Category Archives: Tech News

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo officially released by Samsung – full details and specs

Tech News, Wearables

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Samsung just unveiled its new line of Gear 2 smart watches. And these look amazing.

The flagship Gear 2 features a 1.63-inch touchscreen, 4GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, and mobile speakers, but also now contains a built-in camera and IR blaster. Meanwhile, the cheaper Gear 2 Neo is lighter than its higher-end counterpart, and does not feature a camera.

The new Gears are based on Samsung’s Time operating system. The Gear 2 features a pedometer and now a heart rate monitor.

Samsung will be releasing the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo in various colors, with both devices receiving Charcoal Black and Wild Orange options. Additionally, the Gear 2 will be released in a Gold Brown option while the Gear 2 Neo will be offered a Mocha Grey colorway.

The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will be available internationally starting April, with pricing to be announced soon.

Full Specs for the Gear 2 and Gear Neo 2-

Display – 1.63-inch Super AMOLED (320 x 320) 

Processor -1.0 GHz Dual Core Processor

Operating system -Tizen-based wearable platform

Camera (Gear 2 only) -2.0 Megapixel Auto Focus (1920×1080, 1080×1080, 1280×960)

Video Codec: H.264, H.263; Format: 3GP, MP4; HD(720p, @30fps) Playback & Recording

Audio Codec: MP3/AAC/AMR/Vorbis; Format: MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG

Camera Features -Auto Focus Camera, Sound & Shot, Location Tags, Signature

Fitness features- 1. Heart Rate sensor; 2. Pedometer; 3. Exercise (Standalone Modes: Running, Walking; Companion Modes: Cycling, Hiking); 4. Sleep & Stress (Downloadable)

Music Music Player with Bluetooth Headset and Speaker

Watch-on Remote Remote Controller via IrLED Sensor

Basic Features- Bluetooth Call, Camera, Notification(SMS, E-mail, Apps
Apps Media Controller, Schedule, Smart Relay, S Voice, Stopwatch, Timer, Weather

Downloadable features- Calculator, ChatON, Flashlight, Quick Settings, Voice Memo

Gear 2 strap options Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange
Gear 2 Neo strap options Charcoal Black, Mocha Grey and Wild Orange

Ruggedness -IP67 Certified Dust and Water Resistant, Noise Cancellation

Featured apps Banjo, BMW, CNN , Conde Nast, Expedia, eBay, Evernote, Feedly, GARMIN, Glympse, GM (Onstar 4GLTE), iControl, Line, Path, Paypal, RUNTASTIC, Volkswagen, Weather Channel, Under Armour (Map my fitness).

Samsung Services – Samsung Apps

Connectivity -Bluetooth® v4.0 LE, IrLED< 
Sensors Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart Rate 

Memory -512MB RAM
Storage -4GB

Dimensions Gear 2: 36.9 x 58.4x 10.0 mm, 68g;

Gear 2 Neo: 37.9 x 58.8 x 10.0mm, 55g
Battery life Li-ion 300mAh;

Typical Usage 2~3 days, Low Usage up to 6 days

The All New HTC One – photos of the new colours

Android, Tech News

The phone isn’t due to be announced officially until 25th March so look away now if you don’t want to see the new HTC One.

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The phone will also be available in black. Notice the 2 camera lenses on the rear, different flash , larger screen with thinner bezels. The guts will have had a slight bump in specs too.

Disappointed or are you pleasantly surprised?

BiteSMS for iOS 7 is now out of beta – jail broken devices celebrate

Apple, Tech News

BiteSMS for iOS 7 is now out of beta and available to all jailbroken iPhones running iOS 7 or later, including the iPhone 5s.

BiteSMS completely replaces iOS’s standard messaging app with a full-featured solution. You can schedule messages, read and compose messages in a small window on the iPhone without leaving whatever app the might be using at the time, automatically forward messages, use message templates and much more.

BiteSMS for iOS 7 is available immediately on jailbroken iPhones for free in the Cydia app store. The app is ad-supported after a 7-day trial, and users can pay a one-time $7.99 fee to remove ads permanently.

One of the better tweaks for jail broken phones.

Google I/O 2014 scheduled for June 25-26 – details

Android, Tech News

Android head Sundar Pichai has just announced the dates for the 2014 Google I/O developers conference which will be on June 25 and June 26.

Despite being later in the month it is still at Moscone West, and like recent years the events will be lived streamed for everyone to watch. Google has however changed the registration system.

This time around, developers will be able to express their interest and selected participants will be chosen and notified.

Samsung NotePRO 12.2 impressions

Android, Reviews, Tech News,

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The Samsung NotePRO 12.2 tablet first impression is simply, it’s huge. It makes the iPad Air and Samsung 10.1 2014 Note Tablet seem small !

The rear of the NotePRO is a fake leather back, identical to that on the Note 3.

In fact everything about the tablet is very similar to the Note 3 just on a grander scale.  But it does feature the new Magazine UI launcher instead of Touchwiz.  The new launcher isn’t as in your face as touchwiz and appears slightly lighter in weight. 

The screen allows 4 apps to be open at the same time as well as using floating apps.  There is a much wider choice of floating apps versus the Note 3 selection. And as I said before its otherwise identical to the Note 3 just a lot larger.

The built in keyboard is excellent but at present there are no smart cases which would really be needed for a device like this.  I would rate it higher than that found on the iPad as it includes the numbers and other keys permanently. 

Weight.  It’s heavier than the iPad Air and this is noticeable even after an hour worth of use.  Strength. It doesn’t feel as solid as the iPad Air. But then again nothing does.  It feels a little flimsy even though it’s well made.

Photos.  The 8MP camera does a reasonable job but is not going to set the world alight for photography.

Screen.  It looks great.  It’s not the biggest resolution available but 12.2 inches doesn’t hurt ones eyes. In fact Web browsing is so enjoyable it begs the question whether you would even bother with a home computer if you had this tablet.

At £649 for the wifi only model it isn’t cheap.  And that will be one of the reasons it doesn’t sell by the bucket load.

Question is, would you buy one?