBerry Porsche phone. Likely to cost $2,000. New specs reveal it should have 3GB RAM, a Dual-core 1.7GHz CPU, 64GB of storage and a 3.5 inch touchscreen. Clearly there is a market for this high end BlackBerry.

10) Kobo announces its new Aura H20 ereader, which is certified to be able to spend up to 30 minutes in one meter of water, making it ideal to use at the beach or in the bath or more. The device has 265 dpi e-ink technology, the highest resolution currently available in an e-reader, a 6.8 inch anti-glare touchscreen and the price will be £140 in the UK

11) Sennheiser have announced the CX 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 and 5.00. The new CX buds come with red, white or black cables and sport the Sennheiser logo on the exterior. Clearly taking on Beats Audio with the colour scheme. The CX 3.00 are likely to cost around £45. They do look good. The CX 5.00 adds a 3 button remote with mic.

12) According to John Paczkowski at re/code, Apple’s reported September 9 event for the new iPhone will also see the launch of Apple’s first wearable. Apparently, Apple will reinvent the smart watch.

13) Pandora has been given approval for use on Google Glass

14) Sony’s new Z3 Compact Tablet will be an IPS Panel. No more shatter protectors.

15) View your twitter stats – head over to analytics.twitter.com . The dashboard should now be open to every account that has been open for at least 14 days, isn’t restricted/protected/suspended, and (curiously) that primarily tweets in English, French, Japanese, or Spanish.

16) Samsung announces the Gear S Smartwatch (see dedicated post) and Samsung Gear Circle. The Circle is a dedicated bluetooth headset.

17) Jabra has announced new wireless in-ear fitness headphones that aim to give you a full training solution with Dolby Digital Plus sound, in-ear heart rate monitor and Sport Life App. The Jabra Sport Pulse uses standard Bluetooth connectivity and NFC, connecting to your smartphone for music and phone calls, but also to its Sport Life App.The app, which Jabra says can be integrated with existing fitness apps, can track your fitness level, consumed calories, distance, speed, pace, heart rate, heart rate zone and work-out times. The app also includes activity-based training, pre-defined training programs, interval training, zone training and target pace training.

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