Category Archives: Tech News

Is 2015 the year of curved edged phones ?

Tech News,

image

What you are looking at is a curved edge phone from LG. In fact both sides are curved. Samsung at the end of 2014 released the Note Edge and if rumours are to be believed there will be a Samsung Galaxy S6 with 2 curved edges.

In terms of usability I found the curved edge of my Note Edge fantastic, it just had poor battery life. But if curved edges are to be the new must have feature can you really see yourself buying a phone for this feature ?  And would you pay a premium for this design element?

CES 2015 Las Vegas – bullet point updates

Tech News

Some key highlights from the last 24 hours.

– Harman just announced new AKG headphones designed by Quincy Jones , the AKG N90Q.  Apparently they offer a personalised sound that calibrates sound with your ears.

– Apple Watch to go on sale this March.

– Saygus announced a geek phone. The Saygus V2 is a 5 inch android 4.4.4 phone. 1080p,  2.5ghz snapdragon processor, 3gb ram, 320gb storage, 21mp rear camera, 13mp front camera,  biometric fingerprint scanner, Qi Wireless charging, Harman Kardon front speakers and root access.

– WhatsApp announces it has 700 million users now

–  Sennheiser have updated their Momentum headphones and made them Bluetooth wireless and foldable along with noise cancelling.

– Yahoo Mail iOS app now tracks packages and has a customisable today view

– ibattz ASAP charger is a portable power pack that can fully recharge an iPhone 6 in 15 minutes

– All Sony 2015 Bravia TVs will run android TV.

– Samsung believes it is launched a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge it could sell 10 million units

– Sony announces a new walkman.  The Sony Walkman NW-ZX2 is state of the art and costs over £1,000.

– Nest can now talk to your lights , locks and train your dog to open the fridge, and bring you a lovely ice cold beer

– Alcatel OneTouch watch is launched to take on Apple and Android wear. 

– Acer launches cheap phones, this time 64 bit phones. Liquid Jade S. And Liquid Z410.

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 ☺

CES 2015 Las Vegas – Apple is not exhibiting yet has a huge presence – HomeKit, Cases and more – details

Apple, Tech News

It just shows you how popular and powerful the Apple brand is, that is if you needed reminding of that fact.

CES 2015 Las Vegas has had more accessories for the Apple brand than any other being announced. Cases, power battery cases from Otterbox and Mophie, MFI accessories, and now the biggest leap into the Apple approved HomeKit accessories.

From your iPhone, with the respective HomeKit compatible hardware, you can now ask Siri to dim the lights, open the door, turn off or on devices and so much more. Siri in my opinion is less about searching and more about being a personal assistant. It is one of my favourite aspects of owning an iPhone. Some of the HomeKit devices announced so far include

– Schlage’s Sense smart lock (above) is the company’s first HomeKit-compatible keyless lock.

– Insteon’s Hub works alongside a compaion Insteon App to allow Apple device owners to control Insteon switches, outlets, thermostats, and light bulbs via HomeKit

– Incipio’s Direct line of “connected home” accessories includes a smart outlet, light bulb adapter, and power strip.

– Elgato Eve Energy, Eve Door and Window, and Eve Water. Eve Energy is a smart electrical plug unit that connects directly to a power outlet to measure energy consumption over time, while Eve Door and Window detects when a house door or window is ajar. Eve Water is an inline water sensor that measures temperature and consumption.

The above is only a taster of what is available. It is starting to look really impressive.

What’s this new LG Smart Watch that got photographed?

Tech News, Wearables

slack_for_ios_upload__2_.0.0

The Verge managed to photograph a yet unannounced LG smart watch that really looks the business. What do you think?

It turns out this is an Android Wear watch with a special skin on top. LG and Audi worked together to develop this watch to match the design of the Prologue car, but also included extra hardware to communicate with the car.

NFC is included to help establish a secure connection between the car and the watch, which then allows you to unlock the doors. Since NFC can work without the battery, the driver should still be able to unlock or lock the doors even when the watch battery is dead.

Then there are biometric sensors that could feed information such as the driver’s body temperature and heart rate to the car’s onboard computer. This could be used to automatically control the air conditioning or heat in the car.

Sources Photos – http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/6/7504199/a-new-lg-smartwatch-was-just-teased-at-audis-ces-press-conference, http://www.talkandroid.com

How to use and setup the Samsung Gear S with any phone including iPhone 6 (Samsung phone not needed)

Android, Apple, Tech News, Wearables

Many people believe it is not possible to use the Samsung Gear S without first needing to use a compatible Samsung handset to enable the initial setup process. Well it is possible and rather simple too. In fact, the Gear S can work with any phone including an iPhone or any Android.

See this great video on how to set up the Gear S.

The Danger of Social Media and how this guy lost his job yesterday

Tech News,

_80093394_twitter2

“A man who tweeted that he had knocked over a cyclist but could not stop because he was “late for work” has been sacked from his job at a stockbrokers.

Cardiff University graduate Rayhan Qadar later told the BBC the message was a “dumb mistake” and he “did not hit anyone”.

But his employer Hargreaves Lansdown said the tweet was “unacceptable” and confirmed his dismissal.

Avon and Somerset Police earlier appealed for any victim to call them.”

It still surprises me that people don’t think before they send a tweet or post a message or photo on Facebook. Even emails can suffer the same fate.

And being hit by a car is no laughing matter as I can state for fact based on my own experience. In my case, a car hit me whilst I was on a roundabout and did attempt to drive off. Fortunately and rather luckily, two cars behind the car that hit me was a police car that sped off and stopped the driver. I suffered no broken bones, just somewhat bruised. However, I did write off the car that hit me.

Source – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-30700872

Lenovo’s Vibe Band VB10 Fitness Band and the Vibe X2 Pro Smartphone – details

Android, Tech News, Wearables,

w640

Lenovo announced a fitness band featuring a curved E Ink screen. The main body is wrapped in metal either black, gold or white along with a rubberized strap. The band weighs just 30 grams. E-Ink means 30 days battery. The device continuously monitors your steps, calories, travel distance, sleep quality and you also get notifications from your phone using Bluetooth LE.

What is interesting with this band is another wearable that doesn’t use Android Wear operating system being announced at CES 2015.

Lenovo also announced several phones. Of interest, was the Vibe X2 Pro Smartphone.

VIBE smartphones gets bigger and faster with X2 Pro
Sporting the same eye-catching, award-winning layered design of the Lenovo X2, the Lenovo VIBE X2 Pro limited edition smartphone brings craftsmanship, power and style to the next level with its sleek, lightweight full-metal body. The VIBE X2 Pro packs a 5.3-inch FHD display with stunning visuals and a 64-bit Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Octa-Core processor that delivers jaw-dropping performance and long-lasting battery life.

For greater ease of use, the Lenovo X2 Pro incorporates the intuitively designed VIBE 2.0 user interface, featuring personalized lock screen, Instant On camera, elegant transparent icons and more. The smartphone also utilizes dual 13 megapixel auto-focus cameras (front and rear) with LED flash, gesture controls and beautification features, which combines with the new VIBE Xtension™ Selfie Flash to capture flawless selfies.

Note the auto focus front and rear cameras and both 13mp.

Source – http://news.lenovo.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1880

Asus Announces ZenFone Zoom With 3x Optical Zoom 13MP Camera – details

Android, Tech News, ,

w640

This announcement from CES really caught my eye – Asus Announces ZenFone Zoom With 3x Optical Zoom 13MP Camera, Laser Auto Focus, and A 5.5-inch 1080p Screen. The Zoom’s 13MP shooter has a 10-element lens, 3X optical zoom, and optical image stabilisation.

And the key point is this is a mid ranged device selling for less than £300. Will this be one of several new cameras on smartphones this year. Certainly looks this way.

Source -www.androidpolice.com/asus.com

Google unveils Google Cast – AirPlay is being suffocated now

Android, Tech News

“Google Cast, the same technology behind Chromecast, lets you cast your favorite music from your mobile device to your speakers. Simply use your Android tablets and smartphones, iPhone®, iPad®, Mac, Windows and Chromebook to control the music directly from the apps you already know and love.

The easiest way to send music to your speakers

With Google Cast, there’s nothing new to learn — listening to your favorite apps on your speakers is as easy as the press of the cast button. Search and browse, play, skip, and turn up the volume directly from the apps you know and love on your phone, tablet or laptop. Friends can even join in and use the apps on their phones to cast to the speakers, too.”

Sony, Denon and LG will all be producing speakers with Google Cast support”

So there we have it, Google have no added one last ingredient to kill the Apple TV Box. Will Apple ever update this box? Or does it need to? Remember, this is cross platform!

Source – http://www.google.com/cast/audio/

LG G Flex 2 is real – full details and specs

Tech News

lg-g-flex-2-render-2

The LG G Flex 2 goes beyond its predecessor’s groundbreaking 700mm radius curved profile. The new smartphone harmoniously incorporates a symphony of curves ranging from a radius of 400mm to 700mm across the front, back, sides and top-to-bottom edges.

The phone’s ergonomic design brings the microphone closer to the mouth which allow much more outside noise to enter the phone through the microphone. The slimmed down 5.5 inches screen with curvatures makes the perfect fit for eyes and the grip. The display’s resolution is now a 1080p Full HD. The P-OLED display gives the G Flex2 its shape and durability

The G Flex2 is the first phone officially announced to feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor 64-bit Octa-Core CPU. The screen is 20% more durable.

The Self Healing back, which keeps the phone looking new even through the nicks and scratches from normal everyday use, has also been improved with significantly faster healing time. LG reduced the healing time from about three minutes to just within ten seconds at room temperature.

The LG G3 Laser auto focus comes included with the G Flex 2 combined with OIS+ technology and dual LED flash.

The G Flex2’s curve-enhanced user experience carries over to software as well. It comes fully loaded with the best of LG’s unique software features optimized for its curved form factor:

ŸGlance View displays key information such as time, recent messages or missed calls with a downward swipe of the curved screen even while the display is off.

ŸFast Charge allows the embedded 3,000mAh battery in the G Flex2 — the only curved mobile battery in the world to be charged up to 50 percent in under 40 minutes.

The LG G Flex2 will be available starting at the end of the month in Korea to be followed by additional global markets. The device will initially be available in two colors: Platinum Silver and Flamenco Red.

Key Specifications (may vary depending on market):

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with 2.0GHz 64-bit Octa-Core CPU
Display: 5.5-inch Full HD Curved P-OLED (1080 x 1920 pixels / 403 ppi)
Memory: 16/32MB eMMC ROM / 2GB DDR4 RAM / microSD slot (up to 2TB)
Camera: Rear 13.0MP with OIS+ with Laser Auto Focus / Front 2.1MP
Battery: 3,000mAh (embedded)
Operating System: Android 5.0 Lollipop
Size: 149.1 x 75.3 x 7.1-9.4mm
Weight: 152g
Network: 4G / LTE / HSPA+ 21/42 Mbps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth Smart Ready (Apt-X) 4.1, NFC, SlimPort, A-GPS / Glonass, USB 2.0
Color: Platinum Silver, Flamenco Red
Other: Gesture Shot, Gesture View, Glance View etc.

I previously owned the first LG G Flex and this update basically fixes everyone that needed tweaking on the original version.

Source – http://www.bgr.com