So it’s been nearly a week with the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL and I am starting to form some opinions of this phone. I also have the dock to review and test. Thanks to Steve Litchfield from @AA_WP for the loan.
The hardware is reasonably well specified but so is most other hardware nowadays. I have a red leather back cover, which looks very smart, but without this extra cost, the 950 XL is just too plastic.
The Windows Store for apps and games is dismal at best, but we all know that by now. So if the official app is not available you will be hunting for a decent third party option or not bother with an app, and use the web browser instead. You may be lucky and a universal app arrives though.
The highlight of the phone so far is the camera quality. I have taken some more photos.
The above photo is extremely accurate to the actual colours.
Again, very well balanced shot.
Vivid true to life colours with the shot above.
Difficult lighting but a great shot.
Unusual shot, but superb result.
The white flowers are handled well and again overall a good shot. Some of the above photos were also snapped with a Samsung Galaxy S7, so have a look at the other posts today.
Whilst the 950 XL takes marvellous photos, I am getting frustrated by the processing or saving messages while it either saves or post proceses the finishing touches. There should be an option to complete this task without slowing down the phone so you can’t take another photo until this has finished.
I am also experiencing the odd bug and this is again a nusiance.
I reviewed the Official Samsung Lens cover a few days ago. Click HERE to recap.
I was asked by OneTwelve in the comments to see how much zoom vs loss of quality could be achieved with the telephoto lens. And then try and see what the quality would be like from video frame grabs. If you aren’t aware, if you record a 4K video, you can extract 8mp photos. All the frame grabs were taken from the 4K Telephoto footage shown below.
So below is a photo without any lenses attached. This is to provide a perspective of the whole scene.
And now 4K video with no lens attached.
Attaching the telephoto lens and the clock tower is much closer now, but there is softness around the edge of the photo.
And below is 4K video with the telephoto lens attached. As mentioned above, I extracted 8mp photos from this 4K video.
Before I show some 4K frame grabs, lets see what the telephoto lens can do just snapping normal photos. First up a photo with digital zoom at 4 x zoom.
And now with 8 x zoom with the telephoto lens. Impressive really.
Ok, now to extracting frames from the 4K video with the telephoto lens. This is 2 x digital zoom.
Below is a 4K video frame grab, telephoto lens attached at 4 x digital zoom.
Below is 4K frame grab at 8 x digital zoom with telephoto lens attached. Now the quality has dropped and is not as good as just simply taking a photo rather than frame extract.
Finally just to show what the wide angle lens does. No zoom. Just a photo. Notice how much more of the scene is captured. Refer to the first photo for comparison. The S7 was in exactly the same spot when snapping this wide angle photo.
Overall the telephoto lens does a reasonable job. Photo quality is ok and video reasonable. There is softening on the edges but I am happy with this.
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.
Welcome to my review of the Piper NV Smart Security Alarm with HD Camera. The Piper NV system costs £229.
I have now had the Piper NV for over one month before writing this review to try and see how it performs over this period.
Key Specifications
The Piper NV is a device that lets you manage and connect with your home. For starters the camera is a 180 degree HD affair. You can set the device up to capture video and send it to your phone when doors are opened and more. Notifications are customisable. You can add home automation accessories to Piper to control lights and appliances remotely, with no monthly fees or contracts. The HD camera is excellent quality and I could see everything with ease.
Setting up the Piper was as easy as downloading the app, create an account, run the setup and connecting via wiFi. There are customisable security modes: home, away and vacation. The Piper NV includes motion, sound detection, a high quality microphone and a super loud 105db siren.
With the camera you have options to pan, tilt, zoom and split screen while watching live or recorded video with pan, tilt and zoom capabilities. You can even split your screen into four independent viewing zones. On top of all that there is two-way audio.
What makes Piper NV more useful is support for Z-Wave home automation accessories. I linked up some Z-wave window and door sensors into the app and system. You can connect up to 5 Pipers.
So apart from Z-wave support the Piper NV system also support IFTTT integration. Using IFTTT I was able to get the Piper to automatically arm or disarm according to three factors:
1. Geolocation – e.g. if I was on my way home, then Piper could disarm
2. Time – e.g. at a certain time it could disarm or arm.
3. Connection to Wi-Fi – e.g. if I left home with my smartphone the Piper would arm itself
But auto arm and disarm isn’t the only IFTTT recipe. The options are only as limited as your skill with IFTTT.
During the month, the app got updated. This provide the app with a fresh new theme and provided a more streamlined experience due to –
· More intuitive layout with three tabs – Dashboard, Events and Rules
· Security modes have been simplified to ‘Armed Away’, ‘Armed Stay’ and ‘Disarmed’
· Piper View – view a live feed of all Pipers that you have linked
· Panic Slider – trigger the blaring siren directly from the dashboard
· Wireless accessory drawer – quickly see the status of every wireless accessory you have connected
· Faster app start-up
· Enhanced setup experience
If the power goes, the device does have battery back up. Also Piper offers cloud storage for up to 100 snippets of recorded events at no additional charge. That’s really cool.
One aspect which would impact the service would be if Piper NV servers were out of action. This would be the same for most other systems too.
Because I live on Dartmoor which is rural and has low internet speeds, I did notice a time delay of 10 seconds from sending an audio message to the message being pumped out of the Piper NV. A faster internet connection will improve this situation.
Final Thoughts
Overall this is a versatile security system and without any monthly charges. Recommended.
More information and the latest deals on Amazon UK – 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 