Phones are costing more in the UK – Now its the turn of OnePlus

November 16, 2016Tech NewsOnePlus 3T, price increase, specsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

OnePlus revealed last night the revised OnePlus 3, called the OnePlus 3T. In the UK the tweaked phone will include a snapdragon 821 processor, 6gb ram, 64gb or 128gb storage and 16mp front and rear cameras. The rear camera features HDR+ and improved video stabilisation. The snapdragon 821 offers improved photography as seen on the Google Pixel Phone. The other specs are the same as the outgoing model. The difference though is the price. The 64gb will cost £399 and the 128gb £439 and will go on sale 28th November 2016 in the UK. The US will be able to order the week before. In the UK, O2 will be selling the OnePlus 3T. The newer model is £70 more expensive than the outgoing version.

So once again, a price increase has hit the smartphone market. Apple, pushed the pricing to over £900 with the top storage mode of the iPhone 7 Plus, Huawei have the crazy priced Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Edition at £1,300 and don’t be surprised if we see more phones costing more than £1,000 in 2017.

Makes the Honor 8 seem such a bargain!

Today’s best deals on Amazon’s Black Friday sale

November 15, 2016Amazonamazon black friday dealsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Amazon has started their Black Friday deals yesterday. I went through all the tech and gadgets offerings and to be honest there were slim pickings. However, below are the best ones I could find today. What I found last year is leading up to Black Friday day itself, the best deals were found. Maybe there was less stock of that item.

Nextbit Robin Smartphone – Both Colours -now £179.99 – http://amzn.to/2gaiQW

Netatmo Weather Station – 20% off includes extra modules. I have used this now for 2 years. Connects to internet. Has an IFTTT channel too. Lots of third party app support. My review of this weather station is available too. Just use the menu, reviews, connected apps – http://amzn.to/2gaiaAk

B & O Play H3 Noise Cancellation in ear headphones. 45% off. Now £109. – http://amzn.to/2fbwbJg

TV deals from £99.99 and discounts up to £350. Seems this is a good time to get a TV. – http://amzn.to/2fRFAWi

One of the best TV deals for something really special is on the 2016 model, Sony Bravia 65 inch Android TV, with 4K HDR, Youview, Freeview HD and Playstation Now, Class A. £400 off, now £1,299.
http://amzn.to/2gck5DH

To browse all available tech deals on Amazon – http://amzn.to/2fUvzcw

The new MacBook Pro – All the best apps with Touch Bar support

November 15, 2016Apple, Tech Newsthe best apps that support the Touch Bar for new MacBook ProGavin Fabiani-Laymond

To coincide with the first wave of deliveries of the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Apple has added a new section in the Mac App Store for apps that support the new Touch Bar.

Apple is highlighting these third-party apps that use the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar and Touch ID power button. This could include integrating application commands, options and functions that were previously in menus, but now are available in a way that is meant to make finding and using the extra functionality easier and with a faster workflow.

The apps highlighted by Apple are –

– Final Cut Pro X
– QuickQuad
– PocketCAS Mathematics Toolkit
– 1Password
– Motion
– Compressor
– dJay Pro
– Day One
– Live Desktop
– Mail Designer Pro 3
– OmniGraffle 7
– Drop – Color Picker
– PicFrame
– Focus – Productivity Timer
– Artistry Photo Pro

Naturally, Apple’s own apps work with the Touch Bar and more third party apps will get updated soon to support the Touch Bar including apps from Adobe eg Adobe Lightroom CC.

Finally, I will be reviewing the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, so if you have any questions that you would like answering for the review, please let me know.

Sony MDR-1000x Bluetooth Headphones – 24 Hours Later

November 15, 2016Android, Apple, Headphone, Tech News24 hours later, Sony MDR-1000x bluetooth headphonesGavin Fabiani-Laymond

In the last 24 hours I have kept the music playing through these headphones for two reasons. One to burn them in and the other to test the battery life of 20 hours.

So far I can say the battery life is matching the claimed 20 hours with noise cancellation switched on. Secondly, I want to burn these headphones in to see what difference it makes to the sound. I will keep music flowing through these for another 7 days before deciding on final thoughts regarding the sound quality. I will then update my thoughts after a full month to see if anything has changed and to see whether any issues have arisen.

As mentioned yesterday, the sound quality from the start has been excellent. This has improved over the 24 hours of burn in. I will cover more of the audio aspects in my full review but needless to say the MDR-1000x are proving to be well balanced across the audio spectrum, but more importantly want me to listen to more of my music and leave me with many wow moments. Toe tapping away at times too!

I tried out the noise cancellation by sitting next to the loud washing machine and dishwasher. The sounds of both of these machines was 98% removed and with music playing through the headphones it was impossible to hear anything but the music. I have also tried these headphones under the bathroom extractor fan and the fan noise is removed. Due to the excellent noise cancellation, I would not recommend wearing these outside in a busy street or when crossing a road.

What I want to see if whether after a full week’s worth of burning these headphones in, whether these are the first pair of headphones that can IMO take the mantra as better or equal to their non wireless counterparts. Stay tuned for more!

More information and the latest pricing on the Sony MDR-1000x CLICK HERE

Massive cyber attack on Russian banks allows hackers to access 24,000 CCTV and home video cameras in 30 different countries

November 14, 2016Internet of Things, Security, Tech News000 CCTV and home video cameras in 30 different countries, Massive cyber attack on Russian banks allows hackers to access 24Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

“A massive cyberattack has hit at least five of Russia’s largest banks allowing hackers to access 24,000 CCTV and home video cameras in 30 countries including the U.S.

The attacks saw as many as 660,000 requests being sent every single second using a network of more than 24,000 hijacked devices located in 30 countries.

Russia’s central bank said the attacks used botnets made up of electronic devices hooked up to the internet such as CCTV cameras or digital video recorders plugged in to offices and homes worldwide.”

So own up, have you got a connected device? Perhaps not yet but are thinking of getting one. This could be in the form of wireless lights, an internet connected weather station or a security camera that is connected to the internet. Maybe you are thinking of getting an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot or a Google Home. Then again, have you thought about the Apple TV Box, Amazon Fire or Google Chromecast.

What if all or some of these devices were hacked? Whilst some of the cool features of the devices are labour saving, smart and probably slick to own, have you ever thought about have secure they are?

With hacks like the one above and more previously, are we becoming to dependent on the world of connected devices!

Source

Sony MDR-1000x Bluetooth Noise Cancellation Headphones – The Flagship Bluetooth Headphone from Sony

November 14, 2016Tech NewsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Sony have just released the Sony MDR-1000x Bluetooth headphone. These are their new flagship headphone costing £329.00.

Sony state that these headphones feature exceptional noise cancelling with reduced ambient noise for perfect silence, comfortable around ear fitting with 20 hour battery life, with Smart technologies – Ambient sound mode, Touch Sensor operation, Quick Attention mode and the first ever DSEE HX headphones upscaling your existing music to near High-Resolution Audio quality.

The Sony MDR-1000x have the official Hi-Res badge, with a frequency response of 4Hz to 40,000hz. Sony also boast a number of other technologies used in the headphone. The other aspect is at £329 do these headphones sound any good?

Well at present I am still burning in these delightful bluetooth headphones but first impressions are positive. In case anyone is wondering, the sound quality of these headphones is significantly better than my Beats Wireless Solo 3.

I will be putting the sound quality through its paces using different genres, testing the strength of the bluetooth connection along with the distance, call quality and ease of use of the touch controls. And the big question, is the noise cancellation better than the Bose QC35? How do these compare to the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2.0 and other top flight bluetooth headphones. Another question, are these headphones good enough to replace the headphone cable?

I will test these with my iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy and as many other devices as well. If you have any questions, please ask away in the questions.

More information and the latest pricing on the Sony MDR-1000x

Google Pixel Phone Camera HDR+ Camera Mode on the Apple iPhone 7 – It’s HERE

November 11, 2016Apple, apps, Tech NewsGoogle HDR+ on iOS, iPhone 7, procameraGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Today it is possible to recreate the Google Pixel Phone Camera HDR+ camera mode on the new Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Here’s how.

First let’s take a quick shot of my local church as shown above. This is actually a RAW photo image, and totally unedited and unprocessed.

But let’s say we now want to achieve the same look that Google’s Pixel camera achieves using the HDR+ mode. Well take a look below at the result.

Okay, its in a 16:9 aspect ratio instead of the default 4:3, but if you prefer 4:3 you can switch to this. The problem with Google’s HDR+ mode is sometimes you don’t want such a vivid HDR look. Well fortunately, you have options and can save a multiple of variations on the HDR theme.

Perhaps a black and white HDR finish as shown above. Or as shown below as more faded HDR option. In fact there are even more options in the HDR shooting mode.

All this camera prowess is done by ProCamera on iOS. It received a big update yesterday to enable the vivid HDR mode for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. With vivid HDR and its low light modes it takes multiple shots and blends them to make a better shot. The lowlight plus mode can merge up to 64 shots in to one photo. This merging of photos replicates what Google is trying to do with its Pixel phone.

In addition, the update to the app improved video capture quality noticeably improved for high frame rates (48 – 120 fps). A new zoom slider has been added with a sleek new design that gives you the option to switch between lenses on the iPhone 7 Plus (Wide/Tele) with a single tap.When shooting RAW photos, you may now save just the RAW file without the additional JPEG file. A new settings option that dims the screen while capturing long exposure photos. It prevents „light pollution“ caused by reflected light from your screen in LowLight Plus camera mode (LUX+).

ProCamera does a lot more too. Below are a list of its features –

– vividHDR – the world’s best HDR on iOS, enables you to take photos with more details in highlights and shadows – now with Scene Analysis for true-to-life colors. No tripod needed, capture brillant images every time, and even snap moving objects in full detail.

– LOWLIGHT PLUS – Capture stunning photos in low light with minimal noise, or use the long exposure feature to make your night shots truly come to life. Up to 64 exposures merged into one shot.

– INCREASED CAMERA CONTROL – The independent Focus and Exposure points create fast and intuitive control in photo and video modes. Or set exposure (EV) swiftly with easy swipe control.

– PRO CONTROL – Set specific values for exposure time, ISO sensitivity and white balance (colour temperature & tint). In Priority Mode, either dial in preferred shutter speed or ISO value, and ProCamera does the rest. Manually focus with easy swipe control.

– PRO EDITING WITH 78 FILTERS & EFFECTS – Editing on a new level: Seamlessly swipe between custom filters and an impressive array of editing tools.

– HD & 4K VIDEO – frame rates range from cinematic 24 fps to 240 fps for stunning slow-mo videos. Record in UHD (4K) resolution (iPhone 6s and above).

– Extras – FULL SCREEN TRIGGER, Broad range of capture formats (4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1, 3:1, Golden Ratio, 5:4) use maximum screen real estate for accurate composition.

– APPLE WATCH – Remotely control ProCamera on your iPhone.

– SHARE – Facebook, Twitter, EyeEm, and Instagram (with SquarePrepare function & support of high-res exports). Upload to DropBox and Vimeo.

– Other – RAW, TIFF, RAPID FIRE MODE, ANTI SHAKE, 3D TILTMETER, SELF TIMER and INTERVALOMETER, FAST STARTUP SPEED, VOLUME TRIGGER, HISTOGRAM, DIGITAL ZOOM, Adobe CREATIVE CLOUD connected, HAPTIC FEEDBACK, distraction free FULLSCREEN MODE, GRAY CARD CALIBRATION, SLOW-MOTION video player, dedicated LIGHTBOX, MANUAL, CODE SCANNER, EXIF/VideoMetaData Viewer, PHOTO COMPASS, and much more.

The app costs £3.99, however in reality you need to spend 2 x £2.49 (one for HDR, the other Low Light) and £0.79 for the San Fran filter pack. The app should just be priced at £9.99.

So as an example, using the low light mode on the church to reduce noise, I got the follow photo below.

And finally, just to give you an idea what happens when you post process a raw shot, the first photo was edited in Adobe Lightroom for iOS and shown below.

Personally, I do believe the developer is not being totally upfront honest with the cost of the app and it is one of the more expensive options. However, it does do some wonderful tricks with computational photography and it is one of my favourite photography apps.

Useful Links

ProCamera on iTunes
Details on Low Cost Camera Bags & Tripods
More information on the DJI Osmo Mobile 3-Axis Gimbal

Create Studio Quality Photo Collages on iOS with Adobe Photoshop Express

November 10, 2016Apple, apps, Tech NewsAdobe Photoshop Express, Creating Collages on iOSGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Last night Adobe Photoshop Express on iOS received a huge update. It now features making studio quality collages. These are way ahead of most other apps as the collages using Adobe Photoshop Express are high-quality collages with intelligent layout and style transfer automation choices. The update also features Google photo integration, letting you select and import images from a Google Photos account, edit them in Photoshop Express, and share or export them.

Adobe Photoshop Express Collages helps you create studio-calibre layouts in 5-7 taps.

FEATURES:
• Access images on your mobile device, Creative Cloud, Dropbox, Facebook, and now Google Photos.
• New Adobe-only features like “Intelligent Layout” and “Style Transfer” help you automatically create stunning share-worthy collages in a single tap.
OR
• Pick any photo in the collage, and manually edit it however you like:
– Hold and drag to swap photo position, pinch to zoom in or out, or drag the handles to resize.
– Double tap to pan and zoom.
– Adjust/fix a single image, and apply any look.
– Change border thickness and color.
– Undo and try again
• Easily save and print your collage or even text / email the file.
• 1-tap share with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and WhatsApp.

However, you can do even more by switching to the other free Adobe Photoshop apps:

• Photoshop Mix — Cut out and combine elements from different images, blend layers, and apply looks on your iPad or iPhone — anywhere you are.
• Photoshop Fix — Edit facial features, heal, lighten, liquefy, colour and adjust your images to perfection — and then easily share them across other Creative Cloud desktop and mobile apps.
• Lightroom Mobile – Capture, edit, organise and share professional quality images from your smartphone or tablet.

Source – iTunes

The MacBook Pro Dongle Solution – My Solution using some new Choetech Adapters

November 9, 2016accessories, Apple, Tech Newschoetech cables and adapters, macbook pro dongle solutionGavin Fabiani-Laymond

My other post today, I detailed all my Apple lightning adapters ,as shown in the above photo, that I used for my iPhone and iPad. I did not want to go down this route with my new MacBook Pro. So I had a quick look online to see what options were available,

One of my favourite brands is Choetech. They now have a twin pack USB C to USB 3.0 adapters that are compatible with MacBook 12″, ChromeBook Pixel, Nexus 6P and other USB-C devices. As these are also USB 3.0, they supports faster transmission speed up to 5 Gbps. They are also backward compatible with USB2.0 and 1.1 which means all my existing USB devices will connect to these at no extra cost to myself. They also include the built-in 56k ohm resistor follow Type C standard specification. OTG, hot plug and play design is supported with no external driver needed and without software installation. These are very lightweight and designed and constructed with premium grade metal. And a fraction of the price of the Apple own branded adapter.

Another option from Choetech is gorgeous USB C to USB 3.0 cables. Look at the quality in the photo above. The cable is a braided cord, resistant to kinking, bending, and environmental damage. It also features fast sync USB 3 speeds up to 5 Gbps with compatible USB 3.0 device. It is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1.

But for me the adapters are just what I needed. Small and perfect and a fraction of what Apple charge for their adapter. This adapter will allow me to charge and sync my iPhone 7 Plus and connect all my “legacy” USB 2 devices.

Useful Links

More information on the Choetech USB C to USB 3.0 Twin Pack Adapters – Click HERE.
More information on the Choetech USB C to USB 3.0 Twin Pack Cable – Click HERE.
More information on the Choetech range – Click HERE.

Video Quick Look

Confessions of a Dongle Collector – My Apple Lightning Adapter Collection

November 9, 2016accessories, Apple, Tech NewsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

I have a confession. I have a rather large collection of dongles, all Apple lightning adapters.

I took the photo the other day but didn’t include multiple versions of a dongle. For example I have 4 3.5mm to headphone lightning adapter.

So let’s have a closer look at each adapter and its price. Working from the top to bottom of the photo.

– Lightning to USB 3 Camera adapter – This is the new camera adapter from Apple which now includes the ability to charge at the same time and supports USB 3 – £39

– Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter – I have 4 of these for my iPhone 7 Plus – £36

– Lightning to USB Camera adapter – the original one, which costs £29. I have 2 of these. £58.

– Lightning Digital AV adapter – HDMI and a charging slot- £49

– Lightning to VGA adapter – VGA and a charging slot – £49

– Lightning to 30 pin adapter – 0.2m – £39

In addition to the ones shown, I have somewhere amongst all my cables the lightning to 30 pin adapter £29 and lightning to micro SD adapter £19.

So in total, if I was to re-purchase all the adapters again it would cost me £279. I think I am in the wrong business. I need to be selling dongles!

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