Category Archives: Tech News

Apple launches 2 new iPhones, announced Apple Watch and new software – Kills a Classic off too – my thoughts

Apple, Tech News, , ,

So boys and girls Apple went and announced 2 new iPhones. A 4.7 iPhone 6 and 5.5 iPhone 6 Plus inch screened iPhone. The 5.5 inch iPhone has optical image stabilisation, whereas the 4.7 inch version does not. Apart from that they are meant to be identical. It is still a 8mp camera which is most disappointing when other competitors are releasing better cameras.

The Apple Watch was announced and unlike Apple it is not available until early 2015, starting at $349. In fact Apple seemed to have created 3 different ranges each with a selection of cool changeable straps and also Apple announced the Apple Watch will be available in two sizes. Apple will have over 36 different configuration options for the Apple Watch. The user interface with the digital crown was a stroke of genius. I was not sold on the watch style, but with the straps it did make a compelling watch. I hate to think how expensive this can go too.

The iPod Classic is no longer being offered for sale after 13 years.

Apple launched Apple Pay, a contact payments solution that uses Touch ID, Passbook and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus NFC chip. This replaces all your credit cards and was a cool secure solution.

Apart from Apple Pay, the new iPhones will have IOS 8 installed which has a host of new features and functions. Reachability will make tapping the top of a larger display a breeze simply by double tapping the Touch ID button.

The Live Stream of the Keynote was a joke. It was in 2 languages, Chinese and American English and kept stop starting or failing altogether.

Apple has also released U2’s new album for free on iTunes.

So what are my views.

The 2 new iPhones were somewhat disappointing. From a hardware point of view my LG G3 is better in every way. iOS 8 software might swing the balance towards the iPhone, but who knows. It is good to have a 128gb version but at £799 sim free that is so expensive. Also the 5.5 inch model is huge. Worth checking the 4.7 first!

The Apple Watch is not available til next year. Makes me wonder if battery life is shocking. Was hoping for a slimmer design. but that’s next year!

Will I buy one. No. What about yourself?

It’s all about Apple – 6pm UK Time

Apple, Tech News, , , , ,

At 6pm UK time today, Apple will be live streaming their Keynote speech.

There are many rumours as to what will be announced a bit later today but here goes my predictions –

– First up the new iPhones, a 4.7 and 5.5 inch screen iPhone

– iOS 8 specific features and special extras that work only with the new iPhones

– OS X integration with all the new hardware and software – potentially the showcase piece with iOS 8

– Announcements on the Home kit and Health Kit along with new partners

– iWatch – this is likely to have a multitude of sensors that integrate with the Health app on iOS 8.

And less likely –

– Announcements on the new iPads

– The reduction/death of the iPod range to be replaced by fashionable wearable tech.

So what’s your view on tonights keynote by Apple?

Apple security for its Keynote tonight is HUGE

Apple, Tech News

“With less than 12 hours to go, security precautions for Apple’s big press event Tuesday have been taken to unprecedented levels.

Apple has wired the entire event auditorium — the Flint Center for the Performing Arts — with a brand new, state-of-the-art security system to lock down access and prevent leaks.

The auditorium is crawling with 24-hour security personnel. Anyone working at the massive show, from caterers to construction staff and technicians, is required to submit their phones to Apple’s security team. The phones’ cameras are being covered in special tamper-proof tape, which changes colour if removal is attempted.”

If you read the entire article at cultofmac it is pretty much certain that if you try to escape with any secrets you will be burnt alive before you can hit send!

More at http://www.cultofmac.com

Amazon Fire Phone – Fire Sale and now coming to the UK

Amazon, Tech News,

It seems Amazon’s Fire phone has already hit a stumbling block and consequently is being offered for less than a dollar in the US with a 2 year contract.

And its also travelling overseas to O2 in the UK.

Being restricted to one network in the UK is not going to help with sales. It needs to be available on every network.

Source – cultofandroid.com

LG G3 – Review – Highlights 9 weeks later

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

It seems a miracle that I still have the LG G3 after 9 weeks. Below are my key highlights of the device.

1) Design. Often overlooked but I really like the buttons on the back of the phone. The curved back. And the headphone jack on the bottom. All of these design choices make the phone despite its size so much more comfortable to hold. And being nearly all screen on the front makes such a great bold design statement.

2) Keyboard – not only is the LG keyboard adjustable in every way conceivable, it has themes and is accurate too. In landscape I pull the keyboard to split it which makes text entry simple. It is the first phone whereby I have not changed to swift key or something else.

3) LG launcher. It’s just clean and simple yet offers excellent customisation. The on screen menu buttons for example. Defaults to 3. But you can add up to 5 and change the order. So bringing down the notification shade can be done from the bottom menu. Simple idea but just works. And then you have Knock On and Knock Code.

4) Camera. It is as easy as the iPhone. It never fails to take a great shot. And truth be told it’s better most times than what can be snapped on the iPhone 5S. Maybe the iPhone 6 will change that balance. Yes the G3 has laser focus but it means it just works. I also like that fact it’s just press and shoot. It also has voice control which seems to work really well. I have at least 5 other camera apps installed but haven’t really used them. The default camera app just works really effectively.

5) QuickCircle case. This is one of the coolest cases for a phone I’ve seen at the moment.

6) Qi wireless charging built in. I’m not a mad person who says it’s the only way to charge a phone but at night, I simply rest the G3 on the qi stand and that’s it.

7) Screen. It’s a good screen and is ideal for my photography. I have tweaked the colour gamut in the screen accessibility options to make it more vibrant.

8) The infra remote software is detailed and offers more buttons than other default phone software provided by other companies.

9) FM Radio. Often overlooked but it’s handy at times.

And finally, it just works. I have had no issues with it whatsoever. LG have updated the firmware and for the life of me I cannot tell what’s been improved.

With all the new phones that have been announced and are still to be announced this month, I am still being held by the G3. Only the Note 4 or Note Edge are tempting me but after I realise I will lose certain features and it will be more uncomfortable to hold than the G3 due to the Note’s wider girth, I keep wondering maybe I’m best staying put.

Time will tell of course 🙂

LG G3 – review – Hello Genie and Google Voice Commands

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

I really thought I had covered off everything to do with the LG G3 but alas there is another world of operation when it comes to voice control.

LG has their own piece of software, activated from the lock screen simply by saying “Hello Genie”, in the settings quick toggles by switching voice on or from the home menu button swiping it to the left.

As a side point if you swipe straight up or hold the home button, Google Search/Now is activated. If you swipe the home menu button to the right quick memo is activated.

So what can the voice control manage on the LG G3? Sending emails, texting, schedule a new meeting, cancel a meeting and show meetings, tasks creation, show map of an areas or place, navigation to, browse a web page, create new memos, open apps, play music or an album or a song, turn settings on or off and find weather information. You can also look up info on a contact. I will come back in a minute to the finer points of this voice control.

Now let’s move on to Google Voice control. It is what you would expect on any other android phone. Once in the search screen you can use OK Google to start the voice operation. But it is not always on in the home screen. It works as advertised but does not add the granular control of the in built LG system.

With the LG voice control you have more finer control, similar to Siri on the iPhone. So for example, on the LG voice control I can ask it to move an appointment forward by an hour. More of a personal assistant.

As another example, if I asked Google Voice to turn off wifi it just brings me to the wifi settings. If I ask LG Voice to turn off wifi, it turns wifi off!

A word of warning, all of the above voice control operation is dead in the water if you haven’t got an internet connection.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Edge – official camera specification from Samsung

Android, Tech News

If you have been wanting to know more about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Edge camera specifications, here goes.

The front is a 3.7mp wide f/1.9.

The rear is 16mp f/2.4 with OIS. The f stop has been revealed by Samsung. This is a higher f stop than many people had expected, but this is the same value as the LG G3.

Source – http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote4/note4_features.html