Category Archives: Tech News

The Top 5 Reviews – plus what’s around the corner

Below are the links to the recent highest read reviews on Gavin’s Gadgets, links below. Coming soon are reviews on the Microsoft Lumia 535, Acer Iconia Tablet and the new flagships from HTC and Samsung, the HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6.

In the meantime, please enjoy the reading the reviews below –

– Sony SBH80 Bluetooth Headset – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2014/03/24/sony-bluetooth-nfc-headset-sbh80-review/

– Oppo HA-2 Portable Headphone and DAC – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/02/28/oppo-ha-2-portable-headphone-and-dac-review/

– Honor 6 – 12 Part Review – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/02/07/honor-6-12-part-review/

– HiFiMeDIY Sabre Android USB DAC – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/02/18/hifimediy-sabre-android-usb-dac-review/

– FitBit Charge HR – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/02/17/fitbit-charge-hr-review-including-using-it-with-myfitness-pal/

To read reviews on over 30 smartphones, headphones, DAC, apps, accessories, internet of things, tablets, chromebooks, wearables, smartwatches and much much more – https://gavinsgadgets.com/review-links/

Apple – We’ve Re-Invented Gold for the Apple Watch

og_apple_watch

Via The Financial Times –

Jony Ive had an interview with the Financial Times yesterday which revealed snip buts on his life and the Apple Watch.

Sir Jonathan hinted that Apple may have invented an entirely new form of gold just for the new timepiece. No surprises here. Apparently, the molecules in Apple gold are closer together, making it twice as hard as standard gold.

And twice as expensive probably!

HTC One M9 – Pre Order now – details

So if you read my other post regarding the Samsung Galaxy S6, you will know that the Amazon.de pre order pricing starts at €949 and goes up to €1,049.

Fortunately, the HTC One M9 is only €749 some 200 euros cheaper. This price differential maybe the difference that sways people to upgrade to the HTC One M9.

At the moment, Amazon UK only has an option to be notified when this phone is available.

Source – http://www.amazon.de/HTC-Smartphone-Full-HD-Display-Octa-Core-Prozessor-Megapixel-Kamera-silber/dp/B00TX5QNTK/ref=sr_1_2?s=ce-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1425584165&sr=1-2&keywords=htc+one+m9

Pre- Order the Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge now – but you’re need a bank loan

s6

Amazon.de now has the pre order pages for both the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and Samsung Galaxy S6.

The pricing is as follows –

S6 Edge 128gb – €1,049
S6 Edge 64gb – €949 (this has had a 5% discount already applied)
S6 Edge 32gb – €999 (this is correct, same as 64gb at the moment)

S6 32/64/128gb – €999 (amazon clearly doesn’t want to reveal it hand yet on the pricing, but you can preorder and you will only be charged the lowest price at the time)

To add some perspective, €1,049 equals £759. So is the S6 or S6 Edge to expensive?

Source – http://www.amazon.de/Samsung-Galaxy-S6-Edge-Touch-Display-schwarz/dp/B00TX5PSBO

Apple to release iOS 8.2 next week – details of what’s new

Apple is due to release iOS 8.2 next week, in time for its big Apple Watch Event on Monday 9th March.

If you are wondering what is new below is a list covering most of the changes.

Health App improvements
-Adds the ability to select the unit of measurement for body temperature, weight, height, distance, and blood glucose
-Improves stability when dealing with large amounts of data
-Includes the ability to add and visualise workout sessions from 3rd-party apps
-Addresses an issue that may have prevented users from adding a photo in Medical ID
-Fixes units for vitamins and minerals
-Fixes an issue where Health data wouldn’t refresh after changes data source order
-Fixes an issue where some graphics showed no data values
-Adds a privacy setting that enables turning off tracking of steps, distance, and flights climbed

Stability Enhancements
-Increases stability of Mail
-Improves stability of Flyover in Maps
-Improves stability of Music
-Improves VoiceOver reliability
-Improves connectivity with Made for iPhone Hearing Aids

Bug Fixes
-Fixes an issue in Maps that prevented navigating to some favorite locations
-Addresses an issue where the last word in a quick reply message wasn’t autocorrected
-Fixes an issue where duplicate iTunes purchased content could prevent iCloud restore from completing
-Resolves an issue where some music or playlists didn’t sync from iTunes to the Music app
-Fixes an issue where deleted audiobooks sometimes remained on the device
-Resolves an issue that could prevent call audio from routing to car speakers while using Siri Eyes Free
-Fixes a Bluetooth calling issue where no audio is heard until the call is answered
-Fixes a timezone issue where Calendar events appear in GMT
-Addresses an issue that caused certain events in a custom reoccurring meeting to drop from Exchange calendar
-Fixes an certificate error that prevented configuring an Exchange account behind a third-party gateway
-Fixes an issue that could cause an organizer’s Exchange meeting notes to be overwritten
-Resolves an issue that prevented some Calendar events from automatically showing as “busy” after accepting an invite.

Source – bgr.com

Samsung Galaxy S6 – Details of the Free Gifts that will come with the phone

Samsung will be offering a total of 22 free gifts for the Samsung Galaxy S6. These might vary dependant on region but should include the following –

-VSCO,
-Magisto
-Pac-Man Friends
-The Hobbit: Kingdoms
-Dragons of Atlantis: Heirs
-NYTimes
-The Economist
-Kindle for Samsung
-Audible
-Workout Trainer
-Endomondo
-Uber
-Keepy
-PayPal
-Life360
-LastPass
-Shazam
-Fleksy
-Evernote
-Pocket
-Parallels Access
-Hancom Office

Some of the above offers are similar to those already being offered on the Note 4.

Source – sammyhub.com

Xiaomi to open online European Store – details

Via CNET/AndroidCentral.com –

“Xiaomi has announced that it will offer a similar storefront to European customers. There won’t be any handsets up for sale, however, as Xiaomi has mentioned that like the US store, the European offering will only sell accessories.

According to Xiaomi’s global vice president Hugo Barra:

It’s going to be a different Mi.com experience from what we have in our markets in Asia, because we’re not selling phones. We’re only going to sell a small number of our hero accessories, things like the Mi Band, studio-grade headphones, in-ear headphones and the world’s most popular power banks.”

Xiaomi is currently focusing its efforts on the Indian market as well as its home turf. By offering good value accessories, it will start to increase its brand awareness.

LG to radically change the LG G4 – but that’s not LG’s true flagship phone – details

Via KoreanHerald –

“LG Electronic’s mobile chief, Cho Jun-ho, went on record to say that the G4 will be “radically different” than the G3. For starters, LG is joining the metal party by including a metal body on the G4. Moving on to software, LG will utilize UX 4.0 which will offer a major overhaul of its software design.

Cho Jun-ho then added that they plan on releasing an even higher-end smartphone later this year”

It has been rumoured that LG arr working on a dual curved edge display similar to the Galaxy S6 Edge. Does anyone think this statement has been delivered to try and combat the Galaxy S6?