It is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK with Monday an official Public Holiday. So for the first time ever, Gavin’s Gadgets is going to have a day off on Bank Holiday Monday.
Don’t panic there are over 2,500 articles to re read, and over 40 reviews from smartphones, wearables and accessories. Just use the menu links above.
The next episode of Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast will be available on Sunday as usual 🙂
Have a good weekend.
Gavin
Above is my Samsung Galaxy S5 fitted with the official Samsung Wireless Cover and charging on the new Samsung Wireless Charging Pad.
In the box you get a manual and the cover itself. Picture below is the Wireless Cover on left next to the standard cover on right. Shown both ways.
Now lets have a closer look at the camera cut out on the Wireless Cover. Note the camera is now recessed slightly as well as the flash and heart rate monitor.
So what are the differences between the Wireless and Standard Cover ?
Weight – The S5 with the Wireless Cover weighs 160g and with the default non wireless cover 142g.
Depth/Thickness – The Wireless cover is a few mm’s thicker. It actually makes the phone more comfy to hold as it has a better curve now on the rear.
Cases – none fit that I have at present with the Wireless Cover.
When the phone is placed on the pad, a message appears across the screen to say charging wirelessly. Overall I am impressed that I now have QI Wireless Charging on my S5. It also feels much better in the hand to hold.
Update – I’m having issues with the Samsung Charging Pad. It keeps flashing orange after a while so I will be returning this pad and another one I ordered as well. Once I get my refund on these I will try a Zens pad which is a brand I have used before with a Nexus phone. If that doesn’t work, then it’s the wireless cover that doesn’t work properly.
Update – I got a replacement Samsung Charging pad and it works just fine. No mad flashing orange light.
In Nokia’s final earnings report as an independent phone manufacturer, the outfit revealed that both its feature and Lumia smartphone sales were dwindling.
In fact, the company’s overall sales fell by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2013. Fortunately, Nokia does not have to worry about that part of the business, as it sold it several days ago to Microsoft.
You could say Nokia’s sale/escape via Windows was really good timing.
It has been a few days since Samsung announced the Galaxy K Zoom, a 20.7mp camera centric smartphone.
But these are the reasons why you should think about before your purchase.
1. The K Zoom comes with 8gb storage, which has 5gb usable plus expansion for media/photos using a micro sd card. Bear in mind of that 5gb, burst mode will save to that memory and not the micro sd card. Plus you will need to install apps and games within that allowance and it will be very tight. This really should have been 16gb out of the box, like the S5. The previous model, the S4 Zoom also only had 8gb so I would have thought this would have at least been increased this year.
2. The K Zoom has a 20.7mp ISOCELL lens, but it is the same pixel quality as the S4 Zoom which costs half as much, albeit just 16mp. So maybe save some money and buy the older model.
3. The K Zoom has AE/AF separation to the auto functionality making it more flexible with shots.
4. The K Zoom Pro Suggest smart mode gives you different picture options depending on the photo you are about to take. This will help you take better pictures. You can also download many more shooting modes and those created by other users too. You can also save your own modes. For amateurs this really might allow you to create a great photo.
5. K Zoom can record at 1080p video at 50/60 frames per second which is better than the Galaxy S4 Zoom manages only 30fps. Neither record at 4K.
6. Shape. The K Zoom is a much slimmer and more desirable shape versus the S4 Zoom.
7. Screens. The Galaxy S4 Zoom has a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 super AMOLED screen, while the Galaxy K Zoom has a 4.8-inch HD 1280 x 720 super AMOLED display. 256ppi versus 306ppi on the K Zoom.
8. The Galaxy K Zoom has a Samsung-made Hexa core Exynos processor (1.3GHz quad-core and 1.7GHz dual-core processors combined). There’s 2GB of RAM on board too. The Galaxy S4 Zoom has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1.5GB of RAM.
So all in all, the K Zoom is improved, by the optics still have smaller pixels which are actually the same size as the Sony Xperia Z2. It is odd that Sony has a 20.7mp lens the same as the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. Coincidence? Not really. Most cheap point and shoot cameras have this size of lens.
Google has just released Docs and Sheets for android and iOS. Powerpoints will be covered off in a separate app soon to be released, called Google Slides.
Docs and Sheets can work offline and confuse the world out of most people as to Google’s strategy. Google already has Quickoffice in the app store which –
With Quickoffice and a Google Account you can:
– Create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files
– Access files in Google Drive and on your device
– Open and view PDF files
– Share files through previously shared Google Drive folders
– Attach files to emails
So Google Docs or Sheets does – (change docs for sheets)
Create, edit & collaborate with others on documents from your Android phone or tablet with the free Google Docs app.
With Google Docs you can:
– Create new documents or open and edit any that you started on the web or another device.
– Share documents and work together with others in the same document at the same time
– Get stuff done anytime–even without an internet connection
– Add and respond to comments
– Never worry about losing your work–everything is automatically saved as you type
So, if you go to open a word file on Google Drive, it won’t choose Google Docs to read or edit file. It won’t even offer you the option, only Quickoffice if you have this installed.
All I can say is at the moment it is a mess. Why didn’t Google just update Quickoffice to allow offline mode and rename it Google Office or something else. And currently the new apps lack a lot of functionality. Makes Apple’s offerings of Pages and Numbers and Microsoft’s Office seem so superior.
As you know, I co-host a weekly podcast with David from UKMobileTech called Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast. It is a light hearted tech podcast broadcast bi-weekly. To subscribe click here for iTunes or copy and paste this link into your favourite podcast app.
A few episodes ago we asked if any of you, our listeners would help us with some new artwork for our podcast. Well after receiving a number of submissions, Dave and I have chosen a winner. And below is the new artwork from “Ben K” – thank you!
Next time you listen to our podcast, if the new artwork doesn’t appear you might need to refresh the podcast artwork from within the app settings.
In the press there has been comments that OnePlus is actually owned by Oppo.
So far we know for sure that the phones will be manufactured by Oppo and OnePlus is headed up by an ex Director of Oppo who went off to do his own thing. Well, according to legal documents, OnePlus is owned by Oppo.
So what did Oppo have to say on the matter?
“…OnePlus is a separately run company that does share common investors with OPPO. One of those investors is OPPO Electronic. OPPO Electronic is an investment company and is not the same as OPPO Mobile. OnePlus is also in talks with other investors.”
Well, that answers everything, doesn’t it?
Question is, does it really matter?
Over the last few days there have been some interesting stats emerging from smartphone sales.
First up, following Samsung’s first quarter results it has lost market share to competitors. Samsung also suffered a 3.3% fall in profits. Consequently its share price has fallen.
Meanwhile Apple sold half the total amount of phones as Samsung, yet made twice more profit.
Google recognises it does not have a proper “Google” high end offering(s) to challenge Apple’s complete iPhone software and hardware package. So Google wants to have a Silver phone program, whereby manufacturers will have to adhere to strict guidelines on apps and the experience. These are to be high end quality finished phones to head straight on at Apple.
One thing is for sure, competition is healthy and maybe everyone will have to up their game.
Samsung has just taken the wraps off the new Samsung K Zoom, the replacement for the S4 Zoom. The device features a 20.7 MP 1/2.3 BSI CMOS camera sensor with 10x optical zoom, Xenon flash and OIS. The K Zoom offers a total of 28 shooting modes and comes with a redesigned camera UI that looks similar to what is offered in the Galaxy S5. The device include a 4.8-inch 720p screen, hexa-core Exynos 5 Hexa 5260 processor with two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores, 2 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, 2.1 MP front shooter and a 2430 mAh battery. As far as connectivity goes, the K Zoom comes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0LE, GPS, NFC and HSPA+ (42 Mbps).
Updated – it appears the K Zoom does not have 4K video recording and as its a lot slimmer now does not include a built in tripod mount like the S4 Zoom. The optics are identical to the S4 Zoom except now 20.7mp instead of 16mp. The battery is removable but at 2430 mAH should have been larger for a camera centric phone.
From the Wall Street Journal.
“Amazon isn’t waiting for the advent of courier drones to ship your orders faster than usual: the Wall Street Journal reports that the e-commerce giant has been testing its own US delivery network in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Described in job listings as Last Mile, the initiative is meant to outperform established shippers like FedEx and UPS. These companies are increasing costs, can’t always meet capacity and are “impeding innovation in delivery services,” Amazon says in one job description.”
Amazon also invested in Yodel, a UK delivery service recently. Clearly, Amazon realises you are only as good as your weakest link, and delivery of a customers order is vital. Amazon also has invested in lockers and collection/drop off points too, making it a great service but at the expense of the smaller retailers.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 