After everyone has bought the Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung decide to release a more rugged version with a much bigger battery. Only one major drawback, the storage is restricted to 32gb. If you can live with that, maybe this is the S6 to go for.
Android Central have reviewed this S6 Active and they like it a lot. It’s a good video, so go check it out. A number of other larger websites also prefer the S6 Active over the standard S6 including Pocketnow and Supersaf TV.
I have been using and testing the Lindy IEM-50X Hi-Fi In ear headphones for several months now to get a real feel of these headphones.
Firstly, let’s look at the specifications –
– Dynamic Driver Diameter – 6.5mm
– Frequency Response – 8-20kHz
– Impedance – 18 ohms
– Sensitivity – 99db
– Nominal THD – <3% 9@1khz with 1mW input)
– Max Power Input – 3mW
– Cable Length – 1.2m (0.85m to split, 0.35m from split to each earpiece)
– In the box – headphones, guide, 6 super soft tips
I have been intrigued with the Lindy IEM-50X in ear headphones as for around £49.99, you get a pair of in ear headphones with adjustable bass port tuning on each headphone. Not only that, it is very easy to adjust the tuning quickly. In addition, you get a pouch for storing/carrying and 6 super soft tips, 3 of which are black and the other 3 are transparent black. The is an inline microphone with a single button control. The cable is flat to prevent tangling.
I have listened to many different genres and found the IEM-50X headphones to offer a fairly well balanced and neutral sound with the ability to really pump the dynamic bass control using the hardware adjustments on the headphones themselves. The dynamic bass is a mechanical feature that opens the rear chamber of each earpiece to give added weight and depth to the low frequencies.
Adjusting is as simple as holding the earphone collar and cable stalk and then twisting the collar so the red line points and moves from the hollow dot to the solid black dot. You then repeat this process with the other earphone. There is a good amount of adjustment possible too.
Over the course of several weeks these headphones have steadily improved as the burn in time increased. They have a neutral tone as mentioned above but with the ability to customise the bass. The bass control is frighteningly good. I tried so many different genres and then I used them with Tidal Hi-Fi streaming service to see how they performed with FLAC. Once again I choose many genres, listening to Muse, Chemical Brothers, Calvin Harris, Vivaldi, Diana Krall and many more different artists. These headphones somehow manage to portray a huge sense of scale and depth. I love using these in ear headphones. The range and slam of bass is something to special to witness.
So in all a really decent pair of in ear headphones with the unique bass tuning, a range of different size tips and carry pouch, make this such a good value headphone.
Since receiving the LG Watch Urbane, I have written many posts. Below are all the links so far. This post will get updated when more individual posts go live.
– LG announce the Watch Urbane – details and specs – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/02/16/lg-announces-the-new-lg-watch-urbane-its-luxury-android-wear-smartwatch-details/
– Impressions part 1 – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/09/lg-watch-urbane-beauty-and-disaster-first-impressions/
– Impressions part 2 – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/10/lg-watch-urbane-part-2/
– Impressions part 3 – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/12/lg-watch-urbane-part-3/
– How to change the Urbane strap – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/11/lg-watch-urbane-replacing-the-strap/
– Decisions required on strap choice – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/14/lg-watch-urbane-be-careful-on-strap-choice/
– Gallery of all my watch faces photographed – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/15/lg-watch-urbane-my-watch-faces-shown-photographed-gallery/
– A new thicker strap and the issues fitting it – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/17/lg-watch-urbane-a-new-strap/
Since my review of the LG G4, I have included several other posts. All the links are noted below. I have also included a link to the special LG G4 Flickr album set.
Below are all the links to all the posts. The gallery action shots are a must view post. Using burst mode I was able to snap some amazing motion shots. Also worth noting is the burst mode shots were 7.9mb in file size over 3 times the size of a burst shot from the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
LG G4 – The Review – updated – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/17/lg-g4-the-review/
FIGHT – LG G4 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – Real life differences – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/01/fight-samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-vs-lg-g4-its-war-so-read-on/
LG G4 – First Impressions on UK retail version – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/29/lg-g4-first-impressions-of-the-official-uk-version/ (note – my review was written with a Korean version. The first impressions pick up on the differences between the Korean and UK retail versions)
LG G4 – Photos from Today – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/25/lg-g4-some-photos-from-today/
Shooting in difficult conditions – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/24/lg-g4-shooting-in-difficult-conditions/
More Thoughts on the G4’s F/1.8 Camera – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/21/lg-g4-more-thoughts-on-that-f1-8-camera/
Photo Filters – Do they make a difference – LG G4 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/04/photo-filters-do-they-make-a-difference/
LG G4 – First Failure with update from LG – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/03/lg-g4-first-failure-update-from-lg/
LG G4 – Gallery of 18 Action Shots (must see this) – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/03/lg-g4-incredible-fast-action-shots-from-the-g4-camers/
LG G4 – See what a 102mp shot from the G4 looks like – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/03/lg-g4-see-what-a-102mp-shot-looks-like-taken-by-the-lg-g4-how-it-busts-google-photos/
LG G4 – Charging Behaviour and Quick Charging 2 – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/02/lg-g4-charging-behaviour-and-quick-charging-2/
LG G4 – Leather back guidelines for safe usage – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/31/lg-g4-leather-back-guidelines-for-safe-usage/
LG G4 – Camera shots from today. Just wow – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/30/lg-g4-its-camera-is-so-good-shots-just-taken-today/
LG G4 – Black leather – whats in the UK retail box? – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/28/lg-g4-black-leather-unboxed-whats-in-retail-box/
LG G4 – Selection of 50 photos – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/28/lg-g4-a-selection-of-50-photos/
LG G4 – Shoot like a Pro – Some tips and examples – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/26/lg-g4-shoot-like-a-pro-in-manual-mode-some-tips-and-examples/
LG G4 – More Camera Samples – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/21/lg-g4-more-camera-samples/
LG G4 – Incredible action shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/19/lg-g4-camera-action-shots-wow/
Happy Families – Life on Dartmoor – View the photo featured by Flickr in Explore – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/17/taken-by-the-lg-g4-happy-families-life-on-dartmoor-and-now-featured-by-flickr/
LG G4 – Colour Spectrum Shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/16/lg-g4-colour-spectrum-sensor-camera-shots/
LG G4 – More camera shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/16/lg-g4-more-camera-shots-2/
LG G4 – Manual Mode at Night – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-manual-mode-camera-shots-at-night/
LG G4 – First looks at the camera – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-first-looks-at-the-camera/
LG G4 – The arrival – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-its-arrived/
LG G4 – Launch Report with First Impressions and Specific Testing – Video and Photos too – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/04/28/my-hands-on-with-the-lg-g4-plus-first-impressions/
Link to my LG G4 Flickr Album set with around 70 photos from the LG G4 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157652876197995
I took my 3 Labradors for a short 5 mile walk over Dartmoor. And below are a selection of the results.
Just incredible shots all taken in auto mode.
Welcome to my review of the Honor 4X. Before you start reading my review, just take note of the price of this handset. It is on sale at Amazon for £144.99. For that, you get an awful lot of bang for your buck.
The build is a plastic type fit and finish with a removable back. The white rear back cover is slightly patterned to aide with grip.
On the back you can also see the 13mp rear camera with flash. The front camera is 5mp. Sony sensors too.
The bottom edge reveals the mic, micro usb port and loudspeaker grill.
And now with the back cover off. This is where the hardware differs from other dual sim phones, even from Honor’s other offerings. With the cover off, you can see it has dual LTE sims and another slot for a micro SD card. This card only works up to 32gb. I tried one of my 64gb cards and it didn’t work. The phone wanted to format card, and as I had loads of photos and music stored on it, I decided to remove it.
All in all, its a well built piece of hardware despite being made of plastic.
Home Screen and Emotion UI
If you have seen the Honor 6 or Honor 6+, then the Emotion UI will be a familiar face.
The Honor 4X has a slightly lighter version, probably due to its internal storage at 8gb.
You also get the choice of a few themes, but none of these are that exciting. If you search on the web, there are plenty other themes available.
However, add your own wallpaper, and the icons do look a little more appealing.
The screen is a real standout part of this package. It is a large 5.5 inch IPS display with a 75% screen to body ratio. And the display is good. A 720p panel never looked so lovely. Just shows how far technology has moved forward.
Phone Essentials
First let us take a look at the specifications –
– Screen – 5.5 inch, 1280 x 720, IPS, 75% screen to body ratio, 5mm frame
– Price – £144.99 on Amazon UK
– Android v4.4.2 with planned lollipop update, with Emotion v3
– Processor – Kirin 620 Octa Core 1.2ghz 64bit A53 Processor
– LTE – 4G LTE-FDD, Bands 3, 7, 8 and 20
– Camera – Sony BSI CMOS rear 13mp, front facing 5mp
– Battery – 3,000maH, 72 hours standby, 48 hours talk time
– Memory – 2gb ram plus 8gb rom, micro sd cards up to 32gb
– Dual LTE sims
– Size – 152.9mm x 77.2mm x 8.65mm, Weight 170g
– Colours – White or Black
– Box contents – phone and charger
In terms of performance the AnTuTu score kicked in at 27,700 yet in day to day usage it never felt slow. Due to the 8gb of storage this will never be a hardcore gaming device, although I did install a few of my favourite games. This does have a 64 bit processor which might be the reason it is fairly smooth in day to day operation.
The one weakness and probably the only weakness of this phone is the 8gb storage. Once Google apps have updated, and you have added a few apps of your own, as you can see, I only had 2.32gb free. If you get this phone, you will probably need to invest in a 32gb micro sd card.
As a phone, once again Honor provides a handset with good radios, cellular, wifi and bluetooth. Like the Honor 6+ I recently reviewed, the signal strength of the Honor 4X was above that of many of my other handsets.
I have been testing the battery life on this phone and it is relatively simple to knock out 2 days. With a 720p screen and a 3,000mAH battery this is not a surprise really.
Camera
The Honor 4X is fitted with a 13mp rear and 5mp front camera.
The interface is a familiar Honor camera app affair minus with many options. If you owned this phone, you would not need to buy another camera app.
Options include voice activation to take a photo, and even the ability to adjust the focus and metering points independently. I did not expect that!
There are a number of additional photo modes, from HDR and panorama. Burst takes a max of 10 photos in a sequence.
As you can see above, the camera app includes a wealth of options to fine tune your images.
Gallery App
After you have snapped some photos, they all appear in the Gallery app.
You also have a list view which reveals the other folders with photos.
Sample shots
So what is the verdict on the camera quality. Have a view of some photos I took with the camera below.
I was trying to get a macro or close up shot, on the photo above and below and as you can see it is slightly over exposed. In normal bright light the camera photos were much better.
It seemed to slightly over expose the church and war memorial too.
As you can see the lighting conditions were far from ideal, being overcast but with a white glare as the sun was trying to emerge, but didn’t.
My view on the photo quality is that it takes average to slightly better photos when lighting improves. For a budget phone it comes with a comprehensive camera app and produces shots that are above average for its price point. As a reference point, the Honor 6+ which is twice the cost of the Honor 4X takes superior photos. However, if all these photos end up being shared on social media, nobody would know any different and I have proved this point several times over the last week or so.
Sound Quality and FM Radio
A FM radio is included and the Honor 4X locks station really fast. RDS is not included. USB Audio is not included. Music playback via the loudspeaker pumps out a loud sound at around 87db. It is also handy that it is positioned on the bottom edge. Music playback via headphones is just average. DTS is included and I would recommend keeping this on.
Settings
This being a Honor phone, Emotion UI v3 is installed and the wealth of settings and options is impressive.
Plenty of options in the notifications panel, but the settings icon to jump to the main settings app is missing.
As this is a dual LTE sim, sim management is provided for your 2 sims.
And below are a few screen shots from the settings menu, before I get to my final thoughts.
You will notice gesture support and motions is provided with this phone.
Final Thoughts
Honor have produced a very reasonably priced budget dual LTE sim smartphone. The screen is lovely. The cellular radios are excellent. 8gb of storage is a bit low and in my opinion something to be aware. I would recommend installing a 32 gb micro SD card.
To find out more on the Honor 4X click here – Honor 4X deal and info at Amazon UK
Just a few photos taken with the LG G4 today.
The Red Box
Ghostly sightings at Princetown
Spring flowers
1908 Drinking Fountain in Princetown
Since my review of the LG G4, I have included several other posts. All the links are noted below. I have also included a link to the special LG G4 Flickr album set. Once thing I have noticed with the G4 is its overnight battery strength which has been consistent. Generally on a 6 hours period overnight the battery drops from 100% to 98%, just a mere 2%. Its screen on time for a charge is 4 to 4.5 hours.
Anyway here are all the links to all the posts. The action shots are a must view post. Using burst mode I was able to snap some amazing motion shots. Also worth noting is the burst mode shots were 7.9mb in file size over 3 times the size of a burst shot from the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
LG G4 – Photos from Today – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/25/lg-g4-some-photos-from-today/
Shooting in difficult conditions – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/24/lg-g4-shooting-in-difficult-conditions/
More Thoughts on the G4’s F/1.8 Camera – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/21/lg-g4-more-thoughts-on-that-f1-8-camera/
LG G4 – Shoot like a Pro – Some tips and examples
LG G4 – More Camera Samples – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/21/lg-g4-more-camera-samples/
LG G4 – Incredible action shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/19/lg-g4-camera-action-shots-wow/
LG G4 – The Review – updated – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/17/lg-g4-the-review/
Happy Families – Life on Dartmoor – View the photo featured by Flickr in Explore – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/17/taken-by-the-lg-g4-happy-families-life-on-dartmoor-and-now-featured-by-flickr/
LG G4 – Colour Spectrum Shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/16/lg-g4-colour-spectrum-sensor-camera-shots/
LG G4 – More camera shots – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/16/lg-g4-more-camera-shots-2/
LG G4 – Manual Mode at Night – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-manual-mode-camera-shots-at-night/
LG G4 – First looks at the camera – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-first-looks-at-the-camera/
LG G4 – The arrival – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/05/15/lg-g4-its-arrived/
LG G4 – Launch Report with First Impressions and Specific Testing – Video and Photos too – https://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/04/28/my-hands-on-with-the-lg-g4-plus-first-impressions/
Link to my LG G4 Flickr Album set with around 30 photos from the LG G4 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/sets/72157652876197995
Just a quick post of a few shots I have just snapped this morning from the 13mp rear camera of the Honor 4X.
The conditions are foggy, overcast and a small bit of sun glare appearing.
A few weeks ago I picked up a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact on pay as you go at my local Vodafone store in Plymouth. It was on a special offer and was unlocked by the store before I left.
I have since fitted it with a front screen protector, bought a few magnetic to usb cables to charge it, and now have a superb terrapin hard soft to touch case cover for it. I also bought the special noise cancelling headphones to try out with Sony’s music app. My 128gb micro sd card is installed and this has 60gb of music on it along with a wide selection of my photos.
Originally, my plan with the Z3 Compact was to review it and then sell it on. However, I find it one handed use and extremely pocketable size a joy. Add to the fact it is waterproof and dust proof, this is the phone I am now using when I go walking on Dartmoor. I use Viewranger GPS maps and the Z3 Compact is an ideal companion as the wet and windy and foggy conditions of Dartmoor are ideal for this phone. It also has 2 days battery use without even using any of the special power saving modes which extend it further.
The Z3 Compact on paper has a 20.7mp rear camera. It’s pretty terrible in auto mode, so I have to use manual settings all the time. Fortunately, I can cope with this fairly easily, although the photos are still below par versus other smartphones. Regardless of the camera, this pocket rocket of a phone is wonderful. I will be writing my full review at some point too.
Anyway, the phone came with android lollipop out of the box. This morning it received an OTA update that took this phone to android 5.0.2.
After the update, the next message I received was Google Play services had stopped. This is the lollipop memory bug, still present and dangerous!
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