Tag Archives: lg g3

WOW 23 SMARTPHONE CAMERA SHOOTOUT – NOTE 4, LG G3, IPHONE 6 PLUS, BLACKBERRY PASSPORT, SONY, NOKIA, HTC ONE M8, S5, HUAWEI, NEXUS & MORE

November 26, 2014Android, Apple, Blackberry, Reviews, Tech News, WindowsBlackberry Passport, htc one m8, Huawei, iphone 6 plus, lg g3, NEXUS & MORE, Nokia, S5, Sony, WOW 23 SMARTPHONE CAMERA SHOOTOUT – NOTE 4Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

Not sure about which phone or brand takes the best photos, then have a look at this super sized collection of photos from all the best and latest smartphones and some budget phones as a comparison.

Samsung Note 4 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157648796796660/

Apple iPhone 6 Plus – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157647679181549/

BlackBerry Passport – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157648520943848/

LG G3 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157645618979801/

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644532639249/

HTC One M8 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157643265004874/

HTC One M7 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644039700054/

Samsung S5 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157643875623354/

Samsung Note 3 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644034132513/

LG G Flex – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644114354349/

Samsung S4 Zoom – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644039495565/

Apple iPhone 5S – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644035336913/

LG Nexus 4 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644039660933/

Sony Z1 Compact Z1 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644028694521/

Sony Xperia Z1 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644039246935/

Sony Z Ultra – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644083052095/

Sony QX100 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644035811453/

Sony QX10 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644035335185/

Huawei Ascend P6 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644028833151/

Nokia Lumia 1520 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644035105534/

Nokia Lumia 1020 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644035516523/

Nokia Lumia 925 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157634991010769/

Nokia Lumia 620 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157644083348093/

To see the sets in one indexed page click here – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/

So which phone is your winner?

Can the LG G3 get any better? Yes it can

September 9, 2014Android, Tech Newsfree spare battery and cradle, lg g3Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

The LG G3 is already LG’s biggest selling smartphone ever, but now LG is being even more generous. If you pick up a G3 between September 8th and September 22nd, LG will give you a free spare battery and a charging cradle.

Via Androidpolice.com

LG G3 – Review – Highlights 9 weeks later

September 8, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech News9 weeks later, lg g3, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

It seems a miracle that I still have the LG G3 after 9 weeks. Below are my key highlights of the device.

1) Design. Often overlooked but I really like the buttons on the back of the phone. The curved back. And the headphone jack on the bottom. All of these design choices make the phone despite its size so much more comfortable to hold. And being nearly all screen on the front makes such a great bold design statement.

2) Keyboard – not only is the LG keyboard adjustable in every way conceivable, it has themes and is accurate too. In landscape I pull the keyboard to split it which makes text entry simple. It is the first phone whereby I have not changed to swift key or something else.

3) LG launcher. It’s just clean and simple yet offers excellent customisation. The on screen menu buttons for example. Defaults to 3. But you can add up to 5 and change the order. So bringing down the notification shade can be done from the bottom menu. Simple idea but just works. And then you have Knock On and Knock Code.

4) Camera. It is as easy as the iPhone. It never fails to take a great shot. And truth be told it’s better most times than what can be snapped on the iPhone 5S. Maybe the iPhone 6 will change that balance. Yes the G3 has laser focus but it means it just works. I also like that fact it’s just press and shoot. It also has voice control which seems to work really well. I have at least 5 other camera apps installed but haven’t really used them. The default camera app just works really effectively.

5) QuickCircle case. This is one of the coolest cases for a phone I’ve seen at the moment.

6) Qi wireless charging built in. I’m not a mad person who says it’s the only way to charge a phone but at night, I simply rest the G3 on the qi stand and that’s it.

7) Screen. It’s a good screen and is ideal for my photography. I have tweaked the colour gamut in the screen accessibility options to make it more vibrant.

8) The infra remote software is detailed and offers more buttons than other default phone software provided by other companies.

9) FM Radio. Often overlooked but it’s handy at times.

And finally, it just works. I have had no issues with it whatsoever. LG have updated the firmware and for the life of me I cannot tell what’s been improved.

With all the new phones that have been announced and are still to be announced this month, I am still being held by the G3. Only the Note 4 or Note Edge are tempting me but after I realise I will lose certain features and it will be more uncomfortable to hold than the G3 due to the Note’s wider girth, I keep wondering maybe I’m best staying put.

Time will tell of course 🙂

LG G3 – review – Hello Genie and Google Voice Commands

September 8, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech Newslg g3, lg voice control, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

I really thought I had covered off everything to do with the LG G3 but alas there is another world of operation when it comes to voice control.

LG has their own piece of software, activated from the lock screen simply by saying “Hello Genie”, in the settings quick toggles by switching voice on or from the home menu button swiping it to the left.

As a side point if you swipe straight up or hold the home button, Google Search/Now is activated. If you swipe the home menu button to the right quick memo is activated.

So what can the voice control manage on the LG G3? Sending emails, texting, schedule a new meeting, cancel a meeting and show meetings, tasks creation, show map of an areas or place, navigation to, browse a web page, create new memos, open apps, play music or an album or a song, turn settings on or off and find weather information. You can also look up info on a contact. I will come back in a minute to the finer points of this voice control.

Now let’s move on to Google Voice control. It is what you would expect on any other android phone. Once in the search screen you can use OK Google to start the voice operation. But it is not always on in the home screen. It works as advertised but does not add the granular control of the in built LG system.

With the LG voice control you have more finer control, similar to Siri on the iPhone. So for example, on the LG voice control I can ask it to move an appointment forward by an hour. More of a personal assistant.

As another example, if I asked Google Voice to turn off wifi it just brings me to the wifi settings. If I ask LG Voice to turn off wifi, it turns wifi off!

A word of warning, all of the above voice control operation is dead in the water if you haven’t got an internet connection.

LG G3 – Camera Shot of the Week

September 8, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech NewsCamera shot of the Week, lg g3Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

This is my favourite photo from those snapped on the LG G3. A macro shot using the default camera app.

LG G3 – Camera – My favourite shot of the week

August 30, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech NewsCamera, lg g3, Review, shot of the weekGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Below is my favourite photo this week taken with the LG G3. Full auto mode.

LG Slim Guard Case for the LG G3 – review

August 25, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech Newsd855, lg g3, lg slim guard case reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

I finally managed to get hold of the official LG Slim Guard Case for the LG G3. This is the version for the G3 D855 not G3 F400. I will start by showing you some photos of the case.

And now with the case side by side with the original back so you can get a sense of the depth and size difference. The Slim Guard case does have the Qi charging built in which means no loss of signal when using this method to charge.

So what does the case look like fitted. Below are 3 photos.

And finally one last shot of the case fitted next to the original back.

So you’ve seen all the photos but what is the case like. Well first up I’ve been waiting for over a month for this to arrive. It has been massively delayed and I had high hopes for this case by LG. When I first opened it out of the wrapping I was disappointed. The entire case is a form of plastic even the edges which look like rubber. The rubber is just for effect. It is the same plastic. In terms of protection the sides of the case add for an extra ridge to grip. The back is matt and perforated. It is slightly grippier but I felt it was still not grippier enough. It clearly would offer more protection if you dropped the phone but not as much as a £5 silicone case. The disadvantage of using an add on case is that the Qi charging may not work but your phone is better protected.

You can now buy replacement original back covers for £17 on eBay. This Slim Guard case cost £21. It adds extra depth and bulk and takes away the beauty of the phone. Also due to the added depth, it is not as easy to wrap your hand around so you could end up dropping it. So the original shiny back can be held more securely as you can get more of your hand around it. So my thoughts are if I dropped it I could just spend another £17 and get a replacement back. That’s assuming it is the back that is broken. The slim guard case does offer a tiny amount of front screen protection but not enough in my book. The lip needed to be greater.

This is not a clear winner. There are pro and cons. At the moment I cannot decide whether to keep it on or just go naked with the original stunning design of the G3.

Update – since writing the above review I have found the Slim Guard case to be definitely grippier in real life outdoor situations and to offer better protection. It still is not perfect, but it is the slimmest case solution available.

LG G3 – fonts

August 25, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech Newsfonts, lg g3Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

The LG G3 comes pre installed with a number of fonts. I haven’t tried using a different font until recently.

I’ve decided on “coffee” as I really like it’s style especially with the letter “o” .

LG G3 – review – one month later

August 11, 2014Android, Reviews, Tech Newslg g3, one month later, ReviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Stop, wait a minute I have owned the LG G3 for more than 2 weeks. In fact it’s just over 4 weeks now which is vintage in my life span for a phone. In fact, I can see myself owning the G3 for a while longer.

So what are my reasons for liking the G3 so much. A short answer is that it is really lovely to use. Here are my key takeaways –

1) Screen – yes it’s a 2.5K screen and who cares really. What matters is that the screen takes up nearly 80% of the front. Being all screen is a huge wow factor. First comments from friends are “that’s a real beast of a phone “. Having such a decent screen is a joy to use. To browse the internet. To admire my photos and edit them easily. YouTube now plays videos at the G3 screen resolution.

2) Gaming – guess what having such an all screen phone with tiny bezels makes it even more enjoyable to immerse oneself into all games. Attached to my Moga Pro Power game controller and it is a match made in heaven.

3) Double Tap/Tap to Lock or Unlock – double tapping to turn on or off just works. It really should be mandatory on all large phones. Or phones without a physical home button. The tap lock code feature is also neat and just works.

4) Rear hardware buttons – now that I’ve been using the G3 a month, there is no way I would want a phone without buttons on the rear. It really is simple to use. Firing up the camera from the off position is as simple as pressing and holding the volume down key.

5) LG QuickRemote software – it has a DVD Eject button as standard. Sounds simple but check your DVD hardware remote. It probably won’t have an eject button. Other manufacturers infra red software that I’ve used from HTC and Samsung do not have this option. LG is the first to have as this button as standard. Useful for me as my DVD eject button no longer works.

6) QSlide apps. Again a better implementation than others as not only can these be resized but you can also adjust the transparency. I just wished there was more apps to select.

7) LG’s multi screen mode is neatly integrated too.

8) LG software and launcher – there is everything to love about what LG has implemented. Customisable if you so wish from the icons, themes and even keyboard.

9) The built in keyboard is one of the best I’ve used. Adjustable height but more importantly accurate and fast.

10) Good quality sound via headphones and acceptable clean sound via the loudspeaker.

11) Camera. As easy as abc and takes good shots in most conditions rather than good shots only is bright sunlight. It is also fast and a pleasure to use.

12) LG Accessories. LG offer a number of cases and accessories for the G3 and they are all excellent. The LG Qi wireless charging stand is simple. At night I rest my G3 on the stand and by morning it is always showing battery at 100%. It just works. If I compare this to the official Samsung S5 implementation, the S5 qi cover and charging was a total nightmare and not worth the effort. The QuickCircle case is one of the coolest cases I’ve used in a long time. It just works really well for example – if you press down the volume down key to launch the camera, the camera fires up and you look through the circle and tap to focus and take shot. Simple and just works. Then there is the Slim Guard cover. This like the a QuickCircle case replaces the rear battery cover and provides a more rugged finish with a rubber outer edge.

13) Profile – make no mistakes the G3 is big. But it feels so small in the hand. And comfortable. Rear buttons. Double tap. And more make this big phone the easiest to use out of any on the market at the moment.

And a feature that surely should be optional on all android phones

14) Customisable menu buttons. From 3, 4 or 5 menu options and in any order you prefer, from home, back, recent items, multi window , quick memo, QSlide apps and notification panel.

15) Other features from the health app, smart notice and so much more I could continue for a lot longer.

So in summary, LG wanted to create a simple device. In practice it can be that phone but also tweaked to perfection.

Any questions , please ask away.