Category Archives: Tech News

Update on my iPhone 6 Plus experiences

October 15, 2014Apple, Reviews, Tech Newsiphone 6 plus reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

So another week or so has passed since owning the iPhone 6 Plus and some more thoughts of mine are detailed below based on my experiences.

First up I have included a selection of apps that have been updated specifically for the 6 Plus. Screenshots above and below include apps from Newsify, CNN and Safari. The difference of the apps design after being updated for the 6 Plus is incredible and really emphasise the brilliance of the 5.5 inch screen.

I hasten to add that I think these updated apps are better than that found on alternative platforms too.
I just hope that in a few months time a lot more apps take full advantage of the screen real estate. Google+ for example is dreadful in comparison to these apps shown in this post.

My 6 Plus is protected by the black Apple Leather case. I noticed tonight that the leather case is not perfectly cut in a straight line along the right edge. So hopefully this can be exchanged at an Apple store. I took the phone out of the case and really admired again the beautifully design. It is a shame that it is too slippery to be used without a case.

Bugs. iOS 8 still have bugs. I am hoping Apple will release soon a few substantial bugs fixes. Usage. The audio quality whether via headphones or the inbuilt loudspeaker is amazing. I can listen to podcasts just using the inbuilt speaker in the car as it goes loud enough. Bye bye iPad Air. Just have not really used this tablet since owning the 6 Plus.

Reachability. At first I kept forgetting to use this feature. But now double tapping the home button to drop the lower half of the screen is second nature and makes one handed use a piece of cake.

Overall, I am so surprised how much I am enjoying the 6 Plus experience. I really thought android was first option on a smartphone. Clearly not at the moment.

Vertu Bentley Signature Touch phone – only $10,000

October 15, 2014Android, Tech Newsvertu bentley signature phoneGavin Fabiani-Laymond

If you own a $200,000 Bentley then spending $10,000 on a phone shouldn’t be an issue.

If you need to know more than the fact it’s got a quality leather finish and Bentley logo then here goes. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat, has a 4.7-inch 1080p sapphire-fronted display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.3Ghz quad-core processor, 13MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, 64GB of storage, LTE, NFC and Qi charging.

It has a few more novel features so if you’re interested head over to Vertu.

Tesco providing digital copies of your DVD purchases

October 15, 2014Tech Newstesco blinkbox offering digital copies of your dvdsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Via Engadget.com

“Tesco’s Blinkbox video streaming service might be facing a less-than-certain future, but that doesn’t mean the supermarket giant is ready concede defeat just yet. Mirroring similar moves by Amazon and Sky, the company today announced it’s now letting customers grab digital copies of their DVDs and Blu-rays, which can be stored inside a Blinkbox account. Tesco will rely on Ultraviolet to provide a locker service, making previously-bought titles available to instantly stream or download across a wide number of devices, including the new Hudl2. To get started, you’ll need to create your Ultraviolet library, link your Blinkbox account and then get streamin’.”

This sounds like a good idea.

Change your Dropbox Password NOW

October 14, 2014Tech Newschange logins, dropbox hackedGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Via Reuters –

An anonymous party has allegedly hacked 6,937,081 Dropbox accounts and gained access to email addresses and passwords in plain text. Hundreds of account emails and passwords have been posted online as proof, with whoever is responsible claiming that more will be shared after receiving Bitcoin donations.

Update via Cult of Mac: A Dropbox spokesperson has confirmed that its service has not been hacked and that the exposed logins were mostly expired and harvested from third-party services.

And yet Dropbox is advising all users to change their passwords! And enable two step authentication login!

Apple gets the blame for Finland’s credit downgrading!

October 14, 2014Apple, Tech NewsApple causes Finland's credit rating to be downgradedGavin Fabiani-Laymond

“Ratings agency Standard & Poor has downgraded Finland’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, and its economic outlook from stable to negative – and it’s all Apple’s fault, according to Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. Speaking to CNBC, he said:

“We have two champions which went down,” Alexander Stubb told CNBC Monday. As well as the technology firm Nokia, he explained that the paper industry in Finland had fallen on hard times […]

“A little bit paradoxically I guess one could say that the iPhone killed Nokia and the iPad killed the Finnish paper industry.”

Crazy stuff. More at http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/13/finlands-credit-rating-downgraded-and-its-all-apples-fault-says-prime-minister/

Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales are going to be off the charts

October 14, 2014Apple, Tech NewsApple sales stats for October including chinaGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Apple has already recorded record breaking first weekend sales of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones of 10m.

By the end of this month, Apple will have launched the phone in another 36 countries and by the end of the year, 115 countries will had witnessed the iPhone 6’s launch.

However, to put in perspective how important China is as a territory, it is rumoured that pre orders have already topped 20m handset sales, with the official launch day being this Friday.

Some awesome sales statistics.

Will.i.am to go head to head with Apple by launching his own smart watch

October 14, 2014Tech NewsWill.i.am to launch own smart watchGavin Fabiani-Laymond

“Rapper and frontman for The Black Eyed Peas, Will.i.am, is expected to launch his smartwatch on Thursday in San Francisco in direct competition with the new Apple Watch.
The device will have a Bluetooth capability for wireless internet connection and, unlike the Apple Watch, launched last month, it does not need to be linked to a mobile phone for full functionality.
The judge on the BBC’s talent show, The Voice, and tech entrepreneur said it will feature apps such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, leading to expectations it will run on Android software. It also boasts a music service believed to be delievered by UK firm 7digital.”

Competition is always a good thing. Let’s hope the watch looks good as well as performing effectively.

Source – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/11156909/Will.i.am-to-go-head-to-head-with-Apple-over-smart-watch.html

Amazon to create 1,000 new jobs in the UK

October 14, 2014Amazon, Tech News000 new jobs in UK, Amazon to create 1Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

From BBC Business –

“Internet retailer Amazon is to create 1,000 new permanent jobs in the UK at its distribution centres.

The firm said it would add the jobs to its existing 6,000-strong workforce in its distribution and customer service centres “in the coming months”.

“As we see greater demand, we are able to rapidly grow our talented team across the UK,” said Amazon’s director of UK operations, John Tagawa.

Amazon currently has eight UK distribution centres.

The firm said it could not provide a regional breakdown of where the new positions would be created, but they would be across its distribution centres in Doncaster, Dunfermline, Gourock, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rugeley and Swansea Bay.

Amazon said it had already increased its UK workforce by 2,000 people over the past two years.

The online retailer said it had also made changes to the way its staff worked “for the benefit of its entire workforce”.

The changes made include staff now working four longer days a week of 10 hours per shift and share grants for staff who have worked for the firm for more than a year.

It said permanent staff started on an average of £7.39 per hour, and could earn up to £8.90 per hour after 24 months.”

But ask yourself, how many local companies have been pushed out of business. How many people are now unemployed versus employed at Amazon. And how tough are the reported working conditions at Amazon?”

Source – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29594289

What’s on my iPad ?

October 13, 2014Apple, Tech Newswhats on my ipad?Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Many of you have asked what’s on my iPad. So below are two screen shots from my home screens. I have a total of 364 apps installed running iOS 8.0.2. So what’s on your iPad / tablet?

Apple iPhone 6 Plus – Action shots from the Camera

October 13, 2014Apple, Reviews, Tech Newsburst mode, Camera, Camera samples, iphone 6 plus, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

I’ve been waiting for the weather to improve to take some action shots on my iPhone 6 Plus. Ideally you need bright sunshine but I decided over the weekend I would just try and take whatever shots I could. The light was dreadful. Dull and overcast. All the below photos have not been edited. To give you a better idea of the quality, I used the built in Photos app and cropped in on the movement.

So the first shot above is of Fury demonstrating the long jump.

And above we have Tiggy chasing Fury. It is worth noting that in real life this was incredibly fast. When Fury and Tiggy chase each other they are like bullets.

Now George is about to show off the long jump. The lighting was so poor that if I was not using the burst mode on the default camera app, HDR was often chosen.

So the last few are of all 3 dogs racing through the leat. Again in real time this whole sequence was over in seconds. All the shots were taken using the default camera app, just holding down the shutter to activate burst mode which is totally instantaneous. So let me know your thoughts.

Gavin's Gadgets & Photography

Tech Reviews & Photography