Category Archives: Tech News

The Best Tablet is an iPad Air – Or is it?

Android, Apple, Tech News

I change my technology more often due to the array of devices sent via the various companies and my quest to try the next new tablet.

I had an iPad Air several months ago, probably over 6 now. I got tempted to try a Samsung Note Pro 12.2 tablet as it was on special offer and nearly half the original selling price. I then changed that for a Samsung Tab S 10.5 which was a stunning piece of hardware. A few weeks ago, I sold that and wondered what to get next.

In the meantime, I was loaned an iPad Air. Setting up the iPad was a breeze due to Apple’s excellent backup and restore process. I then started to enjoy again some of the positive aspects of the iPad. Smooth scrolling, more smooth scrolling, and crashes. Apps are purposely designed for the iPad screen. Well, Google+ looks shabby on the iPad, WordPress looks out of sorts, so while some apps do look fabulous not everything is slick. However, the diversity and quality of iOS iPad apps are second to none, but having used android tablets for a while, the gap is closing and the quality is closer too.

But my whole experience has been tarnished by the issue I had before, crashes when web browsing. If you browse for long enough the web browser quits back to the home screen. Very frustrating.

Sure, there are many other aspects of iOS that are brilliant, but I also felt parts of it felt out of sorts and restricted. And that feeling has been derived from using a range of different platforms and hardware.

So is the iPad the best tablet. Probably, but the hounds are biting its backside aggressively.

Apple to debut it’s new Apple TV at WWDC

Apple, Tech News

Via –  http://www.9to5mac.com

“John Paczkowski at Buzzfeed, formerly Recode, has today posted that Apple intends to debut a new Apple TV at WWDC, in the summer. Matching reports from 9to5Mac from the last year, he claims the new device (a revamp of the current hockey-puck Apple TV) will feature Siri and an App Store.This is one of the reason’s why the new hardware would be shown at WWDC, so that developers can begin application development ahead of the product’s release. The report claims that the device will feature more onboard storage to store applications and ‘expects’ it to use Apple’s latest A8 chip for better power. 9to5Mac has previously reported the new Apple TV will be a slimmer redesign of the current hockey puck with voice integration and a new remote with more tactile, easier to press buttons.”

Apple has updated the Apple TV for years now so it would not comes as a surprise if it did update it this year. With all the current games on ios this sounds like a good move and long overdue.

Vector Watch – Stunning Design & 30 day battery life

Tech News, Wearables

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The Vector Watch is an adventurous and bold idea. The Watch has the capacity to understand whether you are at work, sleeping, running or at home, and to present the information accordingly. You will be able to receive, answer and set notifications that you can then acknowledge with the turn of the wrist. Vector watches are equipped with activity tracking, measuring the likes of steps, distance, goals, calorie expenditure and sleep.

Vector also offers traditional watch functionalities such as a chronograph, stop watch, countdown timer and multiple time zones, as well as multiple alarms. Your watch will learn what kind of apps you are checking and at what times, in order to adjust the information it is delivering you and when. We are working on various third party app integrations, such as Nest, IFTT, stocks, weather and sports.

The pre order pricing is £169 to £299 depending on finish and version. If Vector can deliver on the battery life alone,  then that’s an achievement. But I would be concerned about the operating system and longevity.

Source –  https://www.vectorwatch.com

Google Nexus Player – Now Available to Buy in the UK – details

Amazon, Android, Tech News

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The Google Nexus Player is now available to buy in the UK. It is on Pre Order for £79.99 at Amazon UK with a release date of 26th March 2015, along with free shipping if you order now.

The features of the Google Nexus Player are –

-Google Cast ready – cast your favourite entertainment apps from your Android or iOS device, Mac or Windows laptop, or Chromebook straight to your TV
-Start here, finish there – content syncs across Android devices so you can start a movie on your TV and finish it on your tablet in bed.
-Say what you want to see – just press the mic button on the remote and say “Gravity” to find it without having to dig through your media library
-Remote control works over bluetooth, not infra red, so you can hide the Player (which is tiny anyway)
-Optional GamePad to play compatible games via your TV

I must admit to being excited that this is now available in the UK. With the added option to play my android games thru the TV, this is a no brainer for me. So if you want to grab one of these now, head over to Amazon UK

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Pre Orders – Live in the UK at some extreme pricing

Android, Tech News,

Yesterday most of the UK networks were offering deals on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, O2, EE, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse and Samsung UK.

But there were a few catches – the S6 and S6 Edge are being offered at really sky high prices, colours other than white or black are likely to have much longer waits before delivery and the 128gb versions was noticeable absent other than Vodafone but with no mention of an ETA.

In fact, the Samsung Experience store was indication a June 2015 arrival for the gold or green S6 Edge 128gb. Carphone Warehouse were clearly looking to shift contracts rather than sim free phones, as the S6 Edge was not available sim free. Many places are not even offering the 128gb version. And Samsung UK only seem to have the S6 32gb available for Pre Order. So much for @SamsungmobileUK claiming pre orders would be live from 20th March. Live but in limited selections and options.

And then there is the pricing. The base S6 32gb direct from Samsung is £599. The S6 Edge 64gb is £760, And the S6 Edge 128gb is likely to be over £800. Now as a comparison the iPhone 6 Plus is £619 for the 16gb, the iPhone 6 is £539 for 16gb. The 128gb iPhone 6 Plus is £789. So Samsung clearly believes the S6 Edge is worth more than the iPhone 6 Plus. Do you?

But here is the clever part. If you order via Amazon Germany ( http://www.amazon.de ), use Chrome Web browser as this auto translates the pages, the 128gb S6 Edge is 1,049 Euros which equals £759.98. The only difference should be the fast charger plug being EU 2 pin and not a UK 3 pin. And returns are back to Germany if required.

I am not going to knock Samsung for lack of pre order options, as when Apple released the new iPhone 6/6 Plus there was not enough stock either.

So does the S6 tempt you or is it simply too damn expensive.

Acer Aspire Switch 11- A Hybrid Laptop/Tablet – Is this the answer?

Reviews, Tech News, Windows

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I am currently experimenting with an Acer Aspire Switch 11 which is a convertible notebook pc.

The Aspire 11 is priced around the £325, and for that you get an Intel Atom Z3745 1.33GHz, 2GB RAM, WLAN, Windows 8.1 and 32gb SSD. You can pay more money and get faster processors and more storage. There is an optional pen for this notebook too. It comes with a comfortable keyboard and touchpad and the hinge allows for easy flip, rotate, or detaching in a snap; the Aspire Switch 11’s unique Acer Snap Hinge uses the invisible force of magnetism to provide a latch-less docking solution that lets you smoothly snap the tablet and keyboard apart, and back together again.

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So in case you haven’t grasped what this device is all about, it is simple. It looks like a laptop. But the screen section simply pulls off, leaving the keyboard separated. You now have a tablet, albeit a full windows 8.1 PC tablet operated via touchscreen. The screen has Gorilla Glass 3. In terms of others specs it includes Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, Micro SD, Micro USB, Micro HDMI, 500gb hard drive, WiFi b/g/n, microphone, graphics is LPDDR3, 8,550mAH battery, weight 860g (tablet only or 1.5kg with keyboard), and a USB port. The screen is a 11.6″ LCD HD (1366 x 768). There is a more upmarket version with a 1080p screen, 4gb ram and 60gb SSD. Lastly, the Aspire Switch 11 has a 2mp front facing camera and mediocre stereo speakers. From what I can fathom, the optical hard drive is fitted inside the keyboard.

The screen/tablet section simply pulls off. Once off you can rotate it and push it back on the other way around as per the photos above. You can also use it in cinema/presentation mode or just in a semi raised position. The flexibility of this device is really something not to be overlooked. My usage pattern would be type a few posts including this review in laptop mode. When finished, detach the screen from the keyboard and use it as tablet. Unlike the new super expensive MacBook, this device has plenty of ports to connect up whatever you need, and not just a single USB-C port!

The Acer Switch has been excellent to type with using the physical keyboard and I really love the on screen touch keyboard. As this was a full Windows 8.1 PC, I have been able to install proper PC apps. Battery life varies but typically I am getting around 7 hours with web browsing, YouTube videos and typing. This is the first Windows 8.1 device I have actually enjoyed using. So are they any negatives. Yes predominately its heavy when you have to carry it as a laptop. 1.5kg. And it is relatively heavy at 860g as a tablet and somewhat bulky.

As I have mentioned before, my MacBook Pro is about to quit life as we know it, and end up in its final resting place. When that time finally arrives, this is the type of device I will look to buy. It offers the flexibility/power of a laptop and tablet.

My thanks to Acer for being patient and sending me a variety of laptop types to experiment/trial from their Acer V15 Nitro Black Edition (Gaming Powerhouse laptop) to their Acer C720 Chromebook. Both of these reviews can be found here – https://gavinsgadgets.com/review-links/smartphonetabletlaptop-reviews/ . Now that I have used all 3, the V15 Nitro was too big, the Acer Chromebook was crazy good as the battery never died, but this Acer Aspire Switch is perfect as it gives me a full Windows PC and tablet in one device.

For more information on the Acer Aspire Switch 11 – Click Here

Deezer Music Streaming – Another service now offering High End Audio –

Tech News,

Via Techcrunch –

“‘Deezer Elite’, as the service is called, costs $14.99 per month, as opposed to the company’s regular subscription which is $9.99 per month, or £14.99 per month in the UK. Elite is discounted to £9.99 per for one/two year packages, while existing Deezer Premium users can upgrade for $40, or for free if they are also Sonos customers. For those prices, they gain access to Deezer’s 35 million track library as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files at standard of 1,411 kbps or higher.”

This is good news as more and more music will become available at FLAC or above, and people will start to reject poor quality recordings.

As an update, I have renewed and now pay £19.95 a month for Tidal HiFi streaming. The difference is audio quality is fantastic, plus the service has been excellent since my earlier reviews.

Tag Heuer, Google and Intel to launch a Smart Watch to take on the Apple Watch

Android, Tech News, Wearables, ,

Via 9to5mac.com

“TAG Heuer, Google and Intel have announced a partnership to launch a Swiss smartwatch powered by Intel technology and Android Wear. The effort signifies a new era of collaboration between Swiss watchmakers and Silicon Valley, bringing together each company’s respective expertise in luxury watchmaking, software and hardware.”

Take whatever you like from this announcement. My only thoughts is competition is always healthy and who wears a watch nowadays????