The Moto G devices in the UK are now receiving the latest verison of KitKat.
The update includes the smart dialer, Hangouts SMS as the default SMS handler, and printing support. Once the update takes, the build will be KLB20.9-1.10-1.9.
If you haven’t received the notification for the update yet you can go to Settings>About phone>System updates. .
Twitter user @evleaks published a photo of Samsung’s potential new Touchwiz skin as shown above. This is one area that in my opinion needed a consistent refresh so any consistent change should be a good thing.
Everytime I pick up the 1520 it brings a smile to my face. It just feels substantial and looks stunning in black. Its physical size helps provide that feeling too.
The way I see things at the moment, if you want the class leaders in each operating systems, it would have to be the 1520 for Windows Phone. But unlike android or Apple iOS, the 1520 packs a decent 20mp camera with 2 x the equivalent of optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilisation.
I cannot stress enough about the camera. The quality of the shots snapped even in low or lower light are simply stunning. The iPhone 5S or any android phone does not get close to the camera of the Lumia 1520. Add Qi Wireless Charging and a memory card slot for storing loads of photos, and this beast of a phone becomes a very attractive proposition.
In the box you get the user startup guides, usb lead and UK adapter and a headset. There is also the sim ejector tool.
The software included within the 1520 is extensive. Some of the highlights are Bing Finance, News, Sport and Weather, HERE Drive+, HERE Maps, Internet Explorer, Nokia Music, Pro Cam, Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, Microsoft Office, One Note, Zinio, Games and Xbox Games. So being the typical Windows Phone from Nokia is has a suite of mapping and turnby turn navigation, an advanced camera shooting app, advanced photo editing apps, gaming, music, optional Nokia Radio for streaming and plenty of news and information apps all included as standard. Then Nokia integrates your email and social accounts into their People app. And all this is then backup using Microsoft Skydrive.
I simply love the extra screen real estate for the live tiles as well. For me, this Nokia Lumia phone is better than the Lumia 925 and 1020 as it offers a better all around package.
Once the UK weather improves I will upload some photos. In the meantime, head over to Clove Technology for this phone and others.
App Store Sales Top $10 Billion in 2013, Over $1 Billion in December
Apple announced today that App Store sales topped $10 billion in 2013, including a record breaking $1 billion in December alone, where App Store customers downloaded almost three billion apps. Overall, Apple has paid out over $15 billion to App Store developers.“We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”
What I would like to know is how much revenue percentage is earnt via in app purchases from greedy game developers that ruins game fluidity in particular.
I imagine it is very high!
It’s all very well Samsung launching new tablets with decent specifications but what will make these tablets special is the included software. And this is where Samsung seems to be pulling out all the stops.
Below is the official announcement from Samsung re the included services and software. Looks good.
The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO (12.2) come equipped with a variety of productivity tools to help users to manage both their personal and professional lives.
Multi Window enables users to split the screen up into four different windows and an innovative, Virtual Keyboard provides them with enough space to type comfortably, leveraging haptic feedback to produce a more realistic typing experience.
The Samsung S Pen included with the Galaxy NotePRO delivers a more responsive, productive and overall efficient tablet experience with access to features such as Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write and S Finder. In addition, Pen Window enables users to simply draw a window of any size on the screen, and instantly access unique in-application features such as YouTube or a calculator.
Users can easily access and control their home or office PC directly through their Galaxy NotePRO or TabPRO with Remote PC in order to seamlessly edit and save files remotely.
The Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO also come pre-loaded with Cisco WebEx Meetings platform, the industry’s leading web conferencing solution that provides users with an easy way to meet with anyone, anywhere. And now for the first time on Android tablets, users can share anything on their screen as well as starting a WebEx meeting from contact list. Samsung e-Meeting provides collaboration capabilities by giving users the ability to share content during a meeting without having to access a central server or network.
Ultimate User Content Gift Package*
For additional value and productivity right out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO (12.2) will feature up to approximately $700 worth of the premium pre-paid, long-term subscription offers from best-selling news, social media and cloud storage providers, including: Bitcasa, Bloomberg Businessweek+, Blurb, Cisco WebEx Meetings, Dropbox, Easilydo Pro for Tablet, Evernote, Hancom Office for Android, LinkedIn, LIVESPORT.TV, NY Times, Oxford Advanced Learner’s A-Z, and Sketchbook Pro (content packages may vary by region).
The Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO line will come in various connectivity options: WiFi Only, WiFi and 3G, or WiFi and LTE. Users can choose between the 12.2-inch Galaxy NotePRO that comes with an included S Pen, and the 12.2-inch Galaxy TabPRO, Galaxy TabPRO 10.1-inch and 8.4-inch without the S Pen.
Designed to extend productivity even further, the following optional accessories are also available for purchase with the Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO: Various Book Covers, USB LAN HUB, Universal BT Keyboard and S Action Mouse (accessories may vary by product model).
If you need to recap on the hardware specs , scroll back to yesterday post.
These tablets could really start to challenge the iPad.
CES 2014 news – NVIDIA Unveils Tegra K1, a 192-Core Super Chip That Brings DNA of World’s Fastest GPU to Mobile. The Tegra® K1 mobile processor, a 192-core super chip featuring the same NVIDIA® Kepler™ architecture that powers the fastest GPU on the planet, the NVIDIA GeForce® GTX™ 780 Ti. For the first time, next-generation PC gaming will now be available on mobile platforms.
The Tegra K1 processor sets new mobile standards by supporting the latest PC-class gaming technologies, enabling it to run sophisticated gaming engines like Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4. It delivers advanced computation capabilities to speed the development of applications for computer vision and speech recognition. And its extraordinary efficiency delivers higher performance than any other mobile GPU at the same power level.
Tegra K1 is offered in two pin-to-pin compatible versions. The first version uses a 32-bit quad-core, 4-Plus-1™ ARM Cortex A15 CPU. The second version uses a custom, NVIDIA-designed 64-bit dual Super Core CPU. This CPU (codenamed “Denver”) delivers very high single-thread and multi-thread performance. It is based on the ARMv8 architecture, which brings the energy-efficient heritage of ARM processor technology to 64-bit computing.
It will be interesting to see how all these new chips compare to Apple’s 64bit A7 processor found in the iPhone 5S and iPads.
The Nokia Lumia 1520 arrived at the weekend thanks to Clove Technology . If you order quickly and receive your 1520 before the 15th Jan 2014, you should be able to claim a £20 voucher towards the windows marketplace store. UK store that is. Well, I knew this phone was big, but OMG it’s a real wow moment taking it out of the box. Being honest, the actual box could do with a facelift as the hardware of this slab is stunning. The specs are –
– Windows Phone 8 (GDR3)
– 2.26 GHz Quad Core processor
– Snapdragon 800 with Adreno 330 GPU
– 20 MP PureView camera with 2x lossless zoom
– ZEISS optics with OIS, autofocus & LED flash
– 6 inch 1080p full HD LCD display
– Gorilla Glass 2
– 32 GB storage & up to 64 GB micro SDXC card
– NFC, BT 4.0 LE, A-GPS GLONASS,
– Wi-Fi 802.11 (2.4/5Ghz) a/b/g/n/ac
– 3,400 mAh battery with Qi Wireless Charging
– Nokia Camera app
– NANO SIM compatible
I got a black Lumia 1520 and it looks lovely in black. Nokia sure know how to manufacture solid feeling phones. Having grown used to the Note 3, the Lumia 1520 doesn’t feel that daunting. I have large hands, so had no issue holding the phone. Interestingly, the Lumia 1520 with its clear black screen technology looked better at full brightness compared to the Note 3. Photo below shows Lumia 1520 next to the Note 3.
As you can see the Lumia 1520 is only a bit taller in size although it’s weight difference is noticeable as it is heavier by about 50g. However, I think it’s heft makes it feel like a quality product. The Nokia Lumia 1520 is running the very latest software and therefore has an extra column for the live tiles home screen which is useful along with a host of other improvements.
Well I couldn’t resist any longer so started to try out the 20mp Carl Zeiss camera with 2 x zoom and Optical Image Stabilisation. I was very impressed with the results and quality too. I will do a separate post for the camera shots.
All in all first impressions are very good. Great camera and hardware. Smooth silky operation and one of the best specification windows phone currently available. More soon as I get used to using the Lumia 1520.
And thanks again to Clove Technology.
Sony took its flagship Xperia Z1, reduced its physical size and created the Z1 Compact. This version comes with nearly the same specs of the bigger Z1. That is the same waterproof coating, Snapdragon 800 processor and 2 gigs of RAM. The Z1 Compact also matches the Z1’s camera with the same 20.7 MP shooter with f/2.0 lens and Exmor CMOS sensor, which Sony promises is one of the best mobile shooters in the business.
The Z1 Compact’s only drop in specs is that Sony opted for a smaller, 4.3-inch display with 720p resolution. Sony also opted for a more colorful finish, and the Z1 Compact will ship in black, white, yellow and pink.
Finally, a mini version of a flagship phone that still has the flagship specs. This phone could sell like hot cakes.
Sony also announced the Z1s for T-Mobile. This has double the memory at 32gb of the standard Z1 and is now IP58 rated. This means it’s now waterproof instead of water resistant.
From Pebble.
Pebble Steel: our new, premium smartwatch. With Pebble, we created an iconic, colorful, and sporty smartwatch, but we wanted to build something even more refined—cranking the style dial to 11.
Pebble Steel takes everything you know and love about Pebble—the crystal clear ePaper display, weeklong battery life, and waterproof design—and wraps it a smaller, thinner package. It’s made of forged and CNC-machined stainless steel.
Pebble welcomes Steel to the family.
The display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass lens with an oleophobic, anti-fingerprint coating. The housing also subtly incorporates a RGB LED light to indicate charge status. Like the original Pebble, Pebble Steel is waterproof up to 5 ATM.
Pebble Steel comes in two finishes: Brushed Stainless and Black Matte. All models are bundled with both a matching metal band and a black leather strap. The Black Matte Pebble Steel is crafted using a process called Physical Vapor Deposition to provide a tactile, deep black finish that’s also ultra-durable.
Pebble Steel Launch Pricing
Starting today, you’ll be able to order Pebble Steel exclusively from getpebble.com for $249 US
Only one concern. Look at your wrist. Look at other people’s wrists. How many people actually wear a watch nowadays.
LG has announced two new wearable devices. The first is the Lifeband Touch, a fitness-focused device that connects to your phone over Bluetooth. The Lifeband Touch provides health and fitness data tracking, feeding it back to your phone via a connected app. The device has a touchscreen OLED display.
For the fitness wearable category, LG has announced Heart Rate Earphones, a wired headset that connects to both the Lifeband Touch and your phone over Bluetooth. It also provides media playback and regular fitness updates during your workout, whilst measuring your heart rate and feeding that data back to your Lifeband Touch for better fitness tracking.
Not sure what to make of this. What do you think ?
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 