Below are the quick links to reviews I have written from the latest phones available at present. If you click the menu bar above, and select reviews phones, there are another 20 plus phone reviews to read.
Tag Archives: Reviews
My favourite Samsung Galaxy S5 photo
This was using the selective focus mode on the S5. The original shot is nearly 7mb for a macro. On a big screen this shot looks stunning. Click on photo to get full size image.
Link to original – https://flic.kr/p/ncymnR
HTC One M8 – Daily Blog – Death on the Nile
So many of you were expecting an upbeat article today, but alas the reason there was not an update yesterday was due to an apparent failure of my One M8.
In an nutshell the GPS tracking just stopped. No matter what I did nothing worked and I was constantly being asked to re route. Now I was using the highest GPS/location settings. I did reset the phone, then at Carphone Warehouse Geek Squad (or whatever name they call their technical people) a hard reset was performed.
Nothing could resurrect the M8 to get the GPS positioning working again. So a swap was organised, only to find they had no stock. So reluctantly, I am left with a Samsung Galaxy S5 for the time being.
I will share my first impressions of the S5 in the next article today.
PS. Since writing this article I have discovered I was not alone in having GPS problems with the HTC One M8.
Hello HTC One M8 – daily blog and review part 1
I know I said I wasn’t going to get one but I did. I must point out I was led astray by the HTC One M8. So as a warning, do not enter a store where they can let you hold and feel this phone in your hand. It is just incredible to behold. Yes, I’m on the honeymoon period but nonetheless there is not a single phone built currently that looks so good, especially in gun metal.
Anyway, below are some quick camera samples. No staging just very quick snaps.
When I get some time over the weekend, I will upload these to Flickr and provide the links as probably these might be a little compressed. On my PC screen these all look good.
So what do you think ?
Samsung Note 3, Galaxy Gear and Fiio E18 Portable USB DAC/Amp – home entertainment
Just thought I would share a use for the above 3 pieces of hardware.
My Note 3 is streaming music from Google Play Music. The Note 3 is connected via USB , using its USB Audio digital out connection to the Fiio E18. The Fiio E18 translates the digital signal from the Note 3 and then amplifies the sound into my Sennheiser headphones.
The sound on the Fiio E18 is turned up just a little too loud and then using the Galaxy Gear I am now controlling the media and system volume up and down dependant on how loud or quite each track is. The Gear displays the song info as well.
A lovely setup. And incredible sound quality too.
Samsung Note 3 – review – 3 months later – day 14
It’s been 2 weeks since I received the Samsung Note 3 again. With 7 firmware updates and countless app updates, the full software packages provided by Samsung, the Note 3 has been a different phone to the buggy disaster that was released at launch.
Some of the surprises and highlights has been the camera. The Note 3 camera has taken some awesome quality photos far above what I expected. At night time and with the use of my tripod I used an app called “A Better Camera” . In fact using this camera app with Samsung’s own default app provides a superb shooting experience. I found a tripod adapter for the Note 3 called iStabilizer from Amazon which allows for high quality night shots. Using voice to take photos removes the potential for camera shake. Photo editing is handled by several apps and the effects available are huge.
After 3 months the software is considerably bug free. There are a few bugs still remaining but nothing of any significance. So what I am getting is a smooth experience. In fact, the Note 3 has less bugs than the iPhone 5S which constantly reboots and has a battery not up to the task of a smartphone.
As a music player the Note 3 is fantastic. But it has USB Audio out so by connecting the Fiio E18 USB Portable DAC/Amp the improvement in audio enjoyment is off the charts.
And then there is the even more stark realisation. With the Note 3 not only have I left my iPhone in a bottom drawer, I am not using my iPad or computer. The Note 3 handles all the computing needs for me.
Until the next best thing arrives tomorrow, the Note 3 is my favourite phone.
Netatmo Urban Weather Station and Princetown Yearly Weather Stats
Back in October 2013 I got the Netatmo Urban Weather Station. It is not the most advanced weather station kit available, but then neither is it the most expensive. It connects to the internet and has apps for the MAC, Android, iOS, Windows Phone and a web app for use with most web browsers.
Using the web browser, I called up the yearly actual weather readings for the outdoor temperature and pressure readings for Princetown, Dartmoor, Devon. It is quite evident that the overall temperatures are dropping as we approach winter.
A few more reviews – details
Just a quick heads up.
I have a Nokia Lumia 820 arriving soon which I’m looking forward to putting through its paces.
Headphones – following on from my review of the Logitech Ultimate Ears 6000 and Sony XBA-H1, I will be reviewing the Sennheiser Amperior soon. The Logitech UE 6000 and Sony XBA-H1 will also have a longer term update as well. I have used a wide selection of headphones, so please ask if you have a question or two.
Ballistic case – I will be looking at a Ballistics case for the iPhone 5/5S next week.
Apple Leather Case for iPhone 5S – report on long term usage on the red, cream, brown and blue cases. A quick reveal. The brown leather case isn’t that lovely light shade of brown anymore!
All the latest reviews
It is often difficult to find the reviews of devices and accessories I have written about, so below is a quick way to find all the articles for the key reviews. Or use the top right search box to search for anything on my blog.
Netatmo Urban Weather Station Review
Audio Technica ATH-AD900x Headphone review
Olloclip 3 in 1 Lens review for iPhone 5
Catch up on 20 of the Latest Phone/Gadget Reviews
It is often difficult to find the reviews of devices and accessories I have written about, so below is a quick way to find all the articles for the key reviews. Or use the top right search box to search for anything on my blog.
Netatmo Urban Weather Station Review
Audio Technica ATH-AD900x Headphone review
Olloclip 3 in 1 Lens review for iPhone 5
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 