Below are a few photos taken from the camera so far.
More camera samples tomorrow along with the camera review.
Honor 6 – review – part 1
I now have the Honor 6 in my hand. This phone is made by Huawei but they have decided to drop their name on this phone and simply call it the Honor 6.
The key specifications are –
– Processor – HiSilicon “Kirin 920” Hi3630(4x A7 @ 1.3GHz & 4x A15 @ 1.7GHz,Mali T628MP4 @ 600MHz)
– 3gb ram, 16gb storage + microSD
– Display – 5” 1920×1080 JDI In-cell
– Network LTE Cat. 6 300Mbps CA modem
– Dimensions 139.6 x 69.7 x 7.5mm, 130 grams
– Camera 13MP Sony BSI sensor, F2.0 aperture, ISP 5-piece lens
– 5MP front camera
– Battery – 3100 mAh (11.8Wh) typical
– OS Android 4.4.2 “EmotionUI 2.3” -Lollipop coming soon with new EmotionUI
– Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n Wifi + BT 4.0, USB2.0, GPS/GLONASS,
– FM radio
I have had the Honor 6 for about a week so far and it really has surpassed expectations. To be honest, I was not sure what to expect. But opening the box, turning on the phone, holding it, using it, testing it has revealed a number of unexpected things.
Inside the box you get the USB charger, micro usb lead and stereo wired headset. There is also the quick start guide. As I have been used to the size of the Note 4, the 5 inch Honor 6 felt positively small. Thinner, lighter and so much easier to hold. And yet it still has a decent 5 inch screen so text and media looks just fine.
So the next aspect that strikes you is the custom skin and the lack of an app drawer. More of that next week in my full review. I have been testing the camera and audio, loudspeaker and more. So far, I am VERY impressed by this phone. And at its price point is even more impressive.
In terms of hardware it is a well made device. Glass back and front with a solid plastic body. In the box were 2 screen protectors, one for the back and the other for the front.
So tune in tomorrow for part 2 which will look at the software in more depth.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please let me know.
I have sold my soul to Google
It all started last week with Dropbox alerting me of a drop in storage space due to an HTC Dropbox promotion expiring. This meant I was going to lose all the storage space I had thoughts was for a lifetime and enough to manage with.
So I decided to take some action. Using my Macbook Pro and the Chrome web browser I was able to copy files straight from Dropbox to Google Drive. I got carried away and ended up moving all my photos to Google Drive. I still have to double check to see if there any other files, photos and documents left that need copying, but I do not believe that there is much more to transfer.
I was initially only going to move enough files to be under the lower Dropbox limit, but once I could see how Google Drive functioned with a neat file structure, and decent sized photo thumbnails I was sold. At some point in 2014, I uploaded my entire music collection to Google Play music. And then it dawned on me.
Everything I have is on Google’s cloud. And it all works. I still have a few items on Dropbox for specific apps. Heck, I even have other cloud services like OneDrive from Microsoft.
But here is the icing on the cake for me. My MacBook Prop is dying. I cannot see the point of spending the amount of money I did 5 to 6 years ago on a replacement when I don’t use all its features and its very expensive.
I will simply get a Chromebook which will cost a fraction of a macbook. My investigations in to this type of device have come to the conclusion that a Chromebook is a simple efficient piece of hardware, Google biased but will still do everything I require.
And should I get another Apple iOS device in the future, all the Google apps are available on the iPhone or iPad.
And now with any new android phone, it takes just one login to have access to my world.
So what do you think?
Samsung Note 4 – camera shots of the week
Below are my favourite 4 shots of the week from the Samsung Note 4. Stormy views from Plymouth City Centre, Devon. If you want to see the full size version, just click on photo to be taken to my flickr account.
Wondering why the Note 4 has not received lollipop update? Here’s why?
Editor in Chief at Sammobiles tweeted the following –
So the Gear VR is holding up the release of the Note 4 update. Seems odd to me , but feasible nonetheless.
Honor 6 – review plus camera samples
Just a heads up that part 1 of my Honor 6 review will be live tomorrow.
If you have any questions about this phone please let me know.
In the meantime have a look at these HDR shots of Plymouth City Centre (unedited) and Royal William Yard.
Amazon Fire Phone – Review – Part 2
Today I am going to look more in depth at the custom skin and explain the gestures. You will notice on the front there are 4 cameras in each of the corners.
These track your head movement and allow for dynamic perspective. This is where the screen can move and you tilt the phone to reveal extras. On the home screen you have a carousel look. The big icon explains the app and underneath common actions. The carousel places new apps and recent.
I’ve shown a couple of examples. By tilting phone left to right or right to left reveals the side panels. Left is always as shown in main screen, but in an app reveals additional options or settings.
Now tilting to reveal right side gives me notifications and weather.
Swiping down reveals the quick settings and mayday button. Mayday connects via video to a person at Amazon support. You can discuss issue and they can show you on the screen. I tried using this and it is the best support experience I’ve ever received.
So what apps are included as standard. Below screen shot of app drawer. The apps from Met Office onwards are ones I’ve installed.
The phone has a button on the left side to launch the camera. Long press activates Firefly.
The camera has options for hdr, flash, best shot , lenticular and panorama modes. On screen the camera app tells you when it recommends hdr. Tap the on screen icon to turn on or off when it appears. Best shot takes 3 shots. One before you pressed the shutter , as you pressed the shutter and one after. You can then select the best photo. Neat.
In the maps application by tilting the phone you can reveal places of interest, restaurants and more.
As I mentioned yesterday, the headphone audio and Camera and strong aspects of this phone. I also like the hardware overall. Nimble and easy to hold. And at the price I paid of £99 a steal so long as you don’t mind using O2 for a year and aren’t tied into Google services too much.
Samsung S Health – Material Design update
Samsung have already started updating their apps for the lollipop material design. S Health received an update and below are some screen shots from the app.
So do you like the new look?
HTC Desire Eye – 10 part review
I have written many posts of the HTC Desire Eye. Below is links to all the content.
HTC Desire Eye – part 1 – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/26/htc-desire-eye-review/
HTC Desire Eye – part 2 – sound and more – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/27/htc-desire-eye-review-part-2/
HTC Desire Eye – part 3 – camera and more – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/28/htc-desire-eye-review-part-2-the-2-x-13mp-cameras/
HTC Desire Eye – part 4 – conclusion – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/29/htc-desire-eye-review-conclusion/
HTC Desire Eye – more camera shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/27/htc-desire-eye-more-camera-shots/
HTC Desire Eye – Zoe – Video – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/26/htc-desire-eye-zoe/
HTC Desire Eye – sample action shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/26/htc-desire-eye-sample-action-shots/
HTC Desire Eye – macro shot https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/01/22/htc-desire-eye-rear-camera-macro-shot/
My Flickr HTC Desire Eye Album – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157650368916456/
My twitter posts of action shots from the HTC Desire Eye –
Huawei post records results – 75 million phones sold in 2014 – details
“Huawei had an increase in revenue by 30 percent to $12.2 billion, making 2014 the first year for Huawei with revenues of over $10 billion. The Chinese manufacturer managed to sell over 75 million smartphones in 2014 — a year-on-year increase of 45 percent — and is looking to maintain its momentum in 2015 by focusing on the high-end segment and targeting 100 million sales.
Key contributors to Huawei’s growth were the Ascend P7, which sold four million units globally, and the Ascend Mate, with two million global sales. Huawei also saw a lot of sales in the mid-tier Honor line, which made its entry into European markets late last year. Devices like the Honor 3C and Honor 3X amassed a bulk of the sales in this category.
The Honor 6 — which offers a 5-inch full-HD screen, octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 920 CPU, 16/32GB internal memory, 3GB RAM, 13 MP camera, 5 MP front shooter, LTE and 3,100 mAh battery for $300 — has also generated a lot of interest, particularly in markets like India. Globally, e-commerce sales amounted to 41 percent of Huawei’s overall sales.”
With such strong sales, there was only one thing left to do, and that was review the Honor 6 which counted for 41 percent of overall sales. So starting Monday will be my review of the Honor 6.
If you have any questions for this review please let me know.
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