HTC One M8
HTC started the year with a great smart phone known as HTC one M8. The HTC one M8 is a really great phone that comes in an aluminum case and a spectacular design. The phone comes with an AMOLED screen like the rest of the smart phones in the category. The phone has a built in storage capacity of 16GB and is expandable.

The phone comes in three different variants black, metallic grey and golden amber.

As far as the battery stand by time is concerned, it is a disadvantage for the phone and the camera is an ultra-pixel camera.

Let us have a detailed analysis of the phone.

The features of the phone includes;

Display: IPS 5 “Gorilla Glass 3

Resolution: Full HD 1080p, 441 dpi

Processor: 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 801

GPU: Adreno 330

Connectivity: HSDPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0

Camera: 4.3 MP Ultrapixel Duo Dual Camera LED Flash / Front 5MP BSI

RAM: 2 GB

Storage: 16 GB + microSD slot

Battery: 2,600 mAh

Dimensions: 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm

Weight: 160 g

Industrial design

The design of the HTC one has not been compromised at all. The phone has a spectacular design and it comes in three different variants metallic gray or gunmetal gray, black and golden amber.

The phone has an aluminium panel and 90% of the phone’s body is made of aluminium. The other smart phones Apple and Nokia are designed equally well but the HTC’s design is spectacular and unique in its own way.

The head phone output port and the micro USB port are at the lower end of the phone. The phone is 5 inch long and comes with M8 boom sound stereo speakers.

Screen

The screen is definitely the most important part of any phone, HTC one M8 comes with an AMOLED screen like the other high end phones in the market and is undoubtedly the best when compared to them. And the phone also has higher pixel density than the rest.

And as far as the technical specifications of the screen are concerned, the Delta E measures only a very small difference in color.

Camera

In a market where the competing companies are boasting of 13mp, 20mp and 40mp, HTC played safe by calling their camera Ultra pixel.

The camera is not reliable in taking night shots as the camera is affected by direct light like the head lights of vehicles. But the camera is reliable in taking day shots and indoor shots.

The dynamic range is also a disadvantage to the phone’s camera and the problem exists in taking pictures with high contrast and HDR cannot be used in every picture you take.

And the Duo camera is of almost no use at all as the secondary camera can only be used for editing purposes.

Performance and autonomy

There are no problems with the phone‘s performance. It performs really well in any game application or video.

The anatomy of the phone is really what we should care about. Heavy or intense users will find it tiring to keep the phone in charging all day long and moderate users can make it a day without having to charge the phone.

Advantage:

Screen: HTC is not the only phone with a great screen but it is still the best in the market.

Spectacular Design: The design is definitely a great advantage to the phone and the aluminum body only makes the phone look more stylish.

Disadvantage:

Camera: To a phone with good features, a 4.3 megapixel camera is definitely a disadvantage.

Battery: The battery runs out within a day and this is surely a massive disadvantage of this phone.

Conclusion

HTC has done a great job in creating a phone fit to lead the market. The screen, sixth sense especially the design is a great advantage for the buyers but major improvements are necessary in their camera and anatomy.

htc-one-m8

Time to discuss about the new Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy S5
In a market long dominated by iPhone and Nokia, Samsung did find a way to come to the race and prove itself with its user friendly models setting an example for the other companies.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is one such device. Samsung has really proved itself competing in a market ruled only by the iPhone smart phones. The S5 has too many good features, the Display, camera, battery, performance, finishing, being the best and stands out from its competitors.

The features of the S5 includes:

Display: Super AMOLED 5.1 “Gorilla Glass 3

Resolution: Full HD 1080p, 432 dpi

Processor: 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801

GPU: Adreno 330

Connectivity: HSDPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0

Camera: ISOCELL 16 MP Dual LED Flash / Front 2MP

RAM: 2 GB

Storage: 16/32 GB + microSD slot

Battery: 2,800 mAh

Dimensions: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm

Weight: 145 g

samsung-galaxy-s5

Design:

The S5 really stands out from Samsung’s other similar looking phones, with a case full of small cracks and holes that give a different and a more elegant look to the phone. The phone comes with Samsung’s trademark removable back cover panel which is really cool and not to forget useful too, in swapping batteries.

The front is a design looks like a combination of the S4 and Note 3.The menu key has been replaced by multitasking. The lock button is maintained at the right edge. The volume button also remains on the left edge, which does create problem in terms of easy accessibility if the phone is held in the right hand.

The USB connector is covered and this makes the S5 resistant to dust and water for 30 minutes to 1 meter deep at most.

Fingerprint sensor:

The finger print sensor was first introduced by apple in its 5S and it worked out well for the company. Samsung has joined the list after HTC by introducing the finger print sensor to the S5.

In addition to the fingerprint sensor unlocking feature the S5 also features the traditional password unlock feature. The fingerprint sensor is not just for unlocking but is also helpful in making payments to PayPal accounts etc.; and it can also be used to hide particular content from others when enabled. Thus preventing others from gaining access to private content.

Display screen:

It can be stated without any doubt that the S5’s screen is the best that Samsung has offered in any of its mobile devices so far. The S5 features an AMOLED screen similar to the one in the Note3. Even the viewing angles are the best in the S5.

S5 also features the option of adjusting color profiles like Adapt Display, Dynamic, Standard, Professional Photo or Film. These profiles can be adjusted and selected as per the user’s taste and necessity.

Camera:

The s5’s camera is one of the best in the market and features a powerful 16MP camera unit. The camera has excellent range and the various adjustments offered make sure the pictures taken are perfect.

The dynamic range makes the pictures look bright and great in good light eliminating any shadows etc.; without the use of HDR. And though a very good picture can be obtained without any specific modes the camera features different modes.

The S5 also features selective focus which when activated takes a series of pictures and the user can decide on using the desired picture with the focus needed.

Kitkat and Touchwiz

The Galaxy S5 arrives running the latest release of Google’s Android mobile operating system, version 4.4.2 Kitkat, which Samsung has topped with the latest version of its Touchwiz user interface and while it’s a huge improvement compared to previous versions but still has its drawbacks.

Samsung’s Settings and Apps menus prove overbearing too. The Settings menu has over 60 options available, which means the handset can seem complicated to set up, while the Apps Menu is still home to a number of proprietary apps.

S Health

The number ofpeople using the Nike+ and the run static apps has been only increasing since they were introduced and it is a smart move by Samsung adding these two apps in the S5. In addition to this S5 has a cardiac sensor in it which measures the heart rate just by placing the finger tip on the camera sensor. Of course, similar to the heart rate monitor sensor app provided in the iPhone app store.

Autonomy

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 2,800mAh battery, with 21 hours of constant talk time.

Without switching on the phone’s battery-saving options, breezing through a day of average to heavy usage is easy. And a moderate user of the smart phone can get through two days without having to charge in between.

Advantage

Screen: The Super AMOLED screen is the recent any phone can give the user.

Camera: The interesting options such as selective focus, HDR in real time have made the S5 a go-to phone for camera lovers.

Disadvantage:

Industrial Design: The Galaxy S5’s design is almost similar to the previous versions of the S series.

TouchWiz: Using the touchwiz is a smart move but still improvements have to be made.

Conclusion:

The S5 is a great phone, and the additional features that Samsung has added to its S-series is really a huge success.

But the design is a little old and a lot of improvements have to be made to the s5 in terms of design, camera and the touchwiz interface.

Recent report by Millward Brown showed that Google has already overtaken the world’s most valuable brand Apple in the top 100 most valuable global ranking of the year 2014 with a total worth of $158.8 billion, which is considered as 40% increment than last year.

google-vs-apple

With a decline rate of 20%, the most famous brand, Apple slipped to 2nd spot, with $148 billion. Although, it is still a top performing brand, there is a perception of growing that they are not redefining any new technology for their consumers, reflected by a lack of dramatic launches of new product. In the race of the world’s leading B2B brand, IBM maintained their position to 3rd spot with a brand worth of $108 billion.

Google is being more and more innovative every day, last year with the successive launch of Google glass and investments in artificial intelligence and partnerships with several other brands to embed the Android Operating System in other goods such as cars etc. All these types of activities shows us a great signal as to what Google is trying to obtain, is it a co-incidence or a good luck or a pre-planned capture of the market by big G?

The LG FLEX is in a curved screen, the first to be put in use in a mobile phone.

Has LG achieved success with the curved screen and the flexible mobile model? Such a question needs an answer especially at this time when the market does not have much growth. And an answer cannot be obtained without proper analysis.

Let’s analyze the market first. Currently IOS and Android dominate the market which has made blackberry, firefox and other mobile phones just prove their existence once in a while.

And the only way they get to do that is if they do something different , which Nokia has done with its Lumia 1020 and its 41 megapixels and Sony with its high-end devices.

And in the case of LG, the flexible and the curved screen. Has LG achieved success? Apart from the curved screen and flexibility what else does the mobile feature and is it worth?

lg-flex

FEATURES:

SOC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

RAM: 2 GB

Display: 6 “P-OLED HD (1280 x 720)

Memory: 32 GB

Main Camera: 13 megapixel BSI + LED flash

Secondary Camera: 2.1 MP

Operating System: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean (upgradeable to 4.4 KitKat)

SIM: microSIM

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS, LTE, microUSB 3.0

Dimensions: 160.5 x 81.6 x 8.7 mm

Weight: 177 grams

DESIGN: The phone comes in a 6inch big device which is pretty bigger than the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Note 3, which were the biggest mobile phones till now. But still due to its curved surfaced screen the LG flex is not only better looking but is also easy to use.

Another important feature with the LG that makes it different from the other mobile phones is the keys. LG started placing the buttons at the rear with the G2 and LG FLEX features the same which adds to the phone’s good looks.

LG also has the feature where the phone can be locked or unlocked just by double tapping the screen. This is pretty cool.

And also the rear side of the phone is capable of repairing itself i.e; it can get rid of minor scratches.

The LG FLEX feels good feels good works good and on the whole it is great to own one and the only time it might feel uncomfortable is when placed in the pant pockets, the phone’s size added to the curved screen does cause discomfort when placed in pockets.

As an added discomfort to the phone the curved screen when turned sideways at an angle causes a slight tint in the corner when the screen is exposed to sunlight. And also when light shines directly on the screen, it causes a reflection on the screen. And we do miss the full HD resolution screen which is available in the devices that fall in the LG FLEX size category.

Software and Performance

LG showed a great improvement in both the software and the speed with the LG Optimus G, but still had some minor defects. And Although the LG FLEX has improvements in these issues it still is not as expected.

Despite the drawbacks the LG FLEX has quite a lot of different and amazing features such as:

Knock On: The LG FLEX comes with the Knock on feature by which the device can be locked and unlocked simply by double-clicking on the screen.

Quick Remote: Another awesome feature in the LG FLEX is that, by using the infrared port on the rear, all kinds of electronic gadgets from TVs to air conditioners, projectors, etc. can be controlled.

LG G Flex is able to move around as silk, from simple tasks like web browsing, multitasking and demanding similar to games. Besides good software optimization made ??by LG, the manager of this excellent performance is the 800 MSM8974 Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC-AA incorporating therein. Specifically, the SoC includes a CPU Quad-Core Krait cores 400 to 2.26 GHz, GPU Adreno 330 and 450 MHz, 28 nanometres and is manufactured with support for LTE networks, memories LPDDR3 up to 800 MHz, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi- Fi n / ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). In other words, one of the most powerful and complete SoCs that can be found today, surpassed only by the Snapdragon 801 of the new generation of smartphones in 2014.

Camera

LG FLEX comes with a 13 megapixel camera accompanied by an LED flash but does not have optical image stabilization. Under proper lighting conditions, the LG G Flex is able to take fair photographs.

Autonomy and sound

When used moderately the LG FLEX can be used all day and when used heavily the phone’s battery comes up to 17 hours.

The LG G Flex offers a higher level of decibels above the average and a pretty rich sound.

The advantages and disadvantages of the LG FLEX can be classified as:

Advantage:

Good autonomy

Shell scratch resistant self-healing

Comfortable

Easy controls

Disadvantage:

The curved panels need improvements in some aspects

Conclusion:

On the whole the LG FLEX is a great phone and LG has definitely succeeded in creating a new design in the smart phone category. With minor changes and improvements to its curved screen and user interface, the company can conquer the mobile phone market.

Fast processor and HD graphics made iPad Air a great device for playing games, here is list of top iPad Air games.

Pinball Arcade
This re-creation of classic pinball machines is not only visually impressive, but every sound and feature of the tables has been re­created perfectly. Input is intuitive, while smart camera angles hone in on the action, so you’ll never miss a trick. The dev claims more tables are on the way, and since all this is bundled in for free it’s clear this is a work of passion.

Price: $0.99 Developer: FarSight Studios

Pinball-Arcade-ipad-air

Cordy Sky
The original Cordy was a polished platformer with a charming art style. This free sequel retains all the same ingredients but applies them brilliantly to the vertical jumper template. The mission takes the form of a 5,000m climb, divided into five 1,000m worlds, each one distinct but all loaded with a silly number of bumpers and things that rocket Cordy skyward.

Price: Free Developer: SilverTree Media LLC

cordy-sky-ipad-air

Greed Corp HD
The aim is to build resources and capture enemy troops. Featuring a quirky soundtrack and distinctive visuals, Greed Corp benefits from a strong multiplayer and a lengthy little campaign. It’s just a pity that its learning level is so high.

Price: £1.49/$1.99 Developer: Invictus-Games Ltd

Greed-Corp-HD-ipad-air

Outwitters
A polished and well-crafted app, Outwitters is a fast and addictive turn-based strategy game similar to Hero Academy. Played across a tiled map, the aim is to destroy your opponent’s base before they level yours. Moves and attacks are made by spending Wits, and strategy comes from deciding on to expend them on growing you army, protecting your base or waging war.

Price: Free Developer: One Man Left Studios LLC

Outwitters_ipad_air

There are many other top games for iPad Air, these are just the top 5 based on selections. Share your view and advices.