This appeared on YouTube. It is the closest look at what the iPhone 6 will look like (or not).
Samsung Galaxy S5 Free Gifts Issues – Latest Update
See previous posts by click here https://gavinsgadgets.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/free-samsung-s5-galaxy-gifts-update-on-more-gift-claiming-issues-and-via-samsung/ .
There are 3 aspects to this Free Gift Saga.
1. Different deals from wherever you purchased the Samsung Galaxy S5. Certain networks or stores might have their own special deal on top of Samsung’s Galaxy Gifts (apps). For example if you bought the S5 from Carphone Warehouse between 21st April – 30th April you would have been entitled via Samsung’s website to claim a free gift on top of the free app offers. But you would get nothing as a free gift from CPW if you bought the S5 on launch on 11th April.
2. Let’s knock Dropbox on the head straight away. Simply, if you have ever redeemed free storage on your account “2 years free 50gb storage”, you cannot redeem this offer again. So the only option as suggested by Dropbox themselves was to use a different email to register. The only issue you might have is if you already had fixed amounts of storage with dropbox.
3. Samsung Galaxy Gifts. If you login via Samsung Apps on your PC or via the Samsung Apps app on the S5, categories , Galaxy Gifts, you will find around 10 offers worth supposedly £500. Some of these are limited subscriptions, and maybe worth a shot. For example Deezer provides 6 months premium music streaming. The terms vary from 3, 6 or 12 months, and some apps are included free of charge. As a side point it is worth pointing out the other category in Samsung Apps, Galaxy Essentials. There are a few nice pieces of software in this section. Anyway, back to the free offers of which 2 are not working. These are Box and the free 10gb of data for 2 years and a 6 months free subscription to the Wall Street Journal.
I made contact with Samsung and Wall Street Journal. In the end WSJ asked me to contact Samsung to resolve. Samsung have spoken to me several times trying to resolve this. Apparently, the WSJ offer is only for US residents. So I asked them why it’s showing as available in the UK? The saga continues.
The issue with not receiving the free storage with Box is unresolved, but I think it is a similar position to Dropbox. When I joined Box via my iPhone I got 50gb for life so maybe you can’t redeem any more free offers on that account.
More soon hopefully.
Screen Brightness – does it matter?
Its a bright sunny day. You need a bright non reflective screen to see your phone screen.
Or its 4am. You want to read a book on your phone. Then you need the opposite.
And that’s what I like about the S5. It goes ultra bright for sunshine and really dark for bedroom reading. In fact if using auto brightness it reaches 600 nits bright and 2 nits darkness.
Bank Holiday Weekend Update
It is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK with Monday an official Public Holiday. So for the first time ever, Gavin’s Gadgets is going to have a day off on Bank Holiday Monday.
Don’t panic there are over 2,500 articles to re read, and over 40 reviews from smartphones, wearables and accessories. Just use the menu links above.
The next episode of Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast will be available on Sunday as usual 🙂
Have a good weekend.
Gavin
Samsung Galaxy S5 Wireless Official Charging Cover – Review with Samsung Charging Pad- updated
Above is my Samsung Galaxy S5 fitted with the official Samsung Wireless Cover and charging on the new Samsung Wireless Charging Pad.
In the box you get a manual and the cover itself. Picture below is the Wireless Cover on left next to the standard cover on right. Shown both ways.
Now lets have a closer look at the camera cut out on the Wireless Cover. Note the camera is now recessed slightly as well as the flash and heart rate monitor.
So what are the differences between the Wireless and Standard Cover ?
Weight – The S5 with the Wireless Cover weighs 160g and with the default non wireless cover 142g.
Depth/Thickness – The Wireless cover is a few mm’s thicker. It actually makes the phone more comfy to hold as it has a better curve now on the rear.
Cases – none fit that I have at present with the Wireless Cover.
When the phone is placed on the pad, a message appears across the screen to say charging wirelessly. Overall I am impressed that I now have QI Wireless Charging on my S5. It also feels much better in the hand to hold.
Update – I’m having issues with the Samsung Charging Pad. It keeps flashing orange after a while so I will be returning this pad and another one I ordered as well. Once I get my refund on these I will try a Zens pad which is a brand I have used before with a Nexus phone. If that doesn’t work, then it’s the wireless cover that doesn’t work properly.
Update – I got a replacement Samsung Charging pad and it works just fine. No mad flashing orange light.
Did Nokia hatch a master escape plan via Windows?
In Nokia’s final earnings report as an independent phone manufacturer, the outfit revealed that both its feature and Lumia smartphone sales were dwindling.
In fact, the company’s overall sales fell by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2013. Fortunately, Nokia does not have to worry about that part of the business, as it sold it several days ago to Microsoft.
You could say Nokia’s sale/escape via Windows was really good timing.
Google releases Google Docs and Sheets for iOS and Android
Google has just released Docs and Sheets for android and iOS. Powerpoints will be covered off in a separate app soon to be released, called Google Slides.
Docs and Sheets can work offline and confuse the world out of most people as to Google’s strategy. Google already has Quickoffice in the app store which –
With Quickoffice and a Google Account you can:
– Create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files
– Access files in Google Drive and on your device
– Open and view PDF files
– Share files through previously shared Google Drive folders
– Attach files to emails
So Google Docs or Sheets does – (change docs for sheets)
Create, edit & collaborate with others on documents from your Android phone or tablet with the free Google Docs app.
With Google Docs you can:
– Create new documents or open and edit any that you started on the web or another device.
– Share documents and work together with others in the same document at the same time
– Get stuff done anytime–even without an internet connection
– Add and respond to comments
– Never worry about losing your work–everything is automatically saved as you type
So, if you go to open a word file on Google Drive, it won’t choose Google Docs to read or edit file. It won’t even offer you the option, only Quickoffice if you have this installed.
All I can say is at the moment it is a mess. Why didn’t Google just update Quickoffice to allow offline mode and rename it Google Office or something else. And currently the new apps lack a lot of functionality. Makes Apple’s offerings of Pages and Numbers and Microsoft’s Office seem so superior.
Why would you buy the new Samsung Galaxy K Zoom smartphone?
It has been a few days since Samsung announced the Galaxy K Zoom, a 20.7mp camera centric smartphone.
But these are the reasons why you should think about before your purchase.
1. The K Zoom comes with 8gb storage, which has 5gb usable plus expansion for media/photos using a micro sd card. Bear in mind of that 5gb, burst mode will save to that memory and not the micro sd card. Plus you will need to install apps and games within that allowance and it will be very tight. This really should have been 16gb out of the box, like the S5. The previous model, the S4 Zoom also only had 8gb so I would have thought this would have at least been increased this year.
2. The K Zoom has a 20.7mp ISOCELL lens, but it is the same pixel quality as the S4 Zoom which costs half as much, albeit just 16mp. So maybe save some money and buy the older model.
3. The K Zoom has AE/AF separation to the auto functionality making it more flexible with shots.
4. The K Zoom Pro Suggest smart mode gives you different picture options depending on the photo you are about to take. This will help you take better pictures. You can also download many more shooting modes and those created by other users too. You can also save your own modes. For amateurs this really might allow you to create a great photo.
5. K Zoom can record at 1080p video at 50/60 frames per second which is better than the Galaxy S4 Zoom manages only 30fps. Neither record at 4K.
6. Shape. The K Zoom is a much slimmer and more desirable shape versus the S4 Zoom.
7. Screens. The Galaxy S4 Zoom has a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 super AMOLED screen, while the Galaxy K Zoom has a 4.8-inch HD 1280 x 720 super AMOLED display. 256ppi versus 306ppi on the K Zoom.
8. The Galaxy K Zoom has a Samsung-made Hexa core Exynos processor (1.3GHz quad-core and 1.7GHz dual-core processors combined). There’s 2GB of RAM on board too. The Galaxy S4 Zoom has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1.5GB of RAM.
So all in all, the K Zoom is improved, by the optics still have smaller pixels which are actually the same size as the Sony Xperia Z2. It is odd that Sony has a 20.7mp lens the same as the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. Coincidence? Not really. Most cheap point and shoot cameras have this size of lens.
Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast – Artwork Competition Update
As you know, I co-host a weekly podcast with David from UKMobileTech called Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast. It is a light hearted tech podcast broadcast bi-weekly. To subscribe click here for iTunes or copy and paste this link into your favourite podcast app.
A few episodes ago we asked if any of you, our listeners would help us with some new artwork for our podcast. Well after receiving a number of submissions, Dave and I have chosen a winner. And below is the new artwork from “Ben K” – thank you!
Next time you listen to our podcast, if the new artwork doesn’t appear you might need to refresh the podcast artwork from within the app settings.
Who is OnePlus?
In the press there has been comments that OnePlus is actually owned by Oppo.
So far we know for sure that the phones will be manufactured by Oppo and OnePlus is headed up by an ex Director of Oppo who went off to do his own thing. Well, according to legal documents, OnePlus is owned by Oppo.
So what did Oppo have to say on the matter?
“…OnePlus is a separately run company that does share common investors with OPPO. One of those investors is OPPO Electronic. OPPO Electronic is an investment company and is not the same as OPPO Mobile. OnePlus is also in talks with other investors.”
Well, that answers everything, doesn’t it?
Question is, does it really matter?
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