Just how popular are tablets?

Tech News

The Telegraph reported that Britain’s rush to buy tablet computers has sparked a surge in sales for Dixons Retail, the owner of Currys and PC World.

The retailer said that UK like-for-like sales rose by 9pc in the six months to the end of October, despite consumers remaining under pressure.

The growth in sales means that Dixons posted underlying pre-tax profits in the first-half of its financial year for the first time in six years.

And that’s how badly UK consumers want their tablet fix. Enough to turn around a company’s fortunes.

Motorola Moto G – review part 2

Android, Apple, Reviews, Tech News

Today I will look at the camera samples from the Moto G.

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The camera samples are ok. Not brilliant and neither terrible. The colouring and pixel accuracy is just average. The shot on the moors was taken as the fog came down. The light was fading but the iPhone 5S took a much better shot which was so much better. See sample below.

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The camera app is a simple affair. If you swipe from left edge across to the right this pulls out the settings wheel. Here you have settings for HDR including auto HDR, flash, control focus and exposure spot setting, slo mo video, panoramic (sweep mode) geo tagging, aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3) and shutter sound on or off. Swiping from the opposite edge reveals the photo library. Swiping up or down activates digital zoom. As you continue to swipe up or down you can increase digital zoom to 4x. The built in photos app has basic editing (crop, rotate) and a choice of 9 filters and frames. If you use Google’s Gallery app instead you get far more editing options (crop, straighten , rotate, mirror, auto colour, exposure, and tons more options.

If you agree to auto upload your camera photos and videos to Google+ you also get the options of auto enhance and auto awesome. This is where Google’s software tries to automatically improve your photos and then notifies you once done. The auto awesome creates a gif of a sequence of photos.

If there was one weakness on the Moto G it is the camera. It is not as strong as more expensive contenders. But if you are sharing to social media and the like you won’t really notice the difference. Photographers best look the other way!

In a few days I will report back with more findings. But one of the Moto G’s strength is battery life. I just can’t get over how good it is.

Motorola Moto G – Review part 1

Android, Reviews, Tech News

Yesterday, I provided my first impressions. Today, I will start offering my further thoughts on this £99 marvel. To recap on my first views click here.

The official specs are –

-Operating system – Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) with guaranteed upgrade
-Processor -Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU
-Capacity, 8 GB standard, 16 GB version available
-Two years 50 GB storage free on Google Drive
-Dimensions and weight,Height 129.9 mm, Width 65.9 mm, Depth 6.0-11.6 mm (curve)
-Weight 143 grams
-Display 4.5 inches diagonal (11.3 cm) 1280 x 720 HD, 329 ppi
-Connectivity Micro USB
-3.5 mm headset jack
-Battery Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion, 2070 mAh
-Mixed usage up to 24 hours
-Rear camera 5 MP at 4:3 and 3.8 MP at 16:9 (user-configurable)
-LED flash 4X digital zoom
-Slow motion video,Burst mode,Auto HDR,Panorama,Tap to Focus
-Front camera 1.3 MP
-Video capture and playback 720p HD video (front and rear),Capture 30 fps (MPEG4, H.264)
-Playback 30 fps (MPEG4, H.263, H.264, VP8)
-Audio playback AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, PCM, FLAC, MIDI, QCELP, EVRC, OGG/Vorbis
-Networks Global GSM Model: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
US GSM Model:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) UMTS/HSPA+ up to 21 Mbps (850, 1700 (AWS), 1900 MHz)
CDMA Model: CDMA/EVDO Rev A (850, 1900 MHz)
-Both GSM models require a micro SIM card.
-Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
-Bluetooth® Technology
-Version 4.0
-Location services GPS, GLONASS
-In the box Moto G in black, USB cable,Quick start guide

The box for the Moto G is very spartan. Just the phone, a quick start leaflet and a usb micro cable.

So is the Moto G really a good deal. Well it sort of is, but if you compare it to the Samsung S4, Lumia 1020 or iPhone 5S it looks every greater value, or is it? Let’s try and compare the Moto G if it had a higher specification comparable to the iPhone or Samsung S4.

£99 gets you the 8gb version. Another 8gb costs £129. So a 32gb Moto G in theory would cost £229. Still at £229 that still is a good deal and half the price of an iPhone. But the iPhone has a much better camera, processor, motion processor, audio quality, includes some cool headphones and a mains adapter. The iPhone has significant improvement on build quality. That’s worth at another £130 approximately. So now the total is £359. Still sounds like a bargain? The Samsung S4 can be bought for £399 and the 32gb iPhone 5C for £549.

The difference now in the price of the S4 or iPhone is down to the extra layers and user experience Samsung and Apple provide. Apple is a fashionable brand and you do pay for the label. But Apple does offer the best user experience, the best retail experience and the best customer care during and after purchase. And that costs something. Samsung also provides it’s touchwiz and an array of “smart” functions.

So really, the Moto G is cheaply priced with a good spec sheet. It just depends what you want in a phone and what features or functions are important. Bear in mind with the Moto G you get an additional 50gb of cloud storage on Google Drive. Plus you can change the back for a colourful option. See link to Motorola site for more info. Click here.

I have been testing the camera out taking loads of photos. I will post samples of these tomorrow along with my critique.

I said yesterday I would report back on battery. Well the Moto G came off the charger at 7am yesterday after being charged overnight. By 6pm it was down to 83%. That’s incredible.

Anyway, more tomorrow.

EE displaying the LG G Flex – just one catch

Android, Tech News

EE will be showcasing LG’s G Flex smartphone in some of its stores starting this Friday, 20th December.

Just one catch. It’s not available to buy just to gawp at until it’s 2014 launch. The participating stores are –

· London – Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford E20 1EH

· London – Westfield Shopping Centre, White City W12 7GG

· London – 155/157 Oxford Street, W1D 2JH

· Kent – Bluewater Shopping Centre, DA9 9ST

· Nottingham – 16 Clumber Street, NG1 3GA· Manchester – The Trafford Centre, M17 8AP

· Brighton – 209-210 Western Road, BN1 2BA

· Cambridge – 40-41 Lions Yard, CB2 3NA

· Merry Hill – The Merryhill Centre, DY5 1QX

· Sheffield – Meadowhall Centre, S9 1EN

Samsung launches it’s own game controller – the gamepad

Android, Tech News

The Smartphone GamePad instantly transforms the user’s Galaxy smartphone or tablet into a portable gaming console or even a home console. Through its premium, easy-to-carry design and durable steel frame, GamePad is attachable to mobile devices ranging from 4-inches to 6.3-inches, allowing users to play games wherever they are. Users can also connect Galaxy devices to their TV through an HDMI cable or AllShare Screen Mirroring for video game console experience from their living room.

GamePad easily connects with smartphones and tablets through Bluetooth pairing. The most convenient features optimized for Samsung Galaxy devices running Android 4.3 such as Galaxy Note 3, S4, Note II, and S III enable easy connectivity with GamePad via NFC tag and quicker access to games via the “PLAY” button.

With just a tap of the “PLAY” button, users can easily access the Mobile Console app, Samsung’s new integrated game launching app that opens in conjunction with GamePad to allow users to conveniently browse and purchase game pad supported games. Users can save money by enjoying reasonably priced console-quality games without the expense of additional gaming systems, as Mobile Console features games across a variety of categories including traditional racing titles such as EA’s Need for Speed™ Most Wanted and Gameloft’s Asphalt8 : Airborne, first-person shooter titles such as Gameloft’s Modern Combat 4 : Zero Hour, sports titles such as SEGA’s Virtua Tennis™ Challenge, and action titles such as Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia : The Shadow and the Flame. The Mobile Console app is available for download through Samsung Apps or by tapping the GamePad’s ”PLAY” button, and offers 35 dedicated games at launch with much more to come in 2014.

The GamePad is is currently available in select European markets and will be available in additional regions in the coming weeks. The availability of the GamePad varies by market.

Samsung Smartphone GamePad Product Specifications

Compatibility
Android OS 4.1 more (Optimized for Samsung devices with Android 4.3 more)
Connectivity
Bluetooth® v3.0, NFC(Samsung devices with Android 4.3 more)
3.0 class 2, HID
Control Keys
– D-Pad (8 way)
– 2 Analog Sticks
– 4 Action buttons and 2 Trigger buttons
– Select button and Start button
– PLAY button (Samsung devices with Android 4.3 more)
Dimension
137.78 x 86.47 x 31.80mm, 195g
Battery
Rechargeable 160mA
Colour Black

Personally I would recommend the Moga Power Pro as this can charge you phone at the same time as playing as well as having an amazing feature set.

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Samsung to launch 4 new tablets at start of 2014

Android, Tech News,

One of SamMobile’s sources claims that Samsung is planing to release a total of four new tablets in the first quarter of 2014 alone in an apparent effort to improve upon the gains that it’s made over the last year in global tablet sales. SamMobile says that it can only say for certain that Samsung will release the Galaxy Tab 3 Lite in Q1 2014, although it suspects the company might also release a 12.2-inch version of its Galaxy Note tablet and a 13.3-inch tablet that may dual-boot with both Android and Windows.

This should come as no surprise. Samsung seems to release a plethora of devices at an alarming rate.

Motorola Moto G – first impressions

Android, Reviews, Tech News,

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The Motorola Moto G has arrived yesterday. Actually, I was asked to get some vegetables on my way home, and to my shock horror Tesco were selling the Moto G in both memory sizes, 8gb and 16gb, and both were in stock. So a few carrots and leeks ended up being a bit more expensive.

Tesco sell the Moto G for £99 but it is sim locked to their Tesco Mobile network. £2.04 on eBay and ten minutes later and the sim lock was removed. Then 5 minutes to reflash the firmware with the Moto G default firmware and now I had an unlocked and de-Tesco’d phone. All for £101.04.

The system firmware needs 3gb. So with the 8gb I only had 5gb left. That was enough for about 30 apps, most of which were games. The phone feels comfortable in the hand and isn’t too big. The volume rocker rattles as does the power button. It’s fine just not premium engineering. Everything else about the phone seems ok. In fact the overall build quality is quite reasonable.

If you have this phone especially with the 8gb version you will have to stream everything and use the cloud services that Google and or others provide.

The screen is great. Battery life is unknown at present. Most of my apps installed ok. So surely there must be a catch. Well 5gb user available memory isn’t much. But you can manage. Sound via the headphones is astonishing. I was expecting it to be crap or poor but it wasn’t. It was well above average. This is achieved using the Equaliser settings. I will report back on the loudspeaker once I have had more time with it.

The Moto G includes an FM Radio, Moto Assist, Moto Care and tips, and all the Google services.

So would I sell my iPhone 5S for the Moto G ? Find out over the course of this week?

Nokia Camera – new beta now available for all Nokia Windows Phone 8 phones

Tech News, Windows,

Nokia Camera Beta is now available for all window phone 8 smartphones. This is great news.

This beta is provided as a standalone app for Lumia phones that have the Lumia Amber or Lumia Black software release. You can check your software release from Settings >> Extras + info.

This was a great app to use on the Lumia 925 and 1020, so I can’t wait to test it on the mid range Lumia 820.