Author Archive: Matt

More than 20 years in the IT industry. Blogging with a passion and thirst for new technology since 2005.

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By June 9, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One compared (Part 3)

IMG_3310 Over the past few weeks I have been looking at the HTC One and and Samsung Galaxy S4 and so far I’ve compared the camera performance and expressed my opinion regarding the screens used in each device.

This week I’m turning my attention to the audio performance, specifically the loud speakers and speaker phone. In this respect the winner is far more clear than the previous tests we’ve performed but let’s have a look.

HTC have made a pretty big deal of the speakers that they’ve added to the HTC One, there have been numerous TV commercials and posters to explain what Boomsound is all about. Boomsound is the name that HTC have given the speaker and audio technology they’ve used on the HTC One.

In essence there are two front-facing loudspeakers in the HTC One. These have large acoustic chambers to give a greater dynamic range and more punch while a build in amplifier can pump up to volume. The fact that they are forward-facing is a huge benefit too and furthermore, being stereo mans that watching movies or listening to music with the phone at an average viewing distance yields great sound performance.

Posted in: Reviews
By June 2, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One compared (Part 2)

IMG_3307 Last week, in part one of my comparison between the HTC One and the Galaxy S4, I looked at the camera on both devices and published a selection of photos for you to make your own judgement with. Thanks to all that provided feedback.

This week I decided to concentrate on the screens of both devices in an attempt to decide which was best. Once again, the results of this were not as totally clear cut as I had initially expected, but I’ll discuss that as I go.

So lets start with the numbers.

The HTC One has a 4.7″ 1080×1920 (full HD) screen giving a 469 ppi pixel density. The technology used here is Super LCD3 and is, naturally, capacitive touchscreen. Covering the display, Gorilla Glass 2 aims to prevent scratches and knocks.

The Samsung has the same 1080×1920 resolution but is a slightly larger 5.0″ screen for a slightly lower 441 ppi pixel density. Instead of LCD, here you’ll find a Super AMOLED display this time covered with Gorilla Glass 3. I’m unsure as to the difference between the Gorilla Glass types but one assumes the 3 is better than 2.

Posted in: Reviews
By May 30, 2013 Read More →

Creating a Quality Website With 1 & 1

1and1.co.uk Having an attractive and informative website is essential for individuals and businesses looking to promote products, services, or just to keep others informed. However, efficiently building a quality website from scratch can seem a daunting task. Premier web hosts are available who can assist in creating such a website suited to one’s specific needs.

1&1 Internet Inc. is a leading Web hosting provider. The Company provides a complete portfolio of web services for business and personal needs. They gear their services to various skill levels and budgets. Their MyWebsite offering allows one to create a professional web presence quickly and easily, following easy-to-understand steps.

Posted in: Editorial
By May 29, 2013 Read More →

The Mobile Tech Addicts podcast will return!

Web bannerFans of our Mobile Tech Addicts podcast have been emailing, tweeting and calling to ask us if or when the show will return. We’ve always planned a return but our length of absence has been longer than expected. Gareth, our show host, has been building a brand new sound studio and the process has taken rather longer than expected.

So, the good news is that we are due to return with the show next week. We’ll have some new stuff going in as well as a separate NEW SHOW that we’ll tell you all about during the podcast.

We’re really excited about getting back to it along with some of the new stuff we have planned.

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
By May 28, 2013 Read More →

Lumigon T2 in stock and exclusive to eXpansys

Lumigon T2 Lumigon may not be a name that you have heard much yet but the Scandinavian company has recently launched their new T2 smartphone and it’s currently an eXpansys exclusive.

The new smartphone T2 from Lumigon integrates a sleek Scandinavian design, audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower®, Google Android® platform and several innovative features. It is designed to stand out from the crowd and enable the user to make a stylish statement.

T2 is designed with clear references to Lumigon’s origins in terms of Scandinavian design traditions renowned for simple and solid elegance. This is seen in the chosen materials – stainless steel and glass – as well as the minimalistic composition of the device.

The combination of an infrared remote control integrated in the top of T2 and a built-in learn function turns T2 into a universal remote control.

Furthermore T2 features a 3.8″ ultra-sharp screen with high resolution. It is powered by a 1.4 Ghz QualcommTM SnapdragonTM processor, which offers a fast and seamless browsing experience.

 

Lumigon T2 Tech specs

  • Platform: Android 4.0
  • CPU: 1.4 GHz Qualcomm SnapdragonT S2 processor
  • Memory: Internal phone storage: 8GB / RAM: 1GB / MicroSD, up to 2 TB
  • Display: 3.8-inch screen, 480×800 pixels resolution, Corning® Gorilla® Glass with anti-fingerprint coating
  • Camera: 8 megapixel camera with flash, backside illumination sensor
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth® 3.0 / Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n / 3.5 mm stereo audio jack / Micro-USB / NFC / Infrared receiver and transmitter
  • GPS: A-GPS
  • Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz / 3G/UMTS 800/850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz & AWS / Data 3G/HSDPA+ 14.4 Mbit/HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/GPRS/EDGE
  • Sensors: compass, G-sensor, gyroscope, proximity and light sensors
  • MS3 sound chip from Bang & Olufsen ICEpower®
  • Battery: User-replaceable lithium-ion battery
  • Dimensions: 116 x 59 x 9.9 mm
Posted in: News, Phones
Tags: ,
By May 25, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One compared (Part 1)

s4_one The Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One are two of the most popular devices on sale at the moment and are going head to head for the top smartphone spot. In fact the HTC One has already won a couple of industry awards, including Best New Mobile Handset at MWC earlier in the year.

I’ve been using the HTC One for a few months and the Galasy S4 for a couple of weeks so I thought it was about time that we started to compare some of the key features of both devices.

For the sake of full disclosure, I should say that I was not expecting to like the Galaxy S4. I wasn’t a big fan of its predecessor, the S3 and I was already using and very much enjoying the experience of the HTC One. However, after just a short period of time with the S4 I like it too!

The questions I most frequently have via Twitter at the moment is ‘Which is better the S4 or the HTC One?’ or ‘Should I buy the S4 or the HTC One?’. I think these questions are almost impossible to answer in isolation, there are many factors to be considered as each device is, obviously, different and therefore better at some things than others.

At time of writing this first part, of what a suspect will end up being 3 or 4 posts over the next week or so, I haven’t been able to make up my mind either. I’m switching between the S4 and One throughout the day depending upon what I want to do so I am also hoping that writing these comparison articles may help me decide too!

So in this first part I’m going to talk about the cameras on each device. As we have discussed in other posts on the site before, HTC have been quite brave with the choices they have made with the HTC One camera. Instead of chasing more and more megapixels HTC have gone the other way and reduced the pixel count down to 4.0MP while increasing the size of the individual pixels on the sensor. The result, they call the Ultrapixel camera, yields an over 300% increase in the amount of available light, and more light equals better pictures, in theory.

Samsung have have been rather more conventional with the S4 opting for a 13MP sensor. That’s not to say that it’s not a good sensor and that it’s not a good upgrade from the S3 but it’s the approach to cramming in more pixels.

So lets take a look at some of the photos. In all the samples below, there is no editing or cropping. HTC One on the left, S4 on the right:

 

Posted in: Reviews
By May 24, 2013 Read More →

TV Is Changing at Warp Speed

cool sofa In an increasingly media saturated culture, you might assume the number of households with televisions would be on the rise. But according to the folks at Nielsen, TV households dropped from 115.9 million during the 2010-2011 season to 114.7 million the following year. At first glance, it seems that people are simply watching less television, but perhaps the state of TV is actually changing.

There are a number of factors at play here, from the diminishing impact of network channels, to the new formats available to TV consumers. Basic cable and satellite packages run consumers about $30 a month, as noted on http://www.directtvdeal.com, while a streaming option like Netflix offers a range of TV and film content for $8 per month. As with the smartphone revolution that preceded it, it appears that the way we view and pay for TV is changing quickly.

Posted in: TV & Home Cinema
By May 19, 2013 Read More →

Galaxy S4 vs HTC One benchmark video

s4vone Two of the hottest Android smartphones on the market at the moment are the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. Both released at about the same time and both firmly at the top end of the market being flagship devices for their respective manufacturers.

These devices have polarised opinion. On one hand the HTC fans are rubbishing Samsung’s latest attempt while those preferring the S4 are doing the same of the HTC One. I’m constantly being asked which one I prefer or which one I think someone should buy. That’s a pretty big question and as I’ve only had my Galaxy S4 for a couple of days it’s one I’ll address later.

However, as there are many questions regarding the performance of these two devices I thought it would be interesting to run the same benchmark on both devices at the same time to give some indication. Bear in mind though that the benchmark score isn’t the be all and end all, many other factors should be considered but we’ll talk about those another time.

For now, check out the video below to see which phone comes out on top, the results may surprise you!

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By May 18, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy S4 unboxing video

s4 We all know that Samsung’s Galaxy S3 was one of the most popular phones last year and with the launch of the new Galaxy S4 just a few weeks ago Samsung are hoping that they’ve come up with another winning formula.

There really is no denying that the specification of the S4 has it sitting firmly at the top end but there’s also the top end price tag to match, costing in the region of £575 for the entry-level 16GB model all the way up to as much as £800 for the 64GB model. The prices are quite eye-watering.

However that money does buy you quite a lot from a 5″ Full HD Super AMOLED screen to the quad-core CPU that challenged the performance of almost everything else on the market.

This week, thanks to the folks over at Clove Technology, I’ve finally got our hands on a retail Samsung Galaxy S4. This is one handset that I have been looking forward to being able to play with to see how it compares to the HTC One that I now use as my primary device.

Initial impressions are that this is an awesome phone, great screen and slick performance but the build quality lets it down with a plastic design that doesn’t really match the specification and price tag which in comparison to the HTC One is just a bit of a let down not to mention very similar to the S3 of which I made the same complaint.

Those buying the 16GB model may also be disappointed with the amount of available memory that they have to play with, just 9GB out of the 16 is left for the user to store their apps.

However, the negatives above aside, the S4 performs really well, is thin and light and as mentioned already, has an awesome AMOLED screen.

Check out the unboxing and demo video below for more.

 

Posted in: Videos/Unboxings
By May 16, 2013 Read More →

Samsung Galaxy S4 criticised by BBC Watchdog

Galaxy-S4-black-and-white There have been many complaints on tech blogs and forums about the amount of free storage on Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 but it seems to have got to the point now where the issue has hit the radar of mainstream media, appearing as an item on BBC TV’s Watchdog programme last night.

The issue surfaced almost immediately after the launch of the S4 just a few weeks ago with many new owners copying files and apps from their old S2 or S3 and running out of space, despite the advertised space being the same as the previous model.

As it turns out, on a 16GB model only around 9GB is actually free for the user to store their own apps and media. That’s pretty bad!

In a statement to CNET, Samsung said users have the option to add more memory with a SD card, something its rivals the HTC One and iPhone can’t do.

For the Galaxy S4 16 GB model, approximately 6.85 GB occupies the system part of internal memory, which is 1 GB bigger than that of the Galaxy S3, in order to provide a high resolution display and more powerful features to our consumers.

Although the S4 does indeed have an SD card slot allowing for additional storage space it’s not possible to install apps on the memory card so this leaves it useful for music and video only.

Interestingly Samsung have hit out at the iPhone and the HTC One in their statement saying that neither of the competitors have micro SD card capability, however, neither of the competitors use almost half of the available storage just for the OS!

 

Posted by: Matt

Posted in: News
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