Roxanne Briean

Apple Watch Differences between Models

March 17, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Apple recently released some details regarding their upcoming new device called the Apple Watch. The company also confirmed the rumors that they will manufacture 18k gold watches that will cost more than $10,000, but what are the Apple Watch differences?

On March 9 at the Spring Forward event, the tech giant said that Apple Watch Sport will retail at a price of $349 for the version for smaller wrists at 38mm and $399 for larger wrists at 42mm.

The Apple Watch Sport is made out of anodized aluminum which the company claims it’s as light as normal aluminum but significantly stronger. Its screen is made out of an ion strengthen glass and the back of the watch is built out of plastic. Apple Watch Sport comes with a wrist band made out of fluoroelastomer which comes in five different colors: black, white, pink, green and blue.

The Apple Watch Sport comes with a magnetic charging cable, two wrist bands, a USB adapter, three months of technical support and a year of hardware warranty. For an extra fee, the user will be able to extend the technical support to two years.

The 38mm Apple Watch will cost $549 and the 42mm one will cost $599. The bands will determine how much it will cost. The prices listed above are for the models with a white or black band. You can also buy an Apple Watch with a Milanese loop or a classic buckle for $649 for smaller wrists or $699 for the bigger 42mm model.

The 42mm Apple Watch is also available with a stone, light brown, black leather or bright blue leather loop for $699. The bands on the Apple Watch are made out of Venezia leather which will be handcrafted in Italy. The 38mm model also comes with a modern buckle for $749. The buckle is made in France and has an inner coating made out of Vectran weave. This is the same material NASA used for the airbags used for landing on the Mars rover. The buckle comes in black, brown, soft pink and midnight blue.

There is also a link bracelet made from the same material Apple used for the case of the watch and the 38mm one costs $949 while the 42mm one is $999. The black model will cost $1,049 for smaller wrists and $1,099 for larger ones.

The Apple Watch has a sapphire screen and a back made out of ceramic, just as the Apple Watch Edition.

The smaller version of the Apple Watch Edition will retail at $10,000, while the larger one will cost $12,000. These are the prices for the watches that come with a simple white or black fluoroelastomer band. The 42mm Apple Watch Edition also comes with a classic buckle for the price of $15,000 and the smaller one is also available with a rose gray or bright red modern buckle and it will cost $17,000.

The Apple Watch Edition comes with an 18k yellow or rose gold case, a ceramic back and a sapphire crystal screen. These models will come with all the accessories included with the other models as well as a two year warranty that will cover technical support and hardware repair.

All the Apple Watch models are water resistant and feature Force Touch and Retina display. The Apple Watch also features an ambient light sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a digital crown and a heart rate sensor. All the models come with a microphone and speaker which can be used for dictating messages and answering calls. The Apple Watch also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi built in. You can get up to 18 hours of battery life on a single charge. This is better than most people anticipated but it will still require the user to charge the Apple Watch every night.

Apple demonstrated some of the functions in the event, such as using the Apple Watch as a TV remote, checking stocks, browsing through Instagram, dictating notes on Evernote and unlocking a Starwood Hotel room door.

You will be able to pre-order all the models on April 10 and Apple will start to sell the models on April 24.

If you’re curious about the Apple Watch price we’ve made a list of all the models, complete with their specific prices:

38mm Apple Watch Sport – $349
42mm Apple Watch Sport – $399
38mm Apple Watch (Fluoroelastomer Band) – $549
42mm Apple Watch (Fluoroelastomer Band) – $599
38mm Apple Watch (Classic Buckle) – $649
42mm Apple Watch (Classic Buckle) – $699
38mm Apple Watch (Milanese Loop) – $649
42mm Apple Watch (Milanese Loop) – $699
38mm Apple Watch (Modern Buckle) – $749
42mm Apple Watch (Leather Loop) – $699
38mm Apple Watch (Stainless Steel Link) – $949
42mm Apple Watch (Stainless Steel Link) – $999
38mm Apple Watch (Black Stainless Steel Link) – $1,049
42mm Apple Watch (Black Stainless Steel Link) – $1,099
38mm Apple Watch Edition 18k Yellow/Rose Gold (Fluoroelastomer Band) – $10,000
42mm Apple Watch Edition 18k Yellow/Rose Gold (Fluoroelastomer Band) – $12,000
42mm Apple Watch Edition 18k Yellow Gold (Black/Midnight Blue Classic Buckle) – $15,000
38mm Apple Watch Edition 18k Rose Gold (Rose Gray Modern Buckle) – $17,000
38mm Apple Watch Edition 18k Yellow Gold (Bright Red Modern Buckle) – $17,000

Image source: 1

Lollipop Update for Sony Xperia Z Coming Soon

March 14, 2015 By Roxanne Briean 1 Comment

People who own Sony smartphones other than the Xperia Z series may be restless because the long awaited Android 5.0 Lollipop won’t be coming to their phones. However, the Lollipop update for the Sony Xperia Z line will be coming very soon. Those who own the Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3 Compact and the Xperia Z3 in the United States will receive the Android 5.0 Lollipop update sometime in March, this year.

This information comes from the R&D team of the company in India, which has leaked the information to an online publication. The publication managed to get a hold on Sony’s schedule of update release and it is dated March 8.

The schedule reveals that the Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3 have the Android 5.0 update status finalized. The OTA panel shows that the update is currently uploading. This means that we can safely assume that the Andoird 5.0 Lollipop is currently being loaded on Sony’s servers and the release is quite imminent.

The team has also shared that the size of the update for the Sony Xperia Z2 will be 517.86MB and for the Xperia Z3 will be 630.23MB. The update is scheduled to come pretty soon for users that own Xperia Z devices and they will get to take advantage of great enhancements and new features.

The official Sony Mobile Indonesia Facebook page shows that Xperia Z devices in that region will get the Lollipop update after week 12, which means post March 16. Sony also revealed some new features such as multi-user support, better screen lock, optimal storage and intelligent user interface. These features will be available when the Android 5.0 Lollipop will make its way to Xperia Z devices. People who own these kinds of devices will also get the ability to move apps from the internal storage to the SD card.

This update is said to be 1.2GB large and take around 20 minutes to install.

Some other Xperia devices that are believed to benefit from the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, other than the Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3, include the Xperia ZR, Xperia Z, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia Z1, Xperia ZL and Xperia Z Ultra.

Xperia owners who will get the Lollipop update will need to make sure they have at least 50 percent battery life left on their device and at least 640MB free storage space before downloading the software update.

So there you have it. The Lollipop update for Sony Xperia Z devices is coming very soon.

Image source: 1

Settings to Change on the Nexus 6

March 14, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Google finally announced late last year its new smartphone called the Nexus 6 along with the Nexus 9 tablet, Android 5.0 Lollipop and the Nexus Player. While Lollipop and the new smartphone do have a lot to offer we present to you some settings to change in the Nexus 6.

There are numerous reasons to get a Nexus 6 instead of an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy S5, especially hardware wise. There are also some software, features and settings that also make this quite an impressive smartphone. Here are some settings to change on the Nexus 6.

These settings can really improve the battery life, experience and will help you take full advantage of your new Nexus 6. Increasing the font on the phone, enabling the battery saver setting and adding some additional security are only a few of the numerous settings you can change on the Motorola-made Nexus 6.

Google announced yesterday that the new Android 5.1 Lollipop will be coming to the Nexus 6. While our Nexus 6 isn’t running the latest software, the device will do so in the near future. It’s highly unlikely that the settings and options we present to you will change so there’s no need to panic. With that being said, let’s dive right in.

The Nexus 6 has a great 2K 6 inch display that everyone will love. You can really enjoy watching a movie on the huge screen and because of the dual speakers on the front of the device. Not to mention that this is the first Nexus that comes with great battery life. While there definitely are numerous things you can love about the device, there are some that may be improved on it.

The large display of the Nexus 6 combined with the very high resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 means that the text may appear small to some people. Even though every graphic and line is clear and crisp, some people will still find that the text is a little too small for the screen. But thankfully, there is a way to change the font size on the Nexus 6 and it doesn’t even require any effort.

Inside the app browser, go to Settings or swipe two fingers downward on the screen then select the settings menu. After you select it, tap on Display. Search for a setting called Fonts and tap on it. There you will find four different options to choose from: Huge, Large, Normal (this one is the default) and Small. While most people tend to use Normal, the Large one may suit you better.

Disable the emergency broadcast alerts

It’s true that this isn’t the most in your face feature available on the new smartphone, but when you have to deal with it, it can get a little annoying. I’m talking about the emergency broadcast alerts, of course. This will make your phone start an alarm out of nowhere, in full volume, regardless of what settings you use. Most of the times, this is to alert you of severe weather conditions, Amber alerts or other broadcasts sent out by your city or state.

You may want to keep some of them enabled just for emergencies, but they tend to be very loud and annoying so make sure you disable the ones that you don’t want to have anything to do with.

Go into Settings and tap on More, then on Emergency broadcasts. From this menu simply deselect all the ones you don’t need. I left the Extreme alerts still turned on but I’ve turned off all of the rest, mostly because I don’t want my phone to scare me half to death when I least expect it. Make sure you also deactivate the vibration option as it will vibrate for a long time and very loud, at full power.

Enable battery saver mode

The huge display on the new smartphone is the biggest battery killer. Even though the Nexus 6 has a 3,220 mAh battery and a Turbo Charge feature that allows you to use the phone for 6 hours with only a 15 minute charge, sometimes this is simply not enough. Google added a Battery Saver option in the Android Lollipop and you’ll definitely want to turn this on from time to time.

Go into Settings, then Battery at the bottom, tap on the three dots on the right of the upper part of the screen and tap on Battery Saver. Even though this isn’t a setting that you should use permanently, it does come in handy occasionally. The Battery Saver option kills background data and lowers the brightness of the screen to give you more battery life.

It’s true that you won’t be allowed to do most things but your Nexus will last for a very long time and you will be able to make phone calls or send texts. It’s a very useful feature that you should be aware of. Make it enable itself when your battery reaches 15% and it will automatically do so, giving you enough battery life when you absolutely need it.

Security

Android is great for syncing your Gmail account and other features but it generally lacks one important thing: security. You can set up a pattern lock or a passcode in under one minute which will protect your smartphone against strangers in the event that you lose it or that it’s stolen. Android 5.1 even brings a new security feature that’s called device protection. When this feature is enabled, even after a factory reset, your phone won’t be able to be used unless your Google account is signed in. This being said, you will want to secure your smartphone.

Slide the notification bar down and go to settings then Security, Screen Lock and from that select PIN, Password or Pattern.

In this menu there’s also an option called “Owner info” that will appear on the lockscreen. You can add your phone number, Facebook account or any other information. Be sure to fill in some information that will help you get your phone back in case an honest person finds it.

There are two more useful security options that you should be aware of. Go to the Google Play Store and enable the password protection for in-app purchases in the settings menu. This will make sure that you won’t get billed with app purchases in case you lose your phone. Also, your kids won’t be able to make purchases without your permission. Go to the Android Device Manager and prepare your smartphone for the services. By doing this, you will be allowed to lock, call and erase the data on your phone in case you lose it or it’s stolen.

Many people should think about securing their devices, but most of them don’t. This is the first thing you need to make sure when using a new device and the Nexus 6 is no exception.

Disable ambient light

A cool feature on the Moto X and many Motorola smartphones called Active Display (Moto Display) is the ability of the phone to pulse off and on with information and notifications. This was also added to the Nexus 6 but it was renamed Ambient Display. The phone knows when you pick it up and will give you a black and white screen with recent notifications and it’ll turn itself off shortly after. While this is a great feature, a single tap of the screen will fully light it up and you’ll often pocket dial people and will cause your screen to be on when you don’t need it which will drain the battery.

The feature is pretty cool in theory but it was one of the first features I turned off on the Nexus 6. Slide the notification bar down and tap the settings button. Go to Display and you will find the setting there. Tap on the Ambient Display option and you will turn it off. That’s the only thing you need to do to get rid of the feature.

This is a great feature and I really like it but Google should update this to be more precise or I’ll always keep it turned off.

Change default text messenger app

The default text messenger app was changed to Hangouts ever since Android KitKat. The new Nexus 6 also uses the Hangouts app as the default one but you may want to change this. You will be happy to know that you can actually do this.

To change the default app head to Settings and then More. Tap on the Default SMS option and you will see all the apps that are installed on your device. I personally like Textra SMS but feel free to use whatever you want if the stock one isn’t to your liking.

This is all that you have to do to change the default text messenger app.

Conclusion

There are numerous options, features and settings you can change on the Nexus 6 running on Android Lollipop. A few other features you might be interested in are the Do Not Disturb Notification options, the Smart Lock option and several other new ones in the Lollipop operating system.

The Nexus 6 is certainly a great device but everyone has different needs and you will have to play around with its settings to see what works for you. This was our list of settings to change on the Nexus 6.

Image source: 1

Review: the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows (13”)

March 12, 2015 By Roxanne Briean 1 Comment

PC aficionados who dig new tech breakthroughs will be wooed with the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13-inch. Takes a moment to be seduced and a lifetime to earn high fidelity, but this one of a kind device is the ultimate must-have and must-use when it comes to exploring the great value and productivity relationship.

The Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 12-inch is a rough $599 and is purely awe-inspiring if you’re looking for the comfort of using a tablet with PC capacities. The first thing that pops your eye is its outstanding aesthetics. It is an object of desire. However, on the long run, the technical benefits versus looks can be quite downsized, especially for somebody who needs more than a beautiful object with a handful of capacities. We’ll start here with its barrel-like edge and continue with depicting its outstanding design, while analyzing its solid points and more arguable characteristics.

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Design

Well, she’s for sure got the look! The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13 is has a charming simplicity in design, which obviously gives it loads of bonus points. First of all, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13 is packed with everything such a device needs to be in order to provide their owner with lots of mobility and multitasking facilities. It basically takes user friendly to a higher ground. First of all, it is quite a glory box. It’s metallic, so it will eventually be prone to scratches if it hits some rough surface, but otherwise, it does have a solid feel and appearance. Do handle with care!

The metal barrel that stands for the bottom of the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13, containing literally anything users might need from the tablet. The display sits above a circular area of a sharp 13-inch high-definition display with a 2560 x 1440 display. It also comes packed with a frontal web camera that makes it as easy to use as a smart phone or tablet. USB’s and other essential port are located at the bottom of the barrel, while the headphone jack and microHDMI are seated on the right. The left edge provides a circular power button, a microUSB port and the volume control.

Pretty good yet, isn’t it? However, it only features one full-size USB port, and most of us will go for two or three, just for safety. Think charging the phone while downloading data to an external hard drive and wanting to plug in a card reader as well for that matter. Not very versatile in that way, indeed. The Windows button can be quite confusing too, as one might be tempted to shut it down from the round power spot. When it comes to the keyboard of the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13, it’s large and has physical keys that would make you comfortable with using them, at least in theory. However, it may lack other essentials. To be more precise, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13 is all about Bluetooth.

Which translates into this: when you won’t turn it off, you’ll need to charge it from the Yoga Tablet 2 itself with a cable. Which is fine, also. Except for one issue. If both devices are power dry at the same time, you’re literally off the map. The keyboard also doesn’t provide any underneath support, which makes it a tad too flexible. It bounces when you click on things and easily goes out of hand as you type considerably. It also has magnet touch, as Microsoft built strong magnets into their tablets, but it’s not strong enough, and the keyboard may simply drop when you are carrying the device around.

Specs, Pricing and Performance

This is by far more than a tablet. Its capacity is extremely vast. With its Intel Atom processor that’s capable of boosting all the way to 1.86 GHz and 4GB of RAM that powers the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13-inch, this gadget may seem a breakthrough. It comes packed with a fine 64GB of storage and the option to add more through a microSD card slot. To complete the package, add the front-facing web camera and a battery able to keep it running for 15-hours. However, the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13-inch doesn’t really fall, with all these, under regular tablet standards and regulations. The Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13-inch runs a full version of Windows. Luckily, unlike other tablets, this makes it proper for running desktop apps.

Miles and miles of HD streaming and Kindle-like feel

This device promises entertaining and powerful user engagement. A full HD screen and a mile stone in providing an exhilarating experience when it comes to reading, as the rounded edge of the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13 inch makes the portrait book format more accessible than other tablets. Readers will love this. It’s like a more interactive Kindle. Video watching in high-definition, and video playback time are also upgraded, with a span of up to nine hours of video streaming and web browsing. It is less than the company was said to deliver, but this only may occur when brightness level is kept at its highest. Basically, same as your smart phone does.

But when it comes to pricing, we’re not in Kansas anymore. The Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13 inch costs a rough $599. A fair price you’d say – for all the beautiful tweaks it comes along with – but that is still clearly more expensive than any basic notebooks that were equipped with better processors. Running the Google Chrome browser with a couple of tabs in it can actually slow down the machine.

While everything would open quickly at first, the tablet will eventually start to load browsers very slowly. And that can be maddening. It’s super attractive and neat, but, in all truth, there are full-cost notebooks out there that provide better performance for that money. Sometimes looks are not everything and here is definitely that case.

With all the naturally mixed feelings towards the Yoga Tablet 2 with Windows 13 inch, our recommendation addresses certain niches. You will really enjoy this if you have to work remote, travel light, work around with media or reading from a comfortable device. Its design and facilities make it a complete go-for. Unless you are looking for a super self sufficient computer, you’ll be actually happy with this purchase. It’s a marvelous hybrid. It has downsides, of course. Sometimes you’ll find maddening that it doesn’t have a better relationship with your mouse or can’t give you the option to plug in more than just one cable.

You might accidently turn it off and the keyboard may turn out slippery. But those of you who are all about generous display, reading, viewing and entertainment mode, this might do the job. Keep in mind that there are resourceful or cheaper other options and look into all the traits that interest you thoroughly. After all, a top rated 2 in 1 may be the match made in Haven for you or your business’s needs, or it could be just a nice to have gadget that helps you out in a wide array of situations.

Image Sources: ibtimes, Arstechnica, Source 3

HTC One M9 Preview

March 10, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The first thing you will probably notice about the HTC One M9 is that it looks the same as the previous model. It’s probably because of the fact that HTC knows when they’re doing a great job and don’t wish to change the design too much. In short: If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

But what exactly is new inside the HTC One M9 if the design looks the same, you might ask. Well, there are quite a few changes made to the new smartphone but not all of them are for the better.

Here is our HTC One M9 preview.

The build quality on the HTC One M9 is, as always, great. The new generation smartphone is a tiny bit narrower, fatter and shorter than the previous M8 model. The chassis of the new mobile phone is great. It’s very fast and we didn’t face any problems with the HTC smartphone, even though it uses the same Snapdragon 810 chip found in LG’s G Flex2 (but to be fair, we haven’t encountered any serious issues with LG’s mobile phone, either). The device performs really well, mostly because it has 3GB of RAM which made browsing the web and switching between apps a walk in the park.

An annoyance regarding its design is the metal lip running around the phone’s edge. This was put there by HTC to help you get a better grip of the device. It’s nice that HTC actually listened to the feedback from its customers but the metal lip can feel awkward at times, especially when it sticks into your palm. Small design touches like this one seem very strange and foreign when you’re used to the more comfortable HTC One M8.

These little touches are what the philosophy of the One M9 design is. The company tried to make a more premium smartphone but the M8 was such a good phone that it didn’t need any serious changes. HTC moved the power button under the right edge of the M9 and the volume rocker was split into two buttons. A MicroSD slot can still be found above. The company also made one of the speaker grilles smaller in order to make room for the somewhat bigger front facing camera.

HTC felt there wasn’t much to change in terms of design and we mostly agree with its decision to keep things clean and familiar.

However, there are some changes that we don’t really agree with. One of these changes is the 20MP camera on the back of the M9. The company decided to move the UltraPixel technology on the front facing camera and use a 20MP Sony sensor on the back. Our early tests have shown that the new camera seems a bit worse than the camera found on the previous generation. Color temperature and white balance seem inferior right out of the box. Photos taken with the M8 were a lot better than the ones we took with the new M9. Using the M9 in good lighting conditions proved to work a lot better and we hope that future software updates will fix all the issues with the camera.

Speaking of software, HTC made a lot of changes to the Sense Seven UI. We’ve always enjoyed the Sense user interfaces but it looks like they’re losing momentum seeing how several other phone manufacturers are making their own UIs. The new UI seems to go on uncharted territories for the company but the changes are actually some of the best we’ve seen from HTC.

BlinkFeed is still present and it’s still filled with news from your preferred sources but now it will also analyze your past preferences and location to give you more accurate suggestions. Also, the apps you download go inside a folder called Downloads rather than on your home screen. This is truly a nice touch, seeing how the home screen can get a little messy.

HTC One M9 Customization Features

What’s more important is that now you can customize the themes on your phone. You can customize pretty much everything from the icon sets to the launcher to the wallpaper in order to meet your desires.

HTC offers some themes to choose from directly out of the box but the company wants us to start sharing, making and even selling our own themes to others. When I first heard of this I wasn’t exactly sure how to react, seeing how in the past we saw how tweaking with the design can turn a standard look into an unrecognizable mess. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just think about MySpace.

But this isn’t the case. If you scramble around tiny parts from the official themes you end up with something that looks pretty bad but not entirely horrible. The best results we’ve had were when we loaded an existing theme and swapped only small things around, such as the icon sets and the keyboard.

The Sense Home widget raises the most important question mark for now. This is a widget that allows you to quickly access the apps it thinks you’re going to need, depending on where you currently are: Out, Work or Home.

There is a folder called Suggestions that highlights apps you may find useful, based on your history of usage. However, HTC didn’t make it clear if it’s going to partner with third parties to offer you suggestions that have been sponsored. If this is the case, the widget may prove to be somewhat useless.

We don’t want to get into too much detail, seeing how we only tested the device for a small period of time and we’ll have to wait until we get our hands on a review unit to make a full HTC One M9 review. Nevertheless, it looks like HTC clearly went for polish instead of progress in this year’s generation of HTC One.

This seems only fair, seeing how we can’t expect companies to completely redesign everything from scratch year after year. The HTC One M9 is a really good smartphone but it’s not all that impressive. I guess only time will tell if these small improvements/differences will mean something to those considering purchasing one.

Image source: 1

Microsoft Lumia 640 Review

March 9, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Microsoft really does a great job when it comes to building a budget smartphone. The company’s latest line of Lumia smartphones, the Lumia 640 and the 640 XL are very attractive and also have reasonably powerful specs, even though they’re relatively cheap.

The new Lumia smartphones from Microsoft are very similar in terms of design to the previous Nokia models. It’s true that neither of the two smartphones is to die for but they are pretty nice, not to mention that they’re both ready for the new Windows 10.

Here is our Microsoft Lumia 640 review.

Design

Microsoft tried to stay true to the styling of Nokia on every Lumia smartphone they released under its name and the Lumia 640 is definitely not an exception. The smartphone comes with a colorful case that can be removed and replaced with another from the line-up offered by Microsoft. It’s made of a very sturdy and nice plastic that doesn’t look like it’s going to break or flex when put under a small stress. This is good news, seeing how most mid-range devices suffer from this problem.

The Lumia 640 XL comes only in a matte finish, but there are plenty of colors to choose from, such as black, white, cyan, bright orange and neon green. The Lumia 640 comes in a two toned shiny plastic and is available in all of the colors listed above. The cyan back of the smaller Lumia 640 viewed in different lightings looks like it has different blue shades. The edges of the smaller smartphone also appear to be darker than its body.

However, the two-toned effect on the back of the Lumia 640 comes with a downside. The shiny look makes it a fingerprint magnet. If you’re easily upset by fingerprint smears and dust then you would be better off choosing the matte version. Other than this, the only major design distinction between the two smartphones is their size. The Lumia 640 XL comes with a 5.7 inch display, which makes the 5 inch Lumia 640 seem rather tiny by comparison. The Lumia 640 XL is the same height as Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus.

The two Lumias are relatively thin and light, mainly because of their plastic casings but they do feel a little chunkier when compared to other smartphones from Nokia. This time, however, it’s Microsoft’s name that is branded on the devices, not Nokia’s. The tech-giant put its name on the back of the Lumia 640s and on their front top.

Based on looks, the Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL are right at home between the existing line-up. While the colors may not be for everyone, there is always the possibility to buy a simple black or white back. Also, the cyan back looks very nice on the smaller device.

Hardware

It’s true that the specs on these smartphones aren’t exactly top-notch, but they are mid-range, to say the least. Both phones are powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and come in two different options: 8GB of storage with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage with 2GB RAM. Both options offer a MicroSD card slot and you can expand the storage capacity by 128GB.

Both Lumias seemed responsive and fast when we tested them. Animations were really smooth, browsing was fast and everything seemed to work well. Both smartphones come with the full Office app installed and both offer OneDrive storage. On top of this, Microsoft is also offering 1TB OneDrive storage and a full year of Office 365 when buying either one of these two devices.

At this time, to have a powerful smartphone you don’t necessarily need the fastest processor on the market. This is why mid-range smartphones like these ones are very attractive. If you want a very reliable mid-range mobile phone and you don’t care if you have the best processor on the market, shiny features and a great screen resolution, the Lumia 640 may be the right choice for you.

Battery

We can’t really say if the battery will last as long as Microsoft claims it will but the batteries inside the two smartphones are quite big. The Lumia 640 XL comes with a 3,000 mAh battery and the smaller one comes with a 2,500 mAh one. Microsoft claims that the battery life on both Lumias will last for two days.

Camera

The Lumia line-up has always been great at taking shots. While the Lumia 640s don’t have incredible cameras, they both take pretty decent photos, mainly thanks to the camera software. You can adjust lighting, control exposure and have several effects at your disposal and you can also create living pictures that will show you the changes you’ve made to your image from start to finish in a format resembling GIF.

Lumia 640 shoots lesser quality photos, however. For some reason, the smaller Lumia comes with weaker cameras. It comes with an 8MP camera on the back and a 1MP camera on its front. Seeing how selfies are the new trend right now, we can’t understand why Microsoft chose to put such a small front-facing camera on its device.

The bigger Lumia 640 comes with far better cameras. It features a 13MP camera on the back and a 5MP camera on its front. The Lumia 640 XL is very capable of taking sharp selfies with its front-facing camera and great pictures with its back camera.

Windows 10

Both devices are running Windows 8.1 as Windows 10 is not yet available for mobile phones. However, both the Lumia 640 and the 640 XL are ready for Windows 10. The update to Windows 10 will come to these two devices as soon as Microsoft launches its new OS. The two smartphones perform very smoothly in Windows 8.1 and the Lumia Denim update works really well.

Wrapping up

PROS

– Great quality of plastic

– Compatible with Windows 10

– Great specs

– Lumia 640 XL has great cameras

– Both smartphones are affordable

CONS

– The devices are still running on Windows 8.1

– Lumia 640 doesn’t have great cameras

Verdict

Even though the two new Lumias from Microsoft aren’t high-end they are definitely nice. For their low prices, Microsoft clearly made some good mid-range devices.

Images source: 1, 2, 3, 4

The Best of Mobile World Congress 2015

March 8, 2015 By Roxanne Briean 2 Comments

The big announcements of this year’s Mobile World Congress have been revealed.

It’s safe to say that MWC15 was probably the biggest one ever. When we decided to make a list of the best of Mobile World Congress 2015 it was actually pretty difficult to include just 10 things.

The top pick is obviously Samsung’s line of S6 devices but we’ve seen a lot of great smartphones, a couple of tablets and some wearables.

It seems like the big subject this year was security. We saw the Samsung Knox, Qualcomm’s Sense ID, a very advanced finger print scanner and the Blackphone 2 from Silent Circle, which is an incredibly secure smartphone.

Here is our list of the best of Mobile World Congress 2015. Enjoy

1. Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

For numerous years, Samsung has been the ultimate ruler of the Mobile World Congress. This time, Barcelona was filled with huge Samsung billboards, which have shown us who the big dog is. Samsung’s flagship launch was probably the most important one the company has had in years, because it came after a drop in the mobile market and a very poor financial quarter for the company.

The strategy of the company for 2015 seems to cover more ground, as Samsung released two new devices, the traditional Galaxy S6 and the slightly more curved Galaxy S6 Edge. The devices are quite impressive in different aspects, and almost everyone agreed that they’re steps ahead of the Galaxy S5 released last year, despite the Galaxy S6 line not being waterproof.

2. HP Spectre x360

HP showed its latest 13.3 inch foldable tablet laptop combo, the HP Sprectre x360. The device offers premium specs and is made of aluminum. The laptop has different prices, depending on what you want, and starts at $999.

Probably the most important thing about the laptop/tablet is that it’s already available on the company’s website.

3. Samsung Pay

While it’s true that Apple Pay had a head start, the mobile payment system included on both the Galaxy S6 models has an advantage. The system works even with retailers that use magnetic strip cards and not NFC technology.

We can’t exactly tell you how well the system works for now and its security hasn’t been tested yet but the mobile payment system certainly looks promising. We’re very excited to see how consumers from South Korea and the United States will embrace this new system.

4. Sony Xperia Z4

Tablets are sort of declining right now and some analysts even predicted that this category will disappear completely in the near future. We haven’t seen many tablets at the MWC2015, it’s true. This, however, is what makes the Xperia Z4 from Sony a winner. It also helps that the device is very light, thin and waterproof. If you want a new 10 inch tablet that runs on Android, Sony has your back.

5. Huawei Watch

Smartwatches were pretty fancy this year. Before the launch of the Apple Watch, it seems that manufacturers did their best to release elegant watches that had classical appearances. The Huawei Watch is definitely one of the most elegant smartwatches we’ve ever seen and we certainly wouldn’t mind wearing one to any occasion.

6. Qualcomm Sense ID

The fingerprint ID systems found in smartphones now are very convenient but aren’t exactly perfect. The new fingerprint scanning technology from Qualcomm named Sense ID resolves many of the problems found in traditional fingerprint scanners. The technology recognizes your finger even if it’s dirty or greasy and it can be installed on any part of a smartphone.

But the most important aspect is that the system uses ultrasonic sound technology which scans the fingerprints in 3D. This means that the scan is a lot more detailed than in traditional systems and makes the technology more secure, claims Qualcomm.

7. Pebble Time Steel

Pebble broke records on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter with its future smartwatch, the Pebble Time. The company revealed a premium model of the watch at the Mobile World Congress 2015.

The Pebble Time Steel is a beautiful watch, it feels very solid and the company promises it has a battery life of 10 days. Pebble also launched a platform called Smart Straps, which lets developers create advanced and beautiful looking straps for the Pebble Time smartwatch.

8. Alcatel Idol 3

It’s pretty amazing to have a smartphone that allows you to call someone even when it’s upside down. But what’s even more amazing is that you can buy a smartphone that has top of the line specs for only $249 off-contract.

While we tested the Alcatel Idol 3 and its smaller brother, we can say that the devices didn’t have that premium feel found on the iPhone 6 or on the Galaxy S6. They weren’t as fast either but you can buy these phones for your entire family for what you would pay on just a single iPhone, contract-free. This looks like a great deal to us.

9. HTC Re Vive

You can definitely tell that a product is in its very early stages when the company that’s making said product isn’t even sure how it’s called at the moment. Going on the official website of the VR headset manufactured by HTC you will find out that the device is referred to as both HTC Vive and HTC Re Vive. The headset developed with Valve is a very intriguing one. It has more than 70 lasers and sensors that will guide you through virtual reality.

Valve and HTC announced their own VR headset and apparently it’s developed for PCs. The HTC Re Vive stands out from an overly populated crowd by making it a lot better than the Oculus Rift and the Project Morpheus from Sony. The room where the Re Vive was demoed was practically empty. There was only just one piece of furniture where the controller and headset were. While it’s clearly still a prototype, we were quite impressed by the HTC Re Vive.

It’s expected to make its way to stores in time for this year’s holiday season.

10. Blackphone 2 and Blackphone Plus

Silent Circle definitely had a lot to show and to say at this year’s edition of Mobile World Congress. The company really tried to show just how serious it is about security and shared with the audience a very big number. Apparently Silent Circle had $750 million in orders for the first product they’ve made, the Blackphone.

The Blackphone, however, was a mid-level device. The Blackphone 2 will come with top of the line specs, which means that people looking for privacy and security can also make use of a very powerful smartphone. The 7 inch tablet from the company, called Blackphone Plus will arrive later this year.

There were a lot of devices at this year’s MWC and some of them are really worth honorable mentions. We saw HTC’s new HTC One M9, which is a beautiful smartphone but just wasn’t too different from the device we saw last year and we aren’t very excited about it. If you’re hoping for an entirely new generation of smartphones from the company, you will be disappointed.

We also saw e-bike prototypes from Ford and a brand new wireless service from Google but these were very lacking in details to get too excited about.

So there you have it. This was our list of the best of Mobile World Congress 2015.

Images source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Runcible Hands On: Smartphone features with a Quirky Design

March 5, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The Runcible is one of the most intriguing and strangest devices we’ve seen at this year’s Mobile World Congress. It has a lot of the same features found on a smartphone but its design makes it look like it belongs in a vintage shop. Monohm, the creator of the device wants Runcible to challenge the common smartphones which constantly give the user streams of notifications. Here are our Runcible hands on impressions.

The founder and CEO of the company, Aubrey Anderson wants its device to be a lot “quieter” and hopes that it will be able to help people live the moment and relax, all while still remaining connected with others.

Runcible tries to simplify the overload of the Internet. Google Glass, smartwatches and other wearable devices try to make notifications a lot more manageable with just small glances of the bigger notifications on your smartphone. Runcible, however, is a standalone device. The smart device runs the Firefox OS from Mozilla and lets the user browse the Internet, ask for directions and make calls. So when you’re going out you don’t have to bring your smartphone along with you in order to avoid constantly checking on your Snapchat, Twitter or Facebook accounts.

The developers at Monohm have been working on the Runcible for 10 months, which means that the software on the device is still in the early stages. Aubrey Anderson didn’t really give a lot of details about the apps (Anderson calls them “faces”) available for the device but we can see where it is heading. One of the watch faces has colored bubbles that get bigger when there is a lot of activity on social networks and there is also a compass face that only gives you a direction and the distance to the destination you chose. While these faces aren’t as informative or as complex as the apps found on a normal smartphone, they are unique and help with the charm of the device.

It’s because of this simplicity that the device has such a distinctive shape. The developers at Monohm wanted to make a relaxing and quiet product and they drew their inspiration from compasses, old pocket watches and other round things that individuals carried at some point inside of their pockets. The device has a circular, flat display on its front side and a curved wooden back. Anderson said that only by holding the device you can see how calming it is.

The Runcible is a new category of products that is situated somewhere between smartphones and wearables. The device features all the connectivity found on modern handsets such as NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi and LTE and fits snuggly inside of your pocket. Monohm wants people to look at the Runcible as a pocket watch and pass it down in their families as a modern heirloom.

Because technology moves really fast, the Runcible has been designed in such a manner that it can be easily upgradeable and fixed. It’s not exactly project Ara, but the CEO hopes this is enough to make the Runcible useful and relevant for the future years to come. He said that just because the camera on the device gets a little old doesn’t mean that you will have to throw the entire thing out. You will be able to upgrade different parts of the new wearable.

It’s true that the Runcible is a very weird product but Monohm’s daring move should be admired. It’s a very different look on the modern smartphone and it’s very refreshing to see such a device on a market that’s currently being populated by a lot of flat, thin smartphones built from glass and metal.

The Japanese carrier KDDI is financially backing the company which means that the Runcible will probably see the light of day for the first time in Japan and won’t disappear from the surface of the planet like so many Indiegogo and Kickstarter projects. It’s true that this new device will be very difficult to market but it will definitely stand out in the crowd.

Images source: Photo 1, Photo 2

How to Make a YouTube Viral Video and Retrospective

February 26, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Tip

Try to make a video of things that other people can’t do. For instance, being able to make a dunk is pretty cool but this can be seen by anyone watching basketball. Being able to make a dunk over the head of a friend is a lot more impressive and rare.

So now that you’ve seen how to get famous on YouTube let’s take a look at the 10 years retrospective of viral videos on YouTube.

We hope you enjoyed our little guide, we wish you the best of luck and we really hope to see you reach stardom on YouTube. Have fun and take care.

Image source: youtube.com

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 AnTuTu Results

February 21, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The Snapdragon 810 AnTuTu result was 61,499. This is a record breaking result for the popular benchmark tool from AnTuTu.

After it has been scarred with overheating concerns and long lasting delays in the recent weeks (claims that have been entirely rejected by the company), it seems like the Snapdragon 810 that features a 64 bit 1.56GHz octa-core is going to make it to smartphones after all. And with the results we got from our testing, we can honestly say that you couldn’t wish for any more power than this.

According to the tests we’ve performed on it, the high performance, high profile Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset seem like it’s offering even more power than the Exynos chip that will most likely power Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 smartphone.

Keep in mind that benchmarks offer just an indication of how the chipset will perform in an actual tablet or smartphone. However, these tests showed us an insight of what we can expect the chipset to deliver when actually being used inside a device. The Snapdragon 810 put on a 2K display in an Android 5.0.2 test unit, revealed to us a score of 61,499 in the very popular test suite from AnTuTu. This is definitely a record-breaking score.

Samsung’s Exynos 7420 chip, according to some recently leaked information recorded a score in the same benchmark of 60,978. The South Korean company ditched Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset in favor of the Exynos 7420 one. Even though there isn’t much of a difference in the scores of the Snapdragon 810 and Exynos 7420, there is definitely a huge gap between Qualcomm’s newest chipset and the older Snapdragon 805 and 801.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4, powered by the 805 scored in the benchmark tests in AnTuTu 49,136 and the Sony Xperia Z3, powered by the 801 scored 42,334. On top of this, it seems that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset offers more processing power than Apple’s A8 chip which can be found in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The Apple A8 chip scored “only” 46,940.

Even though Samsung has not yet confirmed that it will use its own Exynos chip in the Galaxy S6, numerous reports definitely point toward that direction. Even Qualcomm admitted that a major customer has dropped them as manufacturers of chipsets in favor of others.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset is expected to be used in many upcoming smartphones and other devices. It’s also been said that it will power the Sony Xperia Z4, the LG G4 and HTC One M9. For the people that plan to purchase one of the new tide of flagship devices, do not worry, this chip does not compromise the life of the battery in favor of sheer performance.

Other than offering great power, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 also supports 4K displays, many battery management adjustments made especially so that your high-end smartphone of choice will go through a day full of heavy use with great ease, as well as enhanced camera specifications along with many other impressive new features.

The first device that will use the new Snapdragon 810 chip from Qualcomm has been recently unveiled. The LG G Flex 2 is set for launch later this month.

Image source: trustedreviews.com

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1. Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

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8. Alcatel Idol 3

9. HTC Re Vive

10. Blackphone 2 and Blackphone Plus

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The Snapdragon 810 AnTuTu result was 61,499. This is a record breaking result for the popular benchmark tool from AnTuTu.

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