Tag Archives: one month later

LG G3 – review – one month later

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

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.

Samsung Galaxy S5 – first month update – with new firmware update

Android, Reviews, Tech News, ,

So it’s been exactly one month with the S5.

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So what has the first month been like? Is the S5 a laggy nightmare? Do you need an alternative launcher to make it nippy to use?

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Firstly, I decided to use Touchwiz instead of Apex or Nova Launcher. I tried both but I missed some of the extra neat touches that Touchwiz provide from “My Magazine” , “Ok Google” voice activation from home screen without touching widget and other touchwiz widgets eg S Planner Month view which is on my last home screen.

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I also like the weather widget which now has transparency control. Also the variable coloured folders.

So what about lag. My initial posts mentioned lag. I now have none. No lag ever. In fact I have a fast supercharged S5, and I could make it faster. No lag when launching the camera either. How? First turn off S Voice launching as a double tap on the home button. Google Voice is active without touch so there really is no need for S Voice. Next. Lock screen. By default Samsung have many options active on the lock screen. Turn off the weather and pedometer. The difference is remarkable. Now if you want your S5 even faster you can activate developer mode, and turn off animations or reduce them. I haven’t as the speed is fast enough. Amazing what a firmware update can do to improve matters. Let’s hope it stays this good over time.

Battery. Check location services are using power saving mode and GEO news is not active. These 2 options hurt the battery. Otherwise, I don’t use any power saving options until I get to 3% or less. I easily get a full day or day and a half from the S5.

Bloatware or value added. I would say most of the S5 is value added. The S Health app is excellent. Samsung have also provided some additional software trials as long as a year in places. But you can manage just with S Health. If you don’t want to use any of the health options, just use the hide apps options. The point is the phone is designed for different people with different interests. You just select the suite of options you require. That’s value added.

Early adopters usually have software issues. The S5 is the first phone where I wasn’t waiting for an update to majorly fix or improve something. Everything is really well thought out. Simple things like plugging in your headphones and having a choice of 5 apps you might want to use with your headphones. The toolbox option is useful. But more importantly, everything just works which is a first for a phone just released.

Hardware. It’s plastic. Get over it. The HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z2 look better but I would want a case with them to stop them getting damaged or scratched. The S5 looks alright. I asked my wife for her opinion and she actually thought it look quite good especially the back. I am not using a case or screen protector. It’s lightweight and lighter than the competition. But more importantly if feels the best in the hand and the easiest to grip. In other words it’s a real world phone and great to use. It also has water and dust resistance built in like the Z2. And then there is the S5 screen. It’s brilliant and the best I’ve used ever. Whether in sun or at night the display adapts perfectly to the conditions.

Other extras. So apart from a full range of software services covering media, photos, business and tools, there is the hardware extras – finger print sensor, heart rate monitor and a 16mp camera. The Ultra Power Saving mode is a gem. One day I forget to charge the S5 overnight. I headed off at the start of the day with 40% battery. At 8.30pm I went out for the evening still forgetting to charge the S5. At 3% battery I activated it. And I still had 3% the next morning.

So is the S5 a good phone. Yes it is providing you spend the time learning it’s nuances and setting it up to your preferences. Now if you prefer hardware design then head over to the HTC or Sony options. There is plenty of choice. And if you don’t need all the fancy software and hardware just buy a Motorola G or X, or even a Nexus 5.

However, ask me how I “feel” about the S5 and my answer will be “disconnected” when using it.