Archive for April, 2015

By April 27, 2015 Read More →

Lenovo carries on the 4GB trend

screenshot-190Asus announced a new line of phones earlier this year, the pinnacle of which carried 4gb of RAM. Now Lenovo has announced a with a new phone called the K80 that combines both 4gb of RAM alongside a massive 4,000mAh battery. 

The device has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a 64-bit 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization and 64GB of internal storage. Measuring at only 8.5 millimetres thin, which is only a hair thicker than the iPhone 6 Plus at 7.1-millimetre the have to give kudos to Lenovo for accomplishing this with such a large battery.

Lenovo is releasing the phone in China on April 30th and will sell it for just $290, an incredible value for the specs. We don’t know if the device is scheduled for a release here in the UK. Perhaps we will see a new Motorola or Nexus device with the same hardware components. Just in time for iPhone 6s to be grabbing headlines?

Posted in: News
By April 27, 2015 Read More →

Google did not pee all over Apple

screen-shot-2015-04-24-at-121719Over the weekend an addition appeared on Google Maps to show Android peeing on its biggest rival in Pakistan, near the city of Rawalpindi. As you could imagine, Google did not mastermind the Android mascot’s depiction.

Google has now apologised for the gaffe in a statement to the Washington Post, saying: “We’re sorry for this inappropriate user-created content; we’re working to remove it quickly.

“We also learn from these issues, and we’re constantly improving how we detect, prevent, and handle bad edits.”

The Android mascot has been removed from the location. A Map Maker account holder was responsible for the sly attack, which was submitted without being reviewed. An investigation will likely follow.

Posted in: News
By April 24, 2015 Read More →

A new Samsung watch might be round… the corner

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Round smart watches seem to be in garnering most of the attention at the moment, aside from a certain square Apple offering.

Motorola has the 360, LG has the G Watch R and the Watch Urbane, and even Huawei are showing off a most delicious model, so it’s been rumoured for a while that Samsung’s next Gear could be round, too. Recent images of the UI seem to confirm this. Along with hinting at the shape of the new Gear, Samsung also look to be working with some of the partners on applications for it, such as CNN, Yelp, Baidu, FidMe and Apposter.

There is, as yet, no indication of what OS the new Gear will be running, Safe bet is to be Tizen. The current Samsung wearables SDK is Tizen, and Samsung has a vested interest in promoting its own OS on its wearables, rather than producing a new Android Wear device. Samsung have also been pushing the standalone watch like the Gear S, it can’t use Wear as Google’s wearable OS doesn’t support this feature.

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Posted in: News, Rumours
By April 23, 2015 Read More →

Google launches a slick promo for something Fi

Screenshot 2015-04-23 07.35.41A new, beautiful promo has been launched by Google to … advertise (?) Project Fi. A promo that actually contains no information about the service, merely a hint of what they are doing. According to the website “Project Fi is a program to deliver a fast, easy wireless experience in close partnership with leading carriers, hardware makers, and our users.” A statement mirrored in the promotional video and leaving the average viewer somewhat bamboozled by what they have just seen.

So what is it? Essentially this is a new approach to a mobile network. Project Fi automatically connects to more than a million free, open WiFi hotspots that have been verified as fast and reliable. This technology helps keep speeds high and data bill low. Starting at a $20 per month base plan for 3GB, with a flat $10 per for every additional GB of data. This same rate is applied even if you have over used what you planned for, and you get roll-over data that could lower your next month’s bill. An interesting tactic is that Project Fi utilises WiFi calling where no LTE is available.

Also merges all devices for calling/texting purposes much like we have already seen for Google Voice and Pushbullet text facilities already. Using public WiFi is usually a concern for some as it’s not the safest, apparently this data/voice over WiFi part of the service is encrypted and this will be achieved by Google pushing the traffic through a VPN service keeping you more secure.

By April 22, 2015 Read More →

ChatGrape Arrives As An Open Beta

chatgrape-grape-ondarkPromising to shake up the enterprise and team messaging app world ChatGrape injects fresh, new life into the ever growing list of messaging apps. With a colourful design and an interesting approach ChatGrape is a platform that might turn some heads. Touching on a few features that other popular messaging client overlook or choose to avoid ChatGrape has incorporated the ability to send Gifs. Currently only a few other clients offer this and it is only  a matter of time before it big names do, ChatGrape may have gotten a foot in the door before others sneak in.

The main appeal for ChatGrape is the ability to set up Rooms for chatting, a little like Google+ Circles or Facebook Group Messaging, alongside private messages you can mention people and rooms using the @ symbol. Another handy feature is allows you to mention your external data by hitting a # Icon, allowing the user to manage a team on Android without switching between Apps.

Connecting external services has been implemented and now supports Google Drive, Google Calender, Trello, Bitbucket and Github. The ability to add a custom API is also available.

We are hoping to have a representive of ChatGrape on the show next week for a chat about ChatGrape and what it will bring to the market.

Check out the open Beta of Chatgrape on Android, Mac and IOS or through your browser at Chatgrape.com.

Posted in: Apps & Games, News
By April 22, 2015 Read More →

Unboxing the Inateck Bluetooth 3.0 ultra slim keyboard

vlcsnap-2015-04-20-22h21m31s103Coming in at an exceptionally low price whilst retaining a fine build quality the Inateck Bluetooth keyboard is a low cost solution to increasing comfort when travelling and the need for a more desktop like environment. Also available in black, this revised bluetooth keyboard is much more attractive than the typical affair you would expect at the low price of £23.99. A Curve-shaped and sleek design makes it portable and none bulky. A built-in 200mA lithium battery keep charge  for up to 4 months in standby and 8 hours of continuous use every day. Keyboard sleeps after 10 minutes of inactivity and wakes up when any key is pressed. 

  • Compatible with Android, Windows, Mac OS/ iOS and all Bluetooth-enabled tablets, laptops, and computers, enabling you to mix and match with devices.
  • 0.16inch (4.3mm) thin, easy to transport, work and play anywhere anytime.
  • Built-in 200mA lithium battery, works for up to 4 months in standby without charging with 8 hours of continuous use every day; automatic sleep mode and smart wake up.
  • Using the American broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 chip, transfer up to 24 Mb/s, 8 times more than the Bluetooth 2.0 standard, highspeed connection and signal distance up to 33ft (10m).

 

You can purchase from Amazon here.

Posted in: Reviews, Videos/Unboxings
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By April 21, 2015 Read More →

Unboxing the Inateck 4 Port USB Desktop Charger

vlcsnap-2015-04-20-22h21m02s72Inateck, a reliable and price concious hardware brand have send over a 4 Post USB dekstop charger a head of the holidays for Gareth to take  a look at. This type of device, as Gareth outlines, is perfect for a holiday to allow users a charging solution for multiple USB devices.

  • Weight 120g / 4.23oz
     
  • Size 100 x 105 x 30mm / 3.94 x 4.13 x 1.18in
     
  • Interface 4 x 5V / 1.5A charging ports

You can purchase one for £13.99 from Amazon here!

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
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By April 20, 2015 Read More →

Unboxing the Microsoft Lumia 640

vlcsnap-2015-04-19-16h39m07s187Gareth takes a look at the latest Microsoft Windows Phone, the Lumia 640. This wallet friendly refresh adds a lot of the mix combining some very attractive features to a decent build and some impressive addition value in Office 365 for one year.

For only £120 the Lumia 640 packs quite the punch:

5” Display
8.0 MP Main camera Led flash
HD 0.9 MP wide angle Front camera:
8 GB Mass memory
4G LTE Network
Snapdragon 400 Quad-core 1.2GHz Processor
17.5 h Talk time

Posted in: News, Videos/Unboxings
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By April 17, 2015 Read More →

The Top Titles for Mobile Gamers

14758403742_704f51fa09_bGaming via a PC, tablet or smartphone is one of the more popular modes of play nowadays. With 2015’s new devices able to host graphical and processing abilities that were once merely the preserve of consoles and high-spec gaming PCs, high spec gameplay is no longer out of reach to the common gamer.

 

Mobile games have become the avenue of choice for many people wanting to play, however with so many out there, it can be hard to sort the good from the bad. To help you choose, here are some of our favourites!

 

101-in-1 Games

Developed by Nordcurrent, the massive collection of games in this app gives players well over 101 names to play, for free, and all within one click! Puzzle games, racing, action, sports, cooking, shooting, drawing; practically every genre one could want is featured, and they all come in a variety of languages, for ease of use.

 

Mr Smith Casino

For lovers of pulse-ripping casino games, there’s no better host than Mr Smith Casino. This exhaustive gaming site is a dream to use, and features games from the traditionally popular poker, to fun new titles, such as the Starburst slots. You can either choose to play the site’s free to play games, or kick up the excitement with a wager or two, giving yourself the chance to win big!

 

Game Booster

Even if you think your gaming device is up to scratch in terms of technology, there’s always more you can do to tweak your settings and processes in order to boost those graphics and get those games running a little smoother. Game Booster let you do this by allowing users to turn off background processes to free up processing power, and its tweaking and diagnostics tools mean you’ll never suffer a tedious gaming crash again!

 

The Walking Dead: Season One

Fans of the ever-excellent Zombie-romping series The Walking Dead may have chanced upon this wonderful title from Telltale Games, but even if you haven’t caught the zombie bug yet, this app should be at the top of your download list. Winner of the 2012 Video Gaming Awards Game of the Year prize, this is unlike other gaming apps. With an utterly emotive, immersive story, gameplay that is both riveting and captivating. Featuring the ability for players to actually change the outcome of the story depending on their in-game actions, this is far more than a freemium or puzzle title, but should be played on a tablet instead of a smartphone, given its fairly meaty processing requirements.

 

Posted in: Apps & Games, Editorial
By April 16, 2015 Read More →

Huawei adds some stunning phones to it’s line up

huawei-p8_w_450Yesterday saw the lanuch of not three but two Huawei devices. We had been expecting the P8, P8 Max and the P8 Lite however only the P8 and P8 Max made it into the limelight. This is quite understandable as the two phones Huawei unveiled are quite easily two of the most exciting and extraordinary devices of the year.

First is the Huawei P8. This top end phone packs a HiSilicon Kirin 930 octa-core CPU that includes a cluster of four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2 GHz and another four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5 GHz. A GPU. The Kirin 930 SoC uses the Mali-T628MP4 GPU. Fronted by a 5.2″ screen with a Full HD 1080p resolution there is a second screen on the back, a built-in 4.3″ E-ink screen. The screen is always-on and can be used to read books or view notifications.

The P8 comes with a 2,600 mAh battery. Whilst the battery size might meet with some critics the P8 has an app power consumption firewall. The purpose of the firewall is to block all apps that have abnormal power usage. The company said the device should last an extra 2.3 days of standby time thanks to this feature. This will be an interesting feature to test and some may turn it off if it decides to block their Whatsapp. To facilitate things there is 3 GB of RAM and a choice of either 16 or 64 GB storage.

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Huawei also let loose the P8max, which comes with a slightly more powerful processor, the Kirin 935. The GPU is clocked at 2.2 GHz, giving it a 10 percent boost in performance. This is to help with the larger 6.8″ screen, which also happens to be the largest Full HD display in the world. To power such a beast of a screen the P8max has a much larger 4,360 mAh battery. This translates to 2.23 days of normal usage and 1.4 days of heavy usage, according to Huawei, obviously taking into account the afore mentioned firewall addition. 

Both P8’s feature a 13MP camera featuring OIS and a “DSLR-level” independent ISP from Altek, and it features 4-colour RGBW imaging for brighter images in high-contrast conditions, and far less noise in low-light situations. A lot of time has been spent by Huawei of late developing their camera technology and implementation. The P8’s OIS is should be twice as good as the iPhone 6’s brag Huawei.

One area Huawei seek to improve and one generally ignored by a great many manufacturers is the antenna. Huawei have put two antennas in the P8 to avoid any issues with signal blockage due to hand placement. The P8 intelligently switches the signal depending on where your hand is located.  In an effort to keep you connected the P8 will switch networks depending on where you are — such as your living room or at work — and it also appears to intelligently switch to a 3G or 4G alongside a Wi-Fi+ feature that’s designed to automatically connect to the best available Wi-Fi network.

Whilst the majority of the P8’s sold will feature a single-SIM variant, there’s also a dual-SIM model that supports two 4G LTE SIMs. The P8 has two nano SIM slots, although one of the two can also handle a Micro SD card.

The Huawei P8 “Standard” with 16 GB of storage will arrive in Titanium Grey and Mystic Champagne and cost 499 euro, while the “Premium” model with 64 GB of storage will come in Carbon Black and Prestige Gold and cost 599 euro.

The Huawei P8max “Standard” with 32 GB of storage will cost 549 euro and arrive in Titanium Grey and Mystic Champagne, while the Premium model with 64 GB of storage will cost 649 euro and come in Titanium Grey and Prestige Gold.

There was little to no mention of the P8 Lite, however we hope this will roll out in a timely fashion saving the best to last. The P8 is easily a line that is worthy of your attention.

 

Posted in: News, Phones
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