Category Archives: Tech News

Day 4 with the Nokia Lumia 1020

Reviews, Tech News, Windows

I’m a bit late writing this as I was out last night at a business/work function. It was a black tie event, so it was ideal conditions to test low light shots with the 1020.

I can’t publish any of the photos from last night, but needless to say the photos were all ok. The xenon flash helped really well, in particular preventing blurring on low light. I also took a few shots with the iPhone 5S which also were acceptable but not at the same level as the 1020. I also had a few blurry shots from the 5S, but not the 1020.

I must admit the more I have had the 1020, the more it has grown on me. The camera is the showcase feature, but actually I am finding the rest of the phone a joy. I will not hide the fact that I like Windows Phone operating system. I just find it fun and refreshing to use and totally different to android and iOS. At first I struggled to understand the camera immediately, but as the days have progressed I am starting to get to grips with its capabilities. It is a serious “bad ass” piece of camera technology. That’s a positive statement by the way.

During the business/work function I showed the 1020 to a number of people. Nobody could quite believe how there was a 41mp camera on the phone. Everyone had a go using the phone and everyone loved it.

And that comes nicely to my closing thought of the day. At the end of last night/early this morning I was thinking about the real possibility of using the Nokia Lumia 1020 as my main phone. It is that strong a package for me.

HP Chromebook 11 safety plug warning

Android, Tech News,

Google and HP are pausing sales of the HP Chromebook 11 after receiving a small number of user reports that some chargers included with the device have been damaged due to overheating during use. We are working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to identify the appropriate corrective action, and will provide additional information and instructions as soon as we can.

In the meantime, customers who have purchased an HP Chromebook 11 should not use the original charger provided with the product. In the interim they may continue using their HP Chromebook 11 with any other Underwriters Laboratories-listed micro-USB charger, for example one provided with a tablet or smartphone. We apologize for the inconvenience.

So the US has a product recall, but not in the UK. Maybe our 3 pin plug arrangement is safer?

Is the Nexus 5 a bargain?

Android, Tech News

I am going to start by saying it is a low priced phone, priced at the lower points of its spec sheet versus the competition, but it does have sacrifices.

When I look at a phone, apart from its user experience, it needs to take a decent photo and have above average sound from its loudspeaker and also from the headphone jack. It also must look like I spent several hundred pounds on it. The iPhone achieves this hands down. It also must have apps and services to enhance the user experience. Again, the iPhone achieves this with ease. So along comes Google, and launches the Nexus 5.

And the first statement from anyone’s mouth is it so cheap and such great value. It has a 5 inch 1080p screen, 2gb ram etc etc. So what if it has the latest and greatest. What are the benefits is what matters. I’m not saying Google hasn’t achieved a great mid market phone that more people can afford, since they have. But if you look overseas to China, other companies are producing android phones with similar hardware specs and at similar or lower price points. What they are not providing is android 4.4 and future upgrades instantly. So the difference between a £299 Nexus 5 and £500 iPhone looks massive on paper. But let’s not kid ourselves. The iPhone looks more upmarket, looks more stylish and has a better camera and sound quality. It like driving a Fiat to work or a Ferrari. Both will get you from A to B, but one might put a bigger smile on your face.

So are you the Fiat or the Ferrari?

But going back to the Nexus 5. This is Google’s answer to the current mid priced phones. It also makes companies that sell higher price phones be on guard as to what they might need to do next to outshine Google’s £299 smartphone. If all you do is share photos to social media websites, then the Nexus 5 camera is perfect. And again makes it a tough one to ignore.

So what will Apple do with $578m of sapphire ?

Apple, Tech News

Apple just bought upfront $578m of sapphire glass. In addition , Apple is building a manufacturing plant in Arizona that will be used by GT Advanced Technologies to make sapphire crystals for use in its products. Apple currently uses sapphire in its home buttons and camera lens covers, but now it seems Apple with GT are expanding its interests in the hard crystalline substance over the next several years.

So what will Apple do with all this sapphire. Well the iPhone retina screen will be upgraded in 2014 and sapphire could be used going forward. The iWatch could do with a scratch resistant glass. And if an Apple TV really does materialise maybe this. And of course the next wave of iPads.

Day 3 with the Nokia Lumia 1020

Reviews, Tech News, Windows

I took some more photos with the Nokia Lumia 1020. See my flickr account for some of the shots. Sadly whilst the sun was present, so was the brutal weather. The sunrise shots were taken just as the heavens opened up at full blast. The other shots taken during the day were against gale force winds.

Actually the wind was strong enough making it tricky to stand upright. But none of the 1020 shots were blurred. That was partly due to the optical image stabilisation. I also noticed with some of the shots with bright sun, the xenon flash fired to help spread the light more evenly.

I still stand by my first findings that in good light, the benefits of the 1020 camera will be not visible. It you need to zoom in, then the 1020 is ideal. In lower light the 1020 starts shining. And when you start getting creative with the camera settings I started to take some photos impossible with other smartphones. I also think the 1020 post processing is slightly too aggressive on some photos.

Moving on to the rest of the phone, it works as expected. It is good to see more camera centric apps appearing, as well as more mainstream apps. Whilst the 1020 feels less polished compared to an iPhone, I am finding it far greater fun to use.

I took a number of photos and did notice the battery level dropping, so if I was out for a while, I would get the camera grip which has extra battery power built in.

The polycarbonate build of the 1020 is excellent. It feels great in the hand, just bright yellow is not my colour. Black would be my colour of choice.

One thing I don’t get is why I can’t transfer the 41mp photos over the air. I will have to connect the 1020 to my computer at the weekend to extract these via USB. I had heard about slow camera start up times and slow shot to shot times. My experience is that it’s reasonable in its start up, and perfectly ok between shots. It didn’t slow me down. However, if it was an action shot of the moment, the 1020 would miss the moment.

Update – late last night I finally extracted the Pureview Hi-res versions off the 1020 on to my mac. Not as easy as I thought as you have to download special software from Nokia, and at first I downloaded the wrong app. I am exporting 7 hires shots to my flickr account at the moment (6.20am) so by 7am the full 34mp photos will be uploaded. The extra definition is excellent.

Mini Retina or Air – my views on the new iPads

Apple, Tech News

I already have the iPad Air and love it but out of the blue Apple started selling the smaller updated iPad Mini retina. So I happened to be passing thru an Apple store over lunch and spent some time comparing the two iPads.

I looked at each iPad, but whichever way I cut it, I still preferred the iPod Air. I just felt the larger screen offered a better reading and viewing experience.

If you are restricted on space and travel a lot then maybe I could understand the need for the Mini. Anyway, I just thought I would share my views on which iPad I would own, now that both are officially released.

Moto G arrives at Phones 4 U – a low priced android phone with decent performance

Android, Tech News

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Phones4U have an exclusive on the freshly announced Moto G, by offering the white backed version.

Phones 4U is offering the new device in both 8GB and 16GB versions of the Moto G and can now be ordered online for delivery showing as November 22, but it will arrive in shops tomorrow.

The 8GB Moto G will cost just £119.95 plus a £10 top-up voucher on pay-as-you-go, and the 16GB will run for £149.95 plus the same £10 top-up voucher.

The Moto G includes a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400, 4.5-inch 720p display, 1GB of RAM, 5MP main camera, and either 8GB or 16GB storage.

If you want a cheap android phone, this looks like a good bet.

MetroTalk for Windows Phone hit by Google Decision to ban all 3rd Party Voice Apps

Android, Apple, Tech News, Windows

From MetroTalk –

We are sad to announce that after a request by Google, MetroTalk will be removed from the Windows Phone store on May 1, 2014. We apologize to all our users for this but the decision is beyond our control, and in fact affects all third-party Google Voice apps. The good news is that the app will remain available and fully functional for 6 more months, and you can expect bug fix updates during that time. A huge thank you to all of our users for making us one of the top downloaded and highest rated apps of the Windows Phone store. Once again, we truly apologize to everyone affected by this.

This is a decision by Google that will affect all 3rd-party apps, due to Google locking down on security in Google Voice. The Google Voice API was never publicly available. So if you use a 3rd party app for Google Voice you have 6 months notice.

Bit by bit the openness of Google as a platform is closing down and this is another step towards that end game.

Google Search has a huge update available on android with extra options too

Android, Tech News

A huge Google Search update started rolling out to all Android devices running Android 4.1 and above. The update is version 3.1.8.

The update brings Google Search version 3 (or 3.1.8) to all devices running Android 4.1 and above. This is the version of Search that comes with KitKat, and brings a new UI, as well as a new refreshed animation. The update also allows the Google Experience Launcher APK to work properly when installed.

Google Now is also improved with this update adding reader like website updates, Waze traffic reports and more.