Huawei Mate 9. My review will appear shortly but for now sit back and enjoy some of the photos taken on this superb phone.
Category Archives: Tech News
Choetech Power Surge Extension Lead with 4 Smart USB’s – review
Cheotech Power Surge Extension review. If you were lucky enough I offered 10 of these for free on my twitter account (@gavinfabiani). Thanks to Choetech for supporting gavinsgadgets! Choetech have an extensive range of accessories too.
So here is my quick review and unboxing.
The Key Features
– Power output of 3250W allows you to connect more high-powered devices.
– 3x standard outlet powering up electrical appliances, computer, TV, stereo for your home / office / business.
– Smart Auto Detect Tech: The 4 x 2.4A smart USB ports can automatically recognize the devices connected and provide the optimum amount of current to each, ensuring the fastest charging possible.
– Sophisticated circuit design with over-heated, over-current, over-charging protection, so you can use this device without any worries about safety.
– Material: Aluminum outer casing & Fire-resistant ABS
– Max AC Output Rating: 250V/13A/3250W
– Surge Protection Rating: 320 Joules
– USB Charging Output: 4 x 5V 2.4A Max 30W/6A
– Power Plug Type: 3 Pin UK Plug
– Cord Length: 1.5M / 4.9Ft
– Dimension: 27*7*3cm; Net Weight: 650g
– CE & RoHS Certificated: Yes
Useful Links
This is the LG G6 – It’s looking promising!
With Mobile World Congress around the corner, many of the hottest phones new flagships from Samsung, Sony, Huawei, LG and others are about to get announced.
Evan Blass (evleaks) on twitter tweeted a smashing teaser on the LG G6, as below.
I intend to give the LG G6 the same treatment as I have done for the LG G3, LG G4 and LG G5. What treatment was that you ask? My LG G5 review ended up being featured on LG’s main website too.
LG G5 – 26 Part review and all the Friends
So whilst I have several more devices/gadgets being reviewed and going live next week, I will be focusing on the hottest news that gets announced at Mobile World Congress too.
Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 – A Budget Smartphone from Vodafone
The Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 is a budget packed android phone from Vodafone. This is available on Pay As You Go for £130 and on contract too. This phone was provided by Vodafone for review purposes.
Key Features and Specifications
– Dimensions (mm): 152.2 x 78.12 x 8.68
– Weight (g): 150
– Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
– Screen: 5.5″ touchscreen, 1080p, IPS
– Camera: 13 megapixels, auto-focus, LED flash, 5mp front
– Nano sim, 4G
– 16gb storage, 2gb ram, micro SD card up to 32gb
– Mediatek MT6755M, Mali T860MP2
– Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, hotspot
– Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP
– GPS with A-GPS
– Radio FM radio
– USB microUSB v2.0, NFC
– Non-removable Li-Ion 2960 mAh battery
– Extras – Vodafone apps – Call+ and Message+
Phone, Camera and Performance
The Vodafone Ultra 7 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out the box with the a few of Vodafone’s network’s branded apps included. However, apart from these Vodafone apps, which are useful, it is a near stock experience. On the home screen, swiping right is customisable. You can select any app you prefer to launch.
The screen is 5.5-inch IPS LCD which at 401ppi provides good colour reproduction. Viewing angles are reasonable and in direct sunlight the brightness just about suffices.
The processor is an octa-core MediaTek chipset with 2GB of RAM. Due to the stock android approach it operates the phone fairly smoothly. Heavy gaming does result in a few dropped frames.The plus side of using this processor is decent battery life. 4.5 screen on time!
Inside the phone is 16GB of internal storage. However only 9.77GB of that is actually user accessible. This can be bolstered with a microSD up to 32GB.
So how’s the camera. If you take a lot of selfies you will appreciate the front-facing LED flash attached along with the front 5 megapixel camera.
The main camera is 13 megapixels and does a reasonable job of capturing something in all conditions, even low light including HDR. The main problem with both front and rear is the post processing. The detail could look better when zoomed in.
Call quality. Callers had good caller quality. 4G speeds at CAT 4 LTE are available too. Most importantly for a phone at this price, NFC is included, so android pay is possible.
Audio. The phone has a single firing loudspeaker and a FM Radio. The loudspeaker output was reasonable. Bluetooth audio is average too.
Video Review
Conclusion
Overall at this price point, the Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 packs a lot of phone for the money. If you’re on Vodafone and have a limited budget, this is a phone you should check out.
Useful Links
Vodafone Shop
Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 – More info & pricing on Amazon
Nokia 150 review – Nokia is back with a phone with 31 days battery life!
Nokia is back with the new Nokia 150 feature phone. Costing £25 plus £10 top up from Carphone Warehouse.
So before you watch the video review these are the key specs/features –
– 2.4-inch display, 167ppi
– VGA camera
– Space for 32GB microSD card
– 2mp camera with LED flash
– 118mm x 50.2mm x 13.5mm
– Weight 81g
– Battery 1020mAh – lasts up to 31 days
Video Review
Useful Links
Carphone Warehouse
Nokia phones on Amazon
This is not a loan/review unit.
Huawei Mate 9 – UK version firmware update details
Just to let you all know I have received the new firmware update on my Huawei Mate 9.
It has installed B138 as per screenshot. The differences are –
– Improves lock screen controls for third party players e.g. Pocket Casts
– Fixed screen sensitivity
– Improved power consumption
– Bug fixes
– In the settings there is now an option to enable VoLTE calls i.e. use 4G LTE Data to place HD calls
– Security update has improved from 1st November 2016 to 1st December 2016
BeatsX Wireless Headphones – My Review – Are these the best Beats Headphones to date? & vs AirPods?
BeatsX Wireless headphones went on sale on Friday 10th February 2017 on Apple’s website. They are available in grey, white, blue and black and cost £129.95.
The Key Features / Specs
– Experience authentic, clear sound
– Up to 8 hours of battery life
– Fast Fuel, a 5-minute charge gives you 2 hours of playback
– Lightning to USB-A charging cable (short length cable in box)
– Pocket-sized carrying case
– Unique Flex-Form cable provides all-day comfort and easy pocket portability
– Eartip options provide a personalised fit and secure-fit wingtips available in box offer added stability
– Class 1 Bluetooth
– Apple W1 Chip
– RemoteTalk allows you to take calls with a built-in mic, play music, adjust volume and activate Siri
– Charges from a lightning port, short cable provide in box
– Noise isolating
How To Setup
They instantly set up using the new Apple W1 Chip and iOS 10. Just power on and hold near your iPhone, a notification box appears, tap connect and after that you have simultaneously connected to your Apple Watch, iPad and Mac. This means no more pairing with your other Apple devices as the pairing is synced across using iCloud. The only exception is the Apple TV for some reason which will need manual pairing as will any non Apple device.
The Sound Quality
Apple describe the BeatsX sound as “authentic, clear sound with optimised noise isolation for an immersive listening experience. An innovative acoustic design delivers a clean treble response and distortion-free bass for the most natural tonality across a broad range of genres.”
Seriously, are the BeatsX possessing a natural tonality across a broad range of genres? Well, blow my socks off, because these are the first Beats headphones that have a more natural tonal response. That means there is soundstage separation (medium), there is treble and decent midrange, something that is missing off many older Beats products. And these do deliver a decent punch too.
In fact, I tried these with every genres including pop, rock, classical, dance, jazz, blues, new age and many more. The BeatsX did a stellar job with all of these plus provided a good amount of noise cancellation.
Also as these have the Apple W1 chip, the bluetooth connection range is crazy long and without any signal dropouts.
UnBoxing, Video Review and Comparison versus AirPods and other Bluetooth Headphones
Now its time to watch the next part of my review. This includes a quick unboxing, sound test, comparison with AirPods and other headphones.
Conclusion
The BeatsX are somewhat of a surprise sonically as the midrange and treble are not lost to the bass line. In fact they sound really good. With the iOS benefits of instant pairing across all Apple devices, music controls and more, these are highly recommended and for many will be preferred over the superb AirPods.
Finally, I just want to say a quick thank you to the excellent customer service at the Apple Store in Plymouth.
Useful Links
BeatsX earphones at Apple – More info
Beats headphones on Amazon
PS. Note this was not a review sample or loan unit.
Back in Action – This is what’s coming up
For those who listen to the Tech Addicts Podcast, you will have known I have not been able to record the last 2 weeks due to being poorly.
I picked up some sort of virus that took me out for a few days, but also left my voice rather croaky 🙂
Anyway, I now have several hot gadgets that I have been testing in the background, ready for publishing the reviews and videos.
So coming up for review will be the –
– Huawei Mate 9 – don’t forget to scroll back several weeks to see all the photos taken from this phone.
– Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 Bluetooth Headphones, the update to the incredible original version. These are the new flagship Bluetooth headphones from Plantronics.
– Austell & Kern XB10 APT-X High Resolution Music Bluetooth Adapter with optional balanced output. This is a dream gadget for going wireless with high quality wired headphones.
– Zecti 70 inch tripod. After reviewing the 50 inch version, Zecti has a new 70 inch model which I bought yesterday. Can’t wait to see this and put it through its paces.
– Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 – great value phone from Vodafone. I reviewed the Smart Ultra 6 a while back, so I am looking forward to this.
– BeatsX Wireless headphones. Just released today. I will see how these compare to the AirPods and other bluetooth headphones.
These will all appear over the next few days to a week or so.
Android Wear vs Apple Watch OS – Android plays catch up nearly
Last night Google announced the new Android Wear 2.0 update and LG announced some new watches that run the new update.
So how does Android Wear 2.0 compare to the Apple Watch?
– Complications are now included in Android Wear. Finally!
– Android Wear now allows switching between the different watch faces like the Apple Watch.
– GPS enabled android wear watches now work standalone, something Apple introduced months ago.
– Android Pay is now included if the watch has NFC
– Now its possible to select which apps are installed on the android wear watch.
– Google Assistant vs Siri – You decide which is better 🙂
– Android Wear now has its own version of the Google Play store
– LTE – Mobile connection on android wear are possible without a phone. The Apple Watch does not offer this.
– Google Fit has been revamped and now has auto workout detection.
Whilst it is clear Google has copied or has been inspired by Apple, it is great to see such big and worthy improvements to the android wear platform.
I sincerely hope android wear is now successful as Apple needs some competition for its Apple Watch.
Samsung’s battery factory catches fire – Details
Samsung battery factory catches fire.
Seriously, you couldn’t script this even if you tried.
Samsung’s battery factory, Samsung SDI caught fire. Smoke was seen and photos shared on Weibo.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 