Category Archives: Tech News

LG G Flex 2 – now available to pre order – details

Android, Tech News, ,

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The LG G Flex 2 is now available to pre order at Amazon Germany http://www.amazon.de/LG-Flex-Full-HD-POLED-Display-2-GHz-Octa-Core-Prozessor-13-Megapixelkamera/dp/B00R4TCGLG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421074073&sr=8-1&keywords=G+Flex+2&tag=rnwap-20 for 599 euros.

So if you want early doors with this phone then thats the premium price you will need to pay. The G Flex 2 has a 5.5-inch curved P-OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing shooter.

Samsung Note 4 – camera action shots – part 3

Android, Reviews, Tech News, , ,

Yesterday I created 2 posts with some examples of how the Note 4 handles fast moving objects. In my case it was dogs. I have included a few more and some stills. It was sunrise so tricky lighting with some when shooting in to the sun.

Part 1 – click here.

Part 2 – click here.

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Camera exif for shot above. ISO 40. 1/461. F/2.2.

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Camera exif for shot above. ISO 40. 1/348.

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Camera exif for shot above ISO 40. 1/141.

PS. If you are likely to shop on Amazon please help with the running costs and use my affiliate link – details here. Thanks in advance ☺

Apple laptops vulnerable to a virus that is u removable and undetectable – details

Apple, Tech News

Via The Telegraph –

” A security expert has found a way to install malicious code on a tiny chip built into Apple laptops which would resist any attempt at removal – even replacing the entire hard disk will not delete it.

The attack, which is being called Thunderstrike, is virtually undetectable and would require an attacker to get access to a machine for mere moments. And because it is new, no security software will even be looking out for it.

Trammell Hudson, who works for New York hedge fund Two Sigma Investments, said that the discovery came about when his employer asked him to look into the security around Apple laptops.”

“Since it is the first OS X firmware bootkit, there is nothing currently scanning for its presence. It controls the system from the very first instruction, which allows it to log keystrokes, including disk encryption keys, place backdoors into the OS X kernel and bypass firmware passwords,” Hudson said.
“It can’t be removed by software since it controls the signing keys and update routines. Reinstallation of OS X won’t remove it. Replacing the SSD won’t remove it since there is nothing stored on the drive.

This sounds like a terrible virus but I doubt anyone has been infected by it yet. Have you? 

Source Telegraph

Yotaphone 2 – 2 screen phone but with a difference

Android, Tech News

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Michael Fischer of Pocketnow tweeted the above photo of the rear, yes rear e-ink display of the Yotaphone while you are about to take a photo. Creepy or what!

The Yotaphone 2 has a front 5 inch screen of 1920×1080, a 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor along with 2GB RAM. But then it has another screen on the back. The rear screen is EPD (electronic paper or e-ink) technology, the same used with the Kindle e-reader. Now as this is an e-ink screen, battery consumption viewing items on this screen is meant to be considerably less. Plus direct sunlight is no longer an issue with the e-ink display. It also has a number of other specifications including Qi Wireless charging.

But as shown in the above photo, Yotaphone also have thrown in a number of quirky mannerisms when you use this device. I do wonder if this is a “cool” idea or just “tacky”.

What do you think and would you want to own this phone?

Google Translate getting updated to take on Skype – details

Android, Tech News

“According to The New York Times, Google isn’t going to let Skype runaway with all the high-tech, language barrier-smashing fun. An upcoming update will allow the app to auto-recognize popular languages and translate them into text in real time.

In addition, Google Translate will also let you take snapshots of signs or menus or whatever, and also translate onscreen. This is probably the product of Google’s acquisition of the way cool Wordlens app. Our review of Skype Translator boiled down to a “close, but no cigar” analysis. But it’s a start, and with two huge companies entering in a positive game of one-upmanship, we’ll hopefully get closer to that Babel fish future rather than just one service trying to innovate in a vacuum.

Google Translate isn’t the only application whose updates are circling the rumor mill. Android Police reports that Google Now code is spilling a bunch of potential features, such as spoken notifications for when you’re driving. The code also reveals that Google is toying with the idea of allowing third-party apps to have their own cards in Google Now, so you could certain Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (etc.) alerts right in your Google Now stream.”

Competition is always healthy and these new features sound great.

Sources – NewYorkTimes.com, AndroidPolice.com, Gizmodo.com

Samsung Note 4 – George demonstrates the long jump in 5 stages – crazy action camera shots

Android, Reviews, Tech News, , ,

Part 2 of my earlier post. Part 3 will be tomorrow.

For part 1, click here.

Here’s George showing off the long jump in 5 stages. The photos were snapped using the Note 4 default camera app.

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Pretty amazing shots from the Note 4 camera!

Update – exif data for all 5 shots. ISO 40, f/2.2 , 1/400

PS. If you are likely to shop on Amazon please help with the running costs and use my affiliate link – details here. Thanks in advance ☺

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Samsung Note 4 – crazy action shots of my dogs

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

I took my 3 labradors walking on Dartmoor early this morning. They run like the wind on Dartmoor. So I thought it would be an idea to see how the Note 4 managed to capture some action shots or my dogs. Normally if you take a 100 photos you should end up with a third that are usable. The rest on previous phones are a little blurry. But nonetheless previous phones like the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy K Zoom have managed to take some decent motion photos.
So when I got home somehow I had 350 photos 🙂 But the crazy thing was most were excellent. I counted 11 blurred shots. So now I am trying to decide which ones to keep and will publish these tomorrow.

In the meantime this is just an example.

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The exif data for the above shot is ISO 80, f/2.2, 1/594 , flash off.

Part 2 is live. Click here.

Part 3 tomorrow.

Samsung Penvatars – new from Samsung for the Note 4 and Note Edge

Android, Tech News

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“When you use the S-Pen with your Samsung Galaxy Note 4 or Edge, by default you will have noticed that when you hover your S Pen stylus slightly above the screen, a pointer appears. Not the most exciting thing according to Samsung who is hoping to spice things up with its new Penvatars.

Penvatars is the name Samsung has chosen for its upcoming app for S-Pen devices that will allow you to customise these pointers.

The screen shot above features Marvel Comics character.

Personally, I turn the pointer off in settings as it drives me mad. So this app is pointless for me but would you like something like this?

Source – @SamsungMobile