The Samsung Galaxy S8 or Apple iPhone 8 are rumoured to be available with a configuration costing £1,000 or more. Is this a surprise? No, as the current iPhone 7 Plus costs £919 in its 256gb storage configuration.
So with the Google Pixel and other phones leaping ahead in price, would Samsung be bold enough to ask £1,000 for a high storage Samsung Galaxy S8+? Probably yes. I also think Apple will bring out a phone that costs more than £1,000.
So really my next question, is any phone worth £1,000? In reality, no, but in real life people that want the very best or want to be seen with a particular brand will also pay the higher amount.
The problem though is the budget and mid market phones are getting better and better, to the point whereby high end flagship will start to feel the pressure.
If Samsung want over £800 for its top end flagship, would you spend this amount of money?
Welcome to my review of the Groov-e Rhythm Bluetooth headphones with mic, that can be used in either wired or wireless mode. The headphone retails for around £29.
The Key Features / Specifications
– 40mm drivers
– 10 hours wireless playback
– built in mic for hands free calling
– adjustable headband
– soft earpads
– removable 3.5mm audio cable 1.2m included
– micro usb cable included
– bluetooth chipset CSR 8635 v4.0
– bluetooth profiles – HSP, HFP, A2DP, AVRCP
– charging time 2-3 hours
– standby time 300 hours
– 32 ohm, frequency 20Hz – 20K Hz
– 110db sensitivity
Video Review
Conclusion
A budget priced headphone that outperforms it price, lightweight and comfortable.
Update – The first two photos made it on to Flickr Explore.
Below are a few photos I took with the LG G5 yesterday morning. It shows that even though its nearly a year old it can still take some fabulous photos.
Some superb photos and a bit of snow helps too.
Thanks to Vodafone again for the loan of the LG G5!
Groov-e have two different boomboxes. The Groov-e Mini and Classic Boombox. The Mini is shown above. Below is a photo of the classic.
The Key Features
Classic Boombox
– CD-R/CD-RW Compatible
– Cassette Player
– 20 Track Pre-Programming
– AM/FM Radio
– 3.5mm Aux-in & 3.5mm headphone socket
Mini Boombox
– CD-R/CD-RW Compatible
– 20 Track Pre-Programming
– Repeat and Skip/Search Function
– FM Radio
– 3.5mm Aux-in & 3.5mm headphone socket
The Groov-e Classic Boombox has more features over the Mini including a cassette player, AM radio as well as FM and more controls. The Mini retails for around £30 and the Classic for £50.
Zecti 70 inch travel tripod review plus a comparison with their 55 inch tripod. I am already using the 55 inch Zecti tripod on a near daily basis, so I decided to take a look at the bigger 70 inch version. This is a different design so in my main video review, I have also compared it to the 55 inch tripod.
The Key Features / Specifications
– Max. Height: 70 inch/176.5cm with column extended
– Min. Height: 21inch/54cm
– Folding Height: 22inch/57cm
– Converted to Monopod: 65inch
– Number of Leg Sections: 4
– Material: Aluminum Alloy+Plastic
– Leg Lock: Flip-lock
– Lateral Tilt Angle: 90 degree
– Tilt Angle: 180 degree
– Panning Angle: 360 degree
– Screw for camera: 1/4 inch
– Head Type: 3-Way Head
– Weight: 1.65kg/3.63lb
– Packing Size: 11.5*11.5*59.3cm
– Foot Type: Anti-slip Horseshoe Mat
– In the box – 1x Camera tripod, 1x User Manual, 1x Carrying Case
– 3-way Head with quick release plate are easy for you to install or remove most cameras camcorder DV and etc.
– The unique design of the horseshoe foot and bottom weight hook ensure an excellent stability of the tripod.
– Two in one design of the tripod allow you to convert the tripod between tripod and monopod easily.
Video Review
To really illustrate the tripod, I filmed a review which also included a comparison with the Zecti 55 inch tripod and Amazon Basic tripod. I also explain the difference in quality between the tripods and their respective features.
Conclusion
The Zecti 70 inch Travel Tripod is ideal if you need a quick release plate and the extra height. I am now using both of these tripods as they are lightweight and ideal for most of my photography.
Apple iPhone 7 Plus camera showcase. This week I released a video showcasing the Huawei Mate 9 camera and I was asked by several people if I could create a similar video for the iPhone 7 Plus. So I did.
The video includes a range of photos, shot using various different modes, and a selection of photos shot in raw using ProCam 4 app. Other apps used for long exposures included Nightcap Pro. Details of the modes, if raw used and apps are noted on the photos too.
So LG announced the LG G6 at MWC 2017. It was the chance for LG to shine and potentially steal the limelight away from its competition.
All was going well, with its new metal and glass design which looks a lot better than the LG G5 and its new 18:9 screen aspect ratio. The new UI with Google Assistant looked really good and being able to run 2 applications on the screen both in perfect sized squares looked fab too. The new dual 13mp cameras, one of which was a 120 degree wide angle lens now works better with the other 13mp standard lens. The sample photos looked impressive too.
I was able to overlook the fact it had the Snapdragon 821 processor. Samsung has hogged all the 835 chipsets for its new S8.
And then came the sting in the tail. LG once again had different specifications for different countries. The USA model comes with wireless charging. In Korea the phone will come with 64gb storage instead of 32gb and will include a HiFi DAC. Considering the whole launch event was about listening to its customers, how on earth can LG offer such vast differences in hardware experiences and expect everyone to be happy! But could it get any worse. Yes. The front display uses Gorilla Glass 3 which is now 4 years old. The rear camera is protected by Gorilla Glass 4, and the glass back has Gorilla Glass 5 which is meant to be 1.8 times stronger than previous generations. So why on earth has the front screen only got Gorilla Glass 3?
64gb storage should be the base model for 2017 for any flagship phone. My Huawei Mate 9 comes with 64gb as standard. My iPhone 7 Plus has 256gb. 32gb is not sufficient as in reality about 20gb will be available. Stating you can install a memory card is not the same as apps and games do not run from a micro SD card.
Finally, look at the LG G5 nougat review update I posted today. It comes with Bluetooth APT-X HD codec and an infra red blaster. Plus it has a removable battery and more!
LG just announced the LG G6 but before you rush out and buy the new shiny model from LG, I decided to take another look at the LG G5 now that it has received Android Nougat. I would like to thank Vodafone UK for the loan of the G5 and making this update to my original review possible.
– Screen 5.3 inch QHD 1440 x 2560 pixels (~554 ppi pixel density), Corning Gorilla Glass 4
– Always-on display
– Android OS v7.0 Nougat
– Chipset Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820, Adreno 520 GPU
– Internal 32 GB, 4 GB RAM, micro SD card up to 200gb
– CAMERA Primary 16 MP (f/1.8) + 8 MP (f/2.4), laser autofocus, OIS (3-axis)
– Secondary 8 MP, f/2.0, 1080p@30fps, 135º wide angle
– Audio – 24-bit/192kHz audio
– COMMS -Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot,Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, aptXHD,GPS, NFC
– Other – IR Blaster, FM radio
– USB v3.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
– Sensors -Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, colour spectrum for camera
– Fast battery charging: 83% in 30 min (Quick Charge 3.0)
– BATTERY Removable Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery
– Dimensions – 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm (5.88 x 2.91 x 0.30 in)
– Weight 159 g (5.61 oz)
LG G5 running nougat makes it a difference phone for a number of reasons, most of which I have explained in my video review below. Using the camera of the G5 was a joy. The wide angle lens is fantastic. Below is a shot from the weekend.
One of the issues of the G5 was its battery life, but with nougat I have been able to finish the day with 40% remaining. Another highlight is the bluetooth music audio quality. It is truly epic! I used many bluetooth headphones with it and they totally rocked out. If you have AirPods you won’t know just what they are capable of until you connect them to the LG G5.
Video Review
So to fully appreciate and understand why this is such a good phone, watch my video review. Just how tough is the build quality nearly one year later? Found this out plus all the new features on the LG G5 running nougat.
Conclusion
Revisiting the LG G5 was fantastic. It actually is making me desire the new LG G6 even more now, but for those on a budget, you really cannot go wrong with the LG G5!
Huawei announced the P10 and P10 Plus at MWC today. As upgrades to the Huawei P9 there was a lot of interesting new improvements and more colours too.
For me the P10 Plus was the highlight with a bigger 5.5 inch screen than the standard 5.1 inch screen on P10. The P10 Plus screen also moves up from 1080p to QHD, includes stereo speakers, infra red blaster and the next generation of Leica rear dual cameras, called the Leica Pro Edition 2.0. These new dual lenses a f/1.8.
The Plus comes in either a 4gb/64gb or 6gb/128gb ram/storage configuration. Gorilla Glass 5 are on both P10’s models.
Huawei also made a lot of noise about the brand new finishing process called hyper diamond cut, which according to Huawei prevents scratches unlike other glossy (jet black) phones.
Huawei also announced the Huawei Watch 2. One noticeable difference over the Mate 9 and P9 is the higher price tags. Huawei is now charging flagship pricing for its phones. The P10 Plus will cost 699 or 799 euros depending on storage configuration.
The BlackBerry KEYone, formally known as the BlackBerry Mercury has now been officially launched at MWC.
The Key Specs / Features
– OS – Android 7.1.1 Nougat
– Display 4.5-inch, 1620×1080, IPS LCD,434ppi
– Processor Snapdragon 625, Adreno 506 GPU,RAM 3GB
– Storage 32GB
– Expandable microSD up to 2TB
– Rear Camera 12MP (1.55 micron) f/2.0, PDAF, dual-tone LED flash, HDR, 4K, 30fps
– Front Camera 8MP f/2.2, 1.12-micron pixels,Selfie flash,1080p/30 video
– Battery 3505 mAh
– Charging Quick Charge 3.0
– USB-C
– BlackBerry Software DTEK security suite, Launcher, Hub & Other Apps
– FIPS 140-2 Full Disk Encryption
– Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, GPS, GLONASS
– Dimensions – 149.1 mm x 72.39 mm x 9.4 mm
– Weight 180 grams
Video Overview
My Thoughts
The BlackBerry KEYone will go on sale at the beginning of April for £499 in the UK.It is going to be up against the Huawei P10, LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S8 and maybe a few other phones. However, I don’t think this will be an issue as this phone is not trying to compete in the same way.
For starters the keyboard, its the only keyboard on an android phone. Having reviewed many previous BlackBerry’s including the recent DTEK50 and DTEK60, the reliability of regular security updates was re-assuring. The KEYone is going to follow in the same manner. The additional BlackBerry software apps and tweaks will make a difference to the overall experience. The keyboard can have a shortcut assigned to every key. The keyboard also includes a fingerprint sensor and acts as a trackpad. The grippy back is the same that came with the DTEK50, meaning you won’t drop it.
The BlackBerry KEYone looks like a phone that could be used one handedly with ease. It has the same camera sensor as the Google Pixel too.
So whilst the specs may not scream out at you as pure high end flagships ones, I reckon this phone will be great to use, for those that want a keyboard on an android phone, regular security updates and decent battery life.
At £499 it will face a lot of competition so it will be interesting to see how well it sells. For me this is the most exciting BlackBerry in ages!
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 