Below are some further camera samples from the Galaxy Gear. Don’t forget the watermark can be removed in the camera settings. As a comparison I have included a shot from the Note 3 of the same area.
Note 3 shot
The Note 3 was able to reproduce the lighting conditions much better but I was quite happy with the Gear photos if sharing to just social networks like twitter.
One feature I like with the Note 3 is one handed use. Ideal when out and about and works really well.
First the keyboard can be shrunk for left or right handed use.
Then the phone dialer can be made smaller..
And if you really want extreme one handed use you can shrink the whole page. You can move the screen around and it comes complete with all the menu options.
Rather neat touches. The keyboard is especially handy when out and about in one handed mode.
I’ve used the 1520 for just over a week now and it delivered one of the best window phones experience’s.
A superb camera in a huge 6 inch screened piece of stunning hardware.
The size is not for everyone. I did find the height of the 1520 too tall for my work shirts front pocket. Whilst the Note 3 sticks out a cm the 1520 protrudes by 3 cm making me think that if I bent over slightly it could fall out.
In some of my jackets I could sense the large bulk of the phone as well. But apart from that if was a pleasure to use.
Recommended if large phones is your preference.
Thanks to Clove Technology for sending the Lumia 1520.
I received the official Samsung S-View Premium case at the weekend. This is the case that allows you to see and control a limited amount of actions on the Note 3 via the square clear window in the flip cover. It is very expensive at £34 approximately.
The case provides options on the colour of the window background. You have the option to see the time and missed notifications, walking steps, weather and sliding across the camera, music and action notes, without actually opening the flip cover. And that is it.
What you lose is the quick glance screen and the Watch On remote widget on the lock screen, which I have found more useful. Also the rear of this case replaces the current back cover. A good idea except its thicker than what it replaces. You can use the stylus on the cover window which is something. The camera function is weird. It takes a picture just fine but it is only a small square, similar size to the case window and not a full width shot. Another odd decision by Samsung IMO.
Some people will like this case, but for me it didn’t add any real advantages with the quick access information and in fact took away some functionality for me.
If you have read my earlier reviews on the Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020 you will be familiar with all the camera options. In essence, the 1520 is a 20mp Carl Zeiss lens with optical image stabilisation and 2 x lossless zoom. It has many pro camera settings for some great artistic tricks. But most people are just going to hit the shutter button or on screen button. Yes, unlike other phones, the Lumia range do have a dedicated camera hardware button on the edge.
So I really wanted to test the optical image stabilisation and quality of the end results. So let’s set the scene. At 3am thunderstorms and gales arrived. At midday, it was just high winds with a piercing cold wind too. My eyes were watering from the cold, and I could hardly stand still as the wind kept moving me all over the place. As a comparison I took with me the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but due to the wind all of the photos ended up being blurred.
First up the war memorial in Princetown, Dartmoor, Devon. The accuracy of the colours is phenomenal.
Next is the Dartmoor Visitor Centre. Most phones would struggle to capture the whole building and lamppost.
Next up is the view over to Dartmoor Prison, a famous Victorian prison. What’s great about this shot is once again the amount captured in the frame, but also the clarity of the church in the distance.
And finally, I took this exposed to the wind with the 1520 actually shaking as I couldn’t hold it still enough. The optical image stabilisation worked a treat.
Bear in mind the above are only the 5mp versions of the shot. The 1520 actually saves a hi resolution pureview shot at 20mp as well. With this you can use this to undertake some pro editing. Or using the Nokia Pro Cam camera app, reframe the shot you just took to create a different view. You can the save this and go back again into the original hi-res shot and repeat as often as you like.
Having used both the 1020 and now the 1520, I would personally choose the 1520. It has a faster processor and this is evident in shot to shot times being near instant.
If you would like one of these phones or something else head over to Clove Technology who will be happy to help you.
Everytime I pick up the 1520 it brings a smile to my face. It just feels substantial and looks stunning in black. Its physical size helps provide that feeling too.
The way I see things at the moment, if you want the class leaders in each operating systems, it would have to be the 1520 for Windows Phone. But unlike android or Apple iOS, the 1520 packs a decent 20mp camera with 2 x the equivalent of optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilisation.
I cannot stress enough about the camera. The quality of the shots snapped even in low or lower light are simply stunning. The iPhone 5S or any android phone does not get close to the camera of the Lumia 1520. Add Qi Wireless Charging and a memory card slot for storing loads of photos, and this beast of a phone becomes a very attractive proposition.
In the box you get the user startup guides, usb lead and UK adapter and a headset. There is also the sim ejector tool.
The software included within the 1520 is extensive. Some of the highlights are Bing Finance, News, Sport and Weather, HERE Drive+, HERE Maps, Internet Explorer, Nokia Music, Pro Cam, Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, Microsoft Office, One Note, Zinio, Games and Xbox Games. So being the typical Windows Phone from Nokia is has a suite of mapping and turnby turn navigation, an advanced camera shooting app, advanced photo editing apps, gaming, music, optional Nokia Radio for streaming and plenty of news and information apps all included as standard. Then Nokia integrates your email and social accounts into their People app. And all this is then backup using Microsoft Skydrive.
I simply love the extra screen real estate for the live tiles as well. For me, this Nokia Lumia phone is better than the Lumia 925 and 1020 as it offers a better all around package.
Once the UK weather improves I will upload some photos. In the meantime, head over to Clove Technology for this phone and others.
The Nokia Lumia 1520 arrived at the weekend thanks to Clove Technology . If you order quickly and receive your 1520 before the 15th Jan 2014, you should be able to claim a £20 voucher towards the windows marketplace store. UK store that is. Well, I knew this phone was big, but OMG it’s a real wow moment taking it out of the box. Being honest, the actual box could do with a facelift as the hardware of this slab is stunning. The specs are –
– Windows Phone 8 (GDR3)
– 2.26 GHz Quad Core processor
– Snapdragon 800 with Adreno 330 GPU
– 20 MP PureView camera with 2x lossless zoom
– ZEISS optics with OIS, autofocus & LED flash
– 6 inch 1080p full HD LCD display
– Gorilla Glass 2
– 32 GB storage & up to 64 GB micro SDXC card
– NFC, BT 4.0 LE, A-GPS GLONASS,
– Wi-Fi 802.11 (2.4/5Ghz) a/b/g/n/ac
– 3,400 mAh battery with Qi Wireless Charging
– Nokia Camera app
– NANO SIM compatible
I got a black Lumia 1520 and it looks lovely in black. Nokia sure know how to manufacture solid feeling phones. Having grown used to the Note 3, the Lumia 1520 doesn’t feel that daunting. I have large hands, so had no issue holding the phone. Interestingly, the Lumia 1520 with its clear black screen technology looked better at full brightness compared to the Note 3. Photo below shows Lumia 1520 next to the Note 3.
As you can see the Lumia 1520 is only a bit taller in size although it’s weight difference is noticeable as it is heavier by about 50g. However, I think it’s heft makes it feel like a quality product. The Nokia Lumia 1520 is running the very latest software and therefore has an extra column for the live tiles home screen which is useful along with a host of other improvements.
Well I couldn’t resist any longer so started to try out the 20mp Carl Zeiss camera with 2 x zoom and Optical Image Stabilisation. I was very impressed with the results and quality too. I will do a separate post for the camera shots.
All in all first impressions are very good. Great camera and hardware. Smooth silky operation and one of the best specification windows phone currently available. More soon as I get used to using the Lumia 1520.
And thanks again to Clove Technology.
Before you think to yourself, “I don’t remember reading day 4 and 5” you would be correct as I skipped 2 days.
I thought I would leave a few more days to see how things have progressed. Sadly, I’ve giving up on the Note 3 and I am back with the iPhone 5S. No that’s not true and I know some of still believe I will fall back to the iPhone 5S.
Using the Note 3 now is becoming a pleasure and not a frustration. I am still waiting for Google to update their Play Music app so I can stream my tunes and for for the official twitter app to allow me to receive notifications. Update. I fixed this. See separate post. Apparently twitter need to clear my cache but there support service is dreadfully slow.
Samsung’s WatchOn app remote control now operates my TV and DVD player properly and has a shortcut widget on the lock and home screen which is very handy.
And to reset or switch off and back on I have to untick allow scanning in the advanced wifi settings to avoid a reboot loop. Apart from that it’s faultless.
In the meantime, I am using Robird for twitter, a pleasurable experience, and for low light shots A Better Camera App that allows the Note 3 to take great low light photos providing their is no movement and you are using a tripod or similar. In fact, this app using the Hi-Res Night mode can produce some crazy good quality shots.
I have started to tweak everything a little bit more and I am finding everything just works a treat now. It was a painful beginning but it is starting to provide dividends.
Even the free music offer which at first didn’t work, just did yesterday when I tried again. Human error probably but it wasn’t as obvious as I would have thought. I also found a free game Monster University for Note 3 users available on the Samsung Games stores. I also have a different view of the Samsung Hub. Whilst it is not perfect, it does cover all aspects of media and is definitely Samsung’s next strike to remove itself from Google’s services in the future.
With the Note 3, Samsung included a wealth of extra software and third party software services which makes this whole proposition really hard to refuse.
I have activated Find My Phone and Sim Activation Lock. Scrapbook which I thought was a gimmick is actually wonderful to use. It provides a fluid way to clip and record properly items of interest.
Screen and battery life and amazing. I have nearly every option turned on from air gestures, to motion and smart options. The small on screen floating apps are useful although not many of them. Handy for the calculator and whatsapp. Using Flipboard, My Magazine, Business Week and other news type apps is a joy due to the large screen. I never really bothered with Flipboard on the iPhone but it is lovely to view on the Note 3.
I have now added gestures with Nova Launcher so double type, and one or two finger swiping up and down launches specific apps, saving time.
There is no away I can see myself drifting back to an iPhone despite all its positives. The Note 3 is leagues ahead in many ways and the honeymoon period is just improving.
At the weekend I connected a usb dac and amp to the Note 3. When I made the connection it triggered the emergency assistance function on the Note 3.
This function sends a MMS message to whoever you setup in the settings. The message includes your GPS location and a Google Map link. In addition the front and rear cameras take a simultaneous photo and off everything goes. Well, you can imagine my surprise when one of my emergency contacts calls me and tells me I need a shave and could they have one of the chocolate biscuits on the table.
I realised that every time I connected the usb dac the same thing happened. So I turned off that option and no more emergency messages.
That got me thinking about my current issue with Google Play Music, whereby it kept going silent after one or two songs but was still playing , and only fixed by pausing then pressing play. I wondered if the emergency assistance feature was clashing and low and behold it was. With emergency assistance off, Google Play Music works just fine.
I will be receiving the Nokia Lumia 1520 any day now and intend to take it through it paces.
I must admit I am excited about this piece of hardware. It’s a 6 inch IPS screened Phablet running the latest Windows Phone and Nokia Black software, micro sd card expansion, LTE enabled, Bluetooth v4 with A2DP, 20mp Carl Zeiss camera optics including optical image stabilisation, FM radio, Quad Core Snapdragon 800 processor, Adreno 330 GPU, wireless charging integration, and much much more.
If you have any questions regarding this phone please let me know.
If you are looking to buy one of these sim free, head over to Clove Technology today.
Update. It’s arrived.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 