Phones

By February 13, 2017 Read More →

A look at the Vodafone Smart Platinum 7

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Vodafone has a self-branded, cost conscious, high-end smartphone to offer. Here we take a look at the contents of the box and quick peek as the phone operation ahead of an upcoming review. Essentially, this is a rebadged Alcatel Idol 4S and that is no bad thing, Blackberry pimped it out for the more expensive Dtek60. Vodafone has merely added their own software suite to the phone and brands to the box and in the glass.

Initial impressions are high as the device looks a feels very elegant, if a little slippery. The camera appears to be fast and responsive and the screen is beautiful. There is a noticeable step in quality from mid range options and whilst this does cost a little more you are getting a beautifully constructed device that is easily on par with devices priced £100 more.

One concern might be the Vodafone bloat. There is quite a bit however on closer inspection there isn’t much more than you would expect from a network branded device, in fact a number of the applicaitons added actually enhance the experience and utilise some of the hardware features we have seen ignored in the past.

  • Qualcomm MSM8976 Snapdragon 652, Octa-core (4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 & 4×1.2 GHz Cortex-A53)
  • 3 GB RAM
  • 32 GB + Expandable MicroSD
  • 5.5 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 1440 x 2560 pixels resulting in 534 ppi
  • 16 MP rear camera with LED flash, f/2.0,  phase detection autofocus
  • 8 MP front facing
  • Android 6.0.1

Stay tuned for a full review in the near future.

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
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By February 12, 2017 Read More →

Honor 6x now available at Carphone Warehouse

6xGREYThe all new Honor 6x is now available at Carphone Warehouse online.

Available in grey as a web exclusive at Carphone Warehouse, the Honor 6x packs a punch with a premium metal unibody design, a gorgeous 5.5”FHD display and a powerful octa-core processor. Honor’s new handset is available for £224.99, making it the perfect device for all budgets.

The Honor 6x boasts a range of key features, including a fingerprint scanner, dual SIM slots, Honor’s signature dual-lens camera with 12MP on the back and 8MP front-facing, a useful wide-aperture mode for the perfect shot as well as 32GB storage to hold all the best images.

Those looking for a gadget re-fresh can now purchase the Honor 6x at: https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/honor/6x.html.

Posted in: News, Phones
By January 25, 2017 Read More →

ARCHOS 55 Diamond Selfie goes on sale for the Selfie lover

ARCHOS 55 Diamond Selfie Smartphones OverviewPucker up and pose with your partner this Valentine’s Day through the ARCHOS 55 Diamond Selfie.

With ambassadors like Kim Kardashian, Ellen DeGeneres and even well-respected politicians, the world has become obsessed with taking ‘selfies’ – we average at around 1.2 billion selfies a year, here in the UK.

With the ARCHOS Diamond Selfie, you can take full advantage of the smartphone’s dual cameras, equipped with large megapixels and flash bulbs on both the rear and front camera – to get the best lighting in even the worst conditions.

The 4G connectivity means you can upload your loved-up Valentine’s snap to the wider selfie society at super-speed.

If you’re not a fan of public affection or the selfie craze – don’t panic – this all-encompassing phone can also be used with VR glasses, to fly drones and hunt Pokemon, if that’s more your thing.

The ARCHOS diamond selfie starts from £199.99 and is available in-stores or online: https://www.archos.com/us/products/smartphones/diamond/archos_55diamondselfie/index.html

Specifications:

  • 5.5 inch IPS Full HD screen with lamination technology
  • Dragontail reinforced glass and scratch resistant backside with metal details
  • Qualcomm octo-core processor boosted by 4 GB of RAM/64 GB of internal storage
  • Display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels
  • 8 MP front camera and 16 MP rear camera
  • 3000 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge technology
Posted in: News, Phones, Press Releases
By January 24, 2017 Read More →

Lenovo P2 Unboxing

Image32Peter takes a look at the newest budget phone from Lenovo, released exclusively to Three in the UK. This £199.99 4G phone has a stunning list of features for such a small price tag:

Lenovo P2 smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1920×080 and a PPI of 401 pixels per inch. A 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor powers the device backed by 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. A 13-megapixel primary camera sits on the rear and a 5-megapixel front facing camera for selfies. Currently the Lenovo P2 runs Android 6.0 with Nougat in the pipeline.

The killer feature of this phone is the 5100mAh non-removable battery. Also supporting fast charge a bundled dongle can turn your phone into a power bank for those in need.

It measures 153.00 x 76.00 x 8.20 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 177.00 grams. The P2 is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts Micro-SIM and Regular.

Check it out on Three here.

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
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By December 13, 2016 Read More →

Keep your new iPhone 7 safe this party season with these tough phone cases

unspecifiedWith Christmas approaching and the party season now in full swing, followed by the inevitable diet and health kick in the New Year, we thought we offer you some ideas for the toughest iPhone cases on the market.

There are a lot of benefits to selling your electronics online. For example, you can sell your iPhone to Buyback Boss and get an instant offer backed by a price match guarantee.

We have all had those boozy Christmas party nights when your phone becomes that extra little bit difficult to keep a hold of and slips through your fingers, onto the dance floor or pavement with an ominous thud. Well, now you have that bit of extra protection to ensure the hangover is the only thing you will be cursing the following morning.

In January it’s time to fight the bulge, whether that be getting out the running shoes or to get down the gym. Icy pavements or gym weights and machines are also perilous to unprotected mobile phones so be smart and wrap your device in one of the ultra-protective cases below.

The All Rounder

Cygnett WorkMate Pro Case for iPhone 7 (£19.95)

The WorkMate Protective Case for iPhone 7 offers full phone protection using dual complimentary materials as well as other ‘active’ user benefits such as the raised lip around the screen to protect your device as well as offer ‘lay flat protection’ when your device is face down. The WorkMate offers a more refined slimline designed case avoiding the bulkiness of other highly protective cases in the marketplace which sets it apart from all others. It is available in khaki green, white, black, red and grey.

Available from uk.cygnett.com for £19.95. (Currently on sale at £15.99!)

The Impact Absorber

The GEAR4 Carnaby iPhone 7 case featuring D3O impact absorbing technology (£34.99)

All GEAR4 cases available from www.gear4.com or Carphone Warehouse. D3O® materials in their raw state flow freely when moved slowly, but on shock, lock together to absorb and disperse energy, before instantly returning to their flexible state. This reaction is counter intuitive. The greater the force of the impact, the more the molecules lock together and the greater the protection. Integrated into all GEAR4 Black phone cases, the case range is the first to use an injection moulded grade of D3O® technology to deliver increased impact protection per cubic millimetre than other leading materials.

A new design for the iPhone 7, the Carnaby offers protection without the bulk and features a mesh of colour matched D3O® on the back to add further protection, with style.

It is also available for iPhone 7 Plus, and both cases are scratch resistant. Available in Gold, Rose Gold and Silver.

Available from www.gear4.com or Carphone Warehouse.

The Luxurious

The X-Doria Defense Lux iPhone 7 case (£29.99)

X-Doria’s Defense Lux for iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus brings together refined luxury and durability to create the ultimate protective case. Defense Lux features a simple snap-on construction, engineered with a soft inner rubber layer, impact resistant polycarbonate backing, and machined with an aluminium outer frame. The aluminium outer frame protects the perimeter of the iPhone, while inside, the soft rubber wraps around the phone protecting it from up to 6’6” drops on concrete, exceeding military drop test standards – MIL-STD-810G.  For a sophisticated look, the case is available in luxurious faux carbon fibre, soft leather, canvas or microfiber rear panel.

Available from Amazon for £29.99.

… and for the screen

Cygnett RealCurve 3D curved 9H Tempered Glass Screen Protectors (£19.95)

Offering edge-to-edge protection, the RealCurve features clear hardened glass, designed to perfectly match the curve of your iPhone screen. The six-layer construction provides maximum protection and ensures a quick, bubble-free application.

Available from uk.cygnett.com for £19.95.

Posted in: Accessories, Phones, Promotion
By December 8, 2016 Read More →

Kodak Ektra smartphone goes on sale

untitled-picture3There have been hearing rumours for some time, however, Kodak Ektra is arriving…now! With little build up or pre-release material, the Ektra puts photography first. Much like feature phones from years gone by Kodak it hoping their smartphone will rekindle some of those nostalgic moments for Kodak enthusiasts. Their new ‘photography first’ smartphone is designed to appeal to mobile photographers, perhaps those who are looking to the LG G5 CAM Plus and Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod. Designed to look like a camera from one side and a phone from the other, the Ektra includes a 21MP rear camera, a 13MP front camera, and features such as an F2.0 maximum aperture, phase detect autofocus and optical image stabilisation. Additionally, Google’s Snapseed editing software is integrated directly into the photo gallery app.

Spec-wise there’s a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage, a 5 inch, 1080p display, a 3000mAh battery that supports “Pump Express” quick charging and Android 6.0! The Ektra, is built by the British manufacturer Bullitt, which has previously made phones for the likes of JCB and the Ministry of Sound.

The Ektra phone costs £449, runs Android and due to be listed tomorrow on Germany’s Amazon store priced €499, but The Irish News is reporting that it has already gone on sale at a pop-up store in London.

  • 21MP main camera with Kodak non-reflective lens coating. Aperture f2.0.
  • Optical Image Stabilization and Auto Focus.
  • 13MP front-facing camera.
  • Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) & HDR Imaging.
  • 4K Video Capture.

  • Leading Helio X-20 Decacore Processor

  • 3000 mAh battery

  • 3GB RAM

  • 32GB Memory, expandable with MicroSD cards

  • 4K Video Capture.

Posted in: Cameras, News, Phones
By December 6, 2016 Read More →

2016 Christmas Gift Guide

christmas_gift_187449The market is saturated with devices, that is why GiftsforPeopleWho.com recommended us with Christmas ideas and where to get them at a great price.

Remember that you can also buy your gifts by using exclusive student deals to save money in your purchases.

Best Budget Mobile:

Moto G4

The last few generations of this phone have been one of the most recommended devices out there. Moto has got the balance of hardware and low price just right and it’s hard to find some who has bought one dropping anything but praise on the device.

John Lewis are selling the Moto G4 for £159.99.

WileyFox Swift 2

Of this little list, this is the only one with a 720 screen, however, the Wiley Fox Swift 2 is another perfect balance of style, performance, and hardware. Some have complained that the camera might be merely serviceable, however for the money everything here is a winner.

Amazon is selling the WileyFox Swift 2 for £119.99.

Honor 5X

Honor phones feel as is they are trying to sit midway between Apple and Android, appealing to both. They are almost successful. The grandeur of the Emui OS adds a great deal to the phone’s presentation. Combined with smooth performance and an agreeable price, the Honor 5X is great value.

Ebuyer is selling the Honor 5X for £167.98.

Best Mid-Range Mobile:

Honor 8

The Honor 8 is exceptional value for money, depending on when you purchase it. During sales, the price can drop below £300 making it easily one of the most recommended phones of the year. That camera combination is one of the best on the market and really only slightly surpassed by the iPhone. It is safe to say, in any colour, the Honor 8 is the best-looking device of 2016.

Honor 8 can be purchased from Vmall for £369.90 – £30 off Honor 8 with voucher code “DIGIN16”

Nexus 5X

An oldie, but a goodie. The Nexus 5X still has a bit of time left before Google will drop it off the update radar and the pricing has dropped to make it a steal. Naked Android with LG’s hardware makes a top-notch Android device that other manufacturers have yet to top.

Amazon have the Nexus 5X for £255 right now

OnePlus X

The little phone that dared. The OnePlus 3T is an improved version of the OnePlus 3. Taking everything that was criticised about the 3 and fixing it. However, the Oneplus X steals the thunder here, not only because it’s such a low price, but because the specs are fantastic. The 3 is almost £150 and the 3T £200 more.

The best price for the OnePlus X is from their own store at £189

Best High-End Phone:

Apple iPhone 7

Apple hasn’t reinvented the wheel for some time, however, they know how to put together a solid package that people can rely upon. Their boldest move has said goodbye to the 3.5 mm headphone jack, thankfully, aside from this, they have stepped everything up half a step over last year. It’s hard to deny this phone just works and looks beautiful. However, you will pay for the privilege.

Apple prices can be set in stone, however using code KRUQT  can grab £15 cashback with Very.

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Google Pixel

With much hesitation, I place this device on the list. Why? This is the overpriced Nexus successor, and now the only way to get all of Google’s greatness straight away. A phone that really doesn’t have any of the beautiful stylings manufacturer HTC are known for. Google has won us over the Nougat, however, the Pixel hardware adds little to experience. You are paying for a name.

Google Pixel prices start at £599 and go up. You can look but you won’t find them going down.

HTC 10

The forgotten phone of 2016. One of the best examples of looks and hardware, the HTC 10 is almost perfect. It seems like HTC is making one last ditched effort with their Flagships over the last few years and pouring in their heart and soul and no one is watching. This is simply a wonderful handset.

techinthebasket.com has the HTC 10 for £455.70

Best Tablet:

Apple iPad Pro 9.7

Like their phones, Apple knows their way around the tablet now. Where Android tablets are generally used as a secondary device for media on the go, Apple still focus on the tablet as a productivity device and it’s working, the Air and the Pro versions are used by most professionals. The Pro 9.7 sits right in the middle between the Air and the 12.9 Pro becoming Apple’s most perfected tablet so far.

John Lewis offer the 128gb variant for £639 includes a 3-year warranty

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

When considering a Windows 10 tablet, you really need to go to the top end to get the best experience. Hardware matters with Windows. The Surface Pro line is a shining example of how well Windows can run and how powerful an operating system it can be.

Argos have the Surface Pro 4 for £599. Incredible price.

Asus ZenPad 3S 10

Asus are putting a huge amount of effort into their products right now, and deserve to be noticed. The ZenPad 3S is pretty amazing and one of the best Android tablets out there. Wafer thin, dazzling display and packed with enhancements and features.

You can grab the ZenPad 3S (Z500M) from PC World for £299.99

Best Laptop:

ASUS Zenbook UX360UA

The Asus Zenbook are looking at Apple and bring the MacBook experience to Windows 10 at a fraction of the price. A beautifully lightweight design coupled with powerful innards and a great selection of customisation for the consumer mean the Zenbook is the best option if you are not interested in paying Apple prices or are invested in the Windows ecosystem.

ASUS Zenbook Flip UX360UA is on amazon for £799.99

Posted in: Deals & Offers, Gadgets, Laptops, Phones, Tablets
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By December 2, 2016 Read More →

An affordable picture-perfect gift from Archos

archos_55diamondselfie-large_01With ambassadors like Kim Kardashian, Ellen DeGeneres and even well-respected politicians, the world has become obsessed with taking ‘selfies’ – we average at around 1.2 billion selfies a year, here in the UK.

With the ARCHOS Diamond Selfie, you can take full advantage of the smartphone’s dual cameras, equipped with large megapixels and flash bulbs on both the rear and front camera – to get the best lighting in even the worst conditions. With 4G connectivity, you can upload your snap to the wider selfie society, across social platforms at super-speed.

If you’re not a fan of the selfie craze – don’t panic – this all-encompassing phone can also be used with VR glasses, to fly drones and hunt Pokemon, if that’s more your thing.

The ARCHOS diamond selfie starts from £199.99 and is available in-stores or online: https://www.archos.com/us/products/smartphones/diamond/archos_55diamondselfie/index.html

Specifications:

  • 5.5 inch IPS Full HD screen with lamination technology
  • Dragontail reinforced glass and scratch resistant backside with metal details
  • Qualcomm octo-core processor boosted by 4 GB of RAM/64 GB of internal storage
  • Display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels
  • 8 MP front camera and 16 MP rear camera
  • 3000 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge technology
Posted in: Deals & Offers, News, Phones
By November 8, 2016 Read More →

iPhone 7 case Shoot Out

img_5389Recently we received a selection of cases for the iPhone 7 and since I have been dubbed the sites’ “iPhone guy”, it fell to me to discover the merits of each. The sample that arrived was the Cygnett Urban Wallet, the x-doria Revel and the gear4 Soho. Cases are a very subjective item, so this will be entirely based on my opinion. If I was to part with my hard earned pennies on one of these, which one would I choose? Time for a head to head shootout methinks.

Presentation

All 3 arrived in rather swanky packaging, with slide out trays, flip up cover and magnets galore. There was plenty of information clearly displayed and all conveyed a sense of quality. No real winner so far. I’m not sure how I feel about extravagant packaging. On one hand, it adds confidence that you are getting a quality product, but on the other, saving a few quid on a more functional box could drop the price.

Design

I love the idea of the Cygnett. It’s a walled design, but the actual case is held in the wallet with magnets, meaning that you have the option of running your phone in a simple case if you were mounting the case in your car for example and then simply clip it into the wallet for pocket carry. I love the versatility of it. Once in the wallet, the lap is held closed with another magnet.

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The x-doria is a sleek and simple case. It’s constructed of a translucent rubbery plastic and has very useful rubberised grippy panels down each side for traction in sweaty mitts. The Revel offers a number of colours and pictures on the case so you can pick the one most applicable to you. t fits very snugly on the phone so t doesn’t alter the profile too much.

The gear4 Soho is again a fairly simple design with a clear plastic backing and a rubberised surround.  Gear4 claim that the case meets military drop standards of 3m/9ft and I could believe it. The case fits the phone well and there is a good amount of squishiness (apologies for getting too technical) which would certainly help absorb impacts.

Picking holes

Whilst I love the idea of a removable wallet, the magnets on the Cygnett aren’t super strong and I would be concerned that they are the only thing holding my precious phone in place. The actual case offers little in the way of protection. It looks pretty but the sides do not sit proud of the screen so there is no protective bezel and no impact defence when it’s outside the wallet.

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The x-doria is simple in design so offers a sort of midway point between protection and low profile. There is a slight raised bezel, but it’s so small that if you have a glass screen protector, it will sit flush. The grippy surround definitely adds to the traction, but it is very rigid and, given how tightly this case fits, there is little impact protection.

The gear4 has a transparent case and we all know what that means. After a while, it’s going to look like frosted glass as it shows every scuff and scratch. Also if you are in the habit of tucking the odd item behind the case – password notes, emergency cash, metal panels for magnetic mounts, etc forget it. and finally, whilst offering the best protection of the 3, it’s also the chunkiest.

So who gets my cash?

This is actually quite a tough decision as, despite my nitpicking, I do actually like all 3 of these cases. So this comes purely down to personal preference. I think I will have to discount the Cygnett simply because of the confidence, or lack thereof. I’m sure my phone would be more than safe in it, but I just can’t get passed the thought that its al just held together with some small magnets and that’s asking a fair bit of trust.

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I really like the x-doria. I wasn’t familiar with the Californian based company, but I checked their site and some of their other cases look really impressive particularly their more rugged ones. The Revel I got is blue with a picture of a Husky on it, which is nice if you are into Huskies, but It doesn’t do much for me personally. Now if the Revel (minus the husky) were to fit into the Cygnett wallet (and they made the magnets stronger), that could be really something appealing.

My personal tastes run towards the more protective cases and gear4 Soho, whilst it doesn’t appear as a rugged case, certainly inspires some confidence. Add a decent screen protector and you are good to go. As the winner, I carried this case in my pocket for a couple of weeks and was actually surprised to note that the transparent plastic has held up rather well and looks almost good as new. Yes, the fact that you can see the metal plate which I use to attach it to the (super strong) magnetic holder in my car is visible, but it’s a black panel on a black phone, so it’s not a deal breaker.

So the winner for me is the gear4 Soho. It’s certainly not perfect, but in this shootout, it came closest to the bullseye.

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Posted in: Accessories, Phones, Reviews
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By October 31, 2016 Read More →

Archos Diamond Selfie Review

archos-55-diamond-selfieWith superior build quality the Archos Diamond Selfie is marred by a couple of little concerns, however, these can easily be ironed out by a software update. It has to be said that once you pick up the Archos diamond selfie it’s difficult not to fall in love with it. The all metal surround and the black glass really give off a real, premium feel. Certainly there is a lot of weight and heft to the device, however, you will quickly notice just how slippery the device is, especially on a cold day.

The Archos Diamond Selfie has some of the best specs we have seen in a phone from Archos and that are very competitive for the price bracket too.

  • Display – 5.50-inch 1920 x 1080 (FHD) IPS, Full lamination
  • Processor – Qualcomm MSM8937, Octa-core Cortex-A53 1.4 GHz
  • Front Camera – 8-megapixel
  • Resolution – 1080×1920 pixels
  • RAM – 4GB DDR3
  • OS – Android 6.0
  • Storage – 64GB + Micro SD card, up to 128GB
  • Rear Camera – 16-megapixel
  • Battery Capacity – 3000mAh Li-ion, Quick Charge

Looking around the device on the top there are two slits for the antennas and a 3.5-millimetre headphone jack.

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On the right-hand side lies a volume rocker the power button and another antenna slit.

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At the bottom are some fool speaker grills, that we will get back to those later, a microphone hole and a micro USB charger slot. Again some antenna slits.

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On the left-hand side is only has an indentation for the micro SD and SIM card tray. This is where we come to one of the first problems with the phone. This tray is not flush with the device you can feel it move ever so slightly every time you run your finger over it. Your fingernail will stop at the slight protrusion at the hole for the sim ejector tool. The tray itself fits two cards, a microSD or Micro SIM in one and a Nano SIM in the other.

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The back is entirely black glass and finger print city. At the top are the camera and the LED flash. Midway down there is a fingerprint reader and towards the bottom a whole for the speaker. Yes, the speaker is on the back of the device despite the two grills either side of the micro USB connector.

The screen is almost perfect, it’s beautiful, bright, responsive, and efficient. Archos have added an extra button to the screen buttons toward the bottom of the screen. This button removes the onscreen buttons to maximise the screen resolution.

The battery life of the device is quite impressive. Having used it for a few days as my main device I noticed that I was finishing the day with around 40% left, perhaps I don’t have as many apps installed on this as I do with my Nexus 6P, however, having it finish the day with a good bit more than I usually have, is quite impressive.

Android itself runs perfectly smoothly on this device there is very little in the way of additions from Archos. Aside from a couple of applications that they have added, that are not required to be installed during the initial setup. However, there has been a button added to the interface of the Task Manager. A small, ugly button, off centre, to speed up your device the closes all of the applications.

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As it turns out these grills at the bottom are purely cosmetic, the speaker is situated on the back of the device. Whilst this is hardly a problem, or a flaw, it just opens a little concern as to why there would be grills at the bottom, did the device have to be reworked at a later stage in development for reason?

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As this phone is called a Selfie, you would expect there to be an impressive experience with the photos front facing camera. In truth the camera works well, however, the added features in the beautification mode mean that camera’s on-screen preview run at around 15 frames per second, and in low-level light, the preview is around 2 frames per second. I can only hope this device has an early version of the selfie software and retail will see an update.

Flip the camera round the to the rear camera and you have 120 frames per seconds on the preview and it looks gorgeously smooth, the exact opposite of the front facing camera.

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The shots are crisp and attractive. There is little in the way of compression, and honestly, this camera turns out to be one of the better cameras on the marker for the money, Archos have done some great work here. As you can see from the gallery below the colour mix is impressive and the clarity is never questionable.

So what is wrong with the Archos Diamond Selfie? Not that much, to be entirely honest. The phone is retailing for around £200 and what you are getting is amazing. Certainly, you can notice where some of the cutbacks have been made. The lack of precision on the sim card tray, no support for the 5Ghz wifi spectrum, the weight. However, what it does have it is hard to find in that price range, a decent stills camera, a beautiful screen, 64gb of expandable storage and a speedy performance. I really like this phone and I am prepared to admit that I honestly wondered why I paid more than double for a Nexus 6P.

Posted in: Phones, Reviews
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