Review By Expert

Review By Expert: HONOR 20 PRO Review

2019-08-16T16:23:00.001+05:00

Review By Expert: HONOR 20 PRO Review:

Review By Expert: HONOR 20 PRO Review

The Best Honor to date has four Cameras with Macro Lens and costs less than 600 euros:

Immersed as we are in full technological seism at world level by the blockade of United States to Huawei, now included in the Entity List that prohibits them to do business with North American companies and that can leave them out of Android, Honor has preferred to go ahead and present its new batch of telephones. The one that Honor calls Honor 20 Series and that is composed of three models: the Honor 20 Lite that we already knew and the new Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro.

It is precisely this last one that occupies us now, and that lands with an Android that for now will remain updated until August 19, unless new ones arrive from North American lands. The Honor 20 Pro that, from this very moment, leads the catalogue of the Chinese manufacturer and that bets for a high level of power, as well as for four rear cameras that serve as mirror of the P30 Pro of its matrix, Huawei, presented a few months ago.

Or, at least, it is unique at the moment. We already lived something similar when the Huawei P30 bet on RYYB sensors thanks to the Sony IMX600 modified by Huawei and Leica. In this Honor P20 Pro we have, however, a different use of lenses. Here there is no TOF 3D sensor to improve the depth reading but the camera seeks to address something that until now was not being done, or not specifically, and is macro photography.

For this we have a lens that, however, is somewhat short on the megapixels of its associated sensor. Only two megapixels but that nevertheless offer us the possibility of photographing objects to only 4 centimeters. We'll see, though, what maneuverability those two megapixels leave us when it comes to making a few cuts. You'll have to experience what it's like to use a native macro lens on a mobile phone.

The Honor 20 Pro introduces a dedicated macro lens, but we'll see how its two-megapixel sensor performs.

But this macro sensor is only one of four mounted on the Honor 20 Pro. As a primary we already find the well-known IMX586 from Sony. This gives us not only 48 megapixels but also the possibility to fuse them together for more light and 12 megapixel photos. This camera also has what is, from now on, the brightest lens on the mobile market. A f/1.4 aperture, a technical achievement that will soon be imitated by other manufacturers but which will make its debut on board this Honor 20 Pro.

In the other two sensors we came across a 16 megapixel with super wide angle lens. 117th of amplitude with an f/2.2 aperture, and with software distortion correction, a help so that this type of lenses do not produce aberrations of form. And the fourth camera? Then 8 megapixels with f/2.4 lens and telephoto capabilities. That is, optical zoom. Count Honor that we will have 3 pure magnifications, 5 magnifications with hybrid zoom and 30 magnifications with digital zoom only.

And to accompany this whole package we will have optical stabilization and PDAF focus for 48 and 8 megapixel cameras, 4K video recording and various modes assisted by artificial intelligence. Like AI Ultra Carity mode, AIS Super Night mode or AI Color mode. What about the front end? So we have 32 megapixels for selfies, with a f/2.0 lens, FullHD video recording capability and three-dimensional studio lighting, provided by the artificial intelligence of the software. A photographic equipment that we are willing to squeeze.

The Power of Huawei's top Ranges in 2019:

No more, no less. Huawei is now betting on his Kirin 980 with double NPU in the top ranges, and this Honor 20 Pro has this chip in front of the operations. It couldn't be otherwise. It also comes with a single version, although quite powerful, both RAM and internal storage. According to Honor, the 20 Pro will arrive in Spain with 8GB and 256GB. But no microSD to put in our mouths. Although 256GB give for a lot.

As for the screen, the Honor 20 Pro has a panel of 6.26 inches FullHD+ and 19.9:9 (2.340 x 1.080) perforated in the upper left corner, so we have notch and barely top frame. The fingerprint reader is not integrated in this screen, nor in the back, but in the side of the phone. A position that we have seen before and that is placed, according to Honor, in the natural position of placing the finger when we hold the phone in our hand.

To power this Honor 20 Pro we will have 4,000 mAh of internal battery, without the possibility of removing it, and which has a fast charge. Specifically, with the SuperCharge brand of the house, with 22.5W maximum charge power and should charge from 0 to 50% in just half an hour. The phone is not small, as we speak of 154.6 x 74 x 8.4 millimeters and a weight of 182 grams for its glass body that we can buy in two colors: Phantom Black and Phantom Blue. Curiously, one is purple and the other is green.

In addition to all that is told, the Honor 20 Pro boasts cooling thanks to the sheet of graphite placed on the battery that promises to be 1.5 times more efficient than copper and 1.3 more than graphite flakes. In connectivity we have 4G, WiFi 5 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 and GPS compatible with all services currently known.

We will also enjoy Huawei Listen 6.0 and Virtual 9.1 Surround sound integrated in the EMUI 9.0 that covers Android 9.0 Pie in this phone. Of course, we will have the Turbo 3.0 GPU that is already integrated into other phones in the house and improves the gaming experience.

Honor 20 Pro Versions and Prices:
As we have commented, the Honor 20 Pro comes in two colors but only one version of RAM and internal storage. So we can get it in Phantom Black and Phantom Blue at a price of 599 euros for its version with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of memory.

Review By Expert: Huawei Mate 20 X 5G Complete Review

2019-08-10T21:44:00.002+05:00

Review By Expert: Huawei Huawei Mate 20 X 5G Complete Review:

Review By Expert: Huawei Mate 20 X 5G Complete Review

Huawei now has two 5G smartphones in his name and both are a small niche.
Huawei has finally unveiled the launch window for its 5G ready Mate 20 X variant. After a period of uncertainty amid tensions between Huawei and the US government, the Mate 20 X 5G will be launched in the UK on 26 July.

Confusingly, we have also been told that the phone will be available "in the next few weeks" and that the phone equipped with 5G has appeared on Carphone Warehouse but is not available for purchase at the time of writing this article. We will keep you informed as soon as we know more details.

Huawei Mate 20 X 5G Practical:
Huawei is not a company that does things half-heartedly. After announcing that its first foldable phone, the Mate X would be 5G enabled (when it finally arrives), it has now shown its second 5G phone; the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G during an function in meddle London.

The announcement makes a lot of sense if OnePlus' recent comments about the difficulty he had in integrating 5G into his OnePlus 7 Pro are something to keep in mind. The huge chassis of the Mate 20 X would logically make it much easier by introducing the additional antennas required by the technology.

In view of the fact that the US government has ordered Google to revoke Huawei's Android license, we recommend that you avoid buying a new phone at this time. Unfortunately, that includes the upcoming Mate 20 X 5G - phones to be released in the coming months have a particularly confusing path ahead.

Huawei Mate 20 X 5G Review: First Impressions:

Physically, apart from the word "5G" printed on the back of the new phone, there's nothing different between it and the original Huawei Mate 20 X, That's all you need to know. Like the original, the 5G is just as big. It has a huge screen with a resolution of 7.2 in 1,080 x 2,244 pixels, is still difficult to put in narrow pockets and still can't be used with one hand unless you have hands the size of flat plates.

In fact, it's more like a tablet than a regular phone. But otherwise, it's a lovely-looking thing. It has the same subtly striated glass back panel as the original, initially available only in "emerald green", and feels very well done.

The differences with the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G are found inside the chassis, where Huawei has extensively redesigned the circuits and added the firm's own Balong 5000 5G 7nm modem to complement the Kirin 980 processor that does the rest of the heavy lifting. Other manufacturers who have so far announced 5G phones are using the Snapdragon 855 chipset along with Qualcomm's X50 5G modem, so it will be interesting to see how they compare.

Since it has a similar hardware core to the original Mate 20 X, I expect the performance to be largely the same. The key question with Huawei's new smartphone is how fast its 5G cellular connection will be and how this could affect battery life.

Unfortunately, the answer to this last question, particularly in the case of the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G, may not be very positive. This is because the biggest impact of introducing all the required gubbins of that Balong 5000 5G modem is that the Mate 20 20 X 5G has a much smaller battery than the Mate 20 X. This is due to the fact that the biggest impact of introducing all the required gubbins of that Balong 5000 5G modem is that the Mate 20 X 5G has a much smaller battery than the Mate 20 X. It has a size of 4.200mAh, less than the 5.000mAh of the first Mate 20 X.

Still, that's the same size as the battery of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which has a very long battery life, so I may be rushing. Other clippings, such as the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the IP53 dust and water resistance enjoyed by the original, are less severe.

As for the 5G cell rate, it is the highest unknown here. The networks promise speeds many times higher than 4G and much greater reliability in crowded areas such as the centre of major cities and at major events such as Glastonbury and the World Cup. However, we won't know how fast on real-world phones like the Huawei Mate 20 X will be until we have a live 5G network to test them.

With EE and Vodafone recently announcing that they will launch 5G in several major UK cities this year, however, that time could be approaching much sooner than you think.

Review By Expert: Network Speed:

The 5G tests have been mostly disappointing so far. This is not the case in Monaco. Connected to the Monaco Telecom network, the only network recently launched in Monaco and built entirely with Huawei infrastructure equipment, the series of tests I performed on several Mate 20 X 5G devices achieved consistent download speeds above 650Mbps (megabits per second), and sometimes above 1Gbps (gigabits per second).

Walking through the streets at night, passing the busy Monte Carlo Casino and Paris Café, and then the incredible yachts of the bay, each time I checked the phone I had a strong 5G signal, and the test results were always 500Mbps or faster, according to the Ookla Speedtest application.

The most prominent part is the reliability and consistency, which at present for 5G is unique in Monaco. The signal is strong, I maintained a 5G connection, and I received 5G speeds when the network indicator said it was connected to 5G. It may sound like nonsense, but this is a problem we have found in other 5G tests in other parts of the world. It should be added that the phone is hardly responsible - this performance is largely due to the robust 5G network of Huawei and Monaco Telecom.

Although I did not have the ability to download large files, I could review the 1080p videos on YouTube, and the waiting time was almost nil for the video to start playing again, without loss of quality. In previous 5G tests I've done, finding a place to do such a test was half the challenge. In Monaco, it can be done anywhere. Downloading some Google Play speed test applications, the 50MB files arrived instantly. Saying something happens in a "blink of an eye" sounds like a cliché, but small files like these applications arrive without the download bar even having time to log the file has been downloaded and installed. Blink, and you'll miss it.

Upload speeds are around 40Mbps, but I did see some at 90Mbps or a little higher. This is one of the first times we see upload speeds at 5G, and it's good to see that it's significantly higher than what you normally get at 4G LTE upload speeds.

It's worth mentioning that Monaco's 4G LTE network is excellent on its own, and when the Mate 20 X 5G wasn't at a 5G point, it still achieved impressive speeds between 180Mbps and 320Mbps. The disadvantages? There is one, to which I will return, but otherwise not much.

That's how the future of mobile connectivity really will be. The Huawei Mate 20 X 5G on Monaco Telecom's 5G network is a revelation, and using it finally offers all that hype we've heard around the next generation network so far. I didn't want to give it back, because I would be forced to suffer from using the old 4G pedestrian.

Review By Expert: Power Full Touch Screen:

The Huawei Mate 20 X 5G is fast not only because of the network it is connected to, but also because of the internal components that work together in harmony. It is the first Huawei phone to be sold with the Balong 5000 5G modem, which works in conjunction with the Kirin 980 processor and is compatible with 8 GB of RAM. It is a flagship 5G smartphone with a considerable innovation inside.
For example, Huawei has used special graphite and steam chambers to ensure that the phone does not overheat. I never noticed the phone getting hot, despite the high ambient temperature. In any case, the Huawei P30 Pro I also got warmer without any 5G activity at all. Huawei has been testing the phone internally and externally for many months, and it really shows. The Mate 20 X 5G feels like a final product, without any of the network related problems I've had on other 5G phones.

Android 9.0 Foot with EMUI 9.1 was installed on the phone I tested, and ran as smoothly and quickly as on the Huawei P30 Pro. Huawei is in the middle of a battle to do business with U.S. companies, including Google, and there are questions about how it will offer updates in the future. But the company is confident that it will at least deliver Android Q, and Mate 20 X 5G appears on the company's explanatory website as one of the phones that will receive the next version of Android.

The screen of The Mate 20 X 5G dominates as the male protagonist of a novel by E.L. James. The 7.2-inch OLED panel is gigantic in the good sense, as it immerses you in the photos and video as you expected; but the advantages also come from elsewhere. The viewfinder screen when using the camera facilitates, for example, the framing of photographs, and even poorly optimized mobile websites are much easier to read and navigate than those on smaller screens. Huawei has given us some bright and colorful screens recently, and the Mate 20 X 5G continues that trend.

Perhaps the only disappointment is the notch. It's a teardrop-shaped notch, and while not particularly intrusive, it's larger than the P30 Pro. Little by little we are getting used to not having any kind of notch on our big phones, due to the introduction of pop-up cameras. The Mate 20 X 5G has a slightly aged look due to it.

Review By Expert: Derivative Design:

The aged look also applies to the design, as the Mate 20 X 5G is a derivative of the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro launched in late 2018. Although barely old, it looks like a big version of a phone released last year, even the back panel, of recognized cold texture, which feels like the surface of a vinyl record. It seems that Huawei started the trend of square camera sets that we are looking for for future phone versions, and the symmetry of the Mate 20 X 5G is visually pleasing in a way that the first images of Google Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 cannot match.

What about size? You won't be surprised that it's a big phone, but you'll be surprised by its compact size. It's 85mm wide, while many of the biggest phones we use today come in around 78mm, and at 8.3mm thick it's not unmanageable in any way. In fact, it's easy to hold thanks to a frame that doesn't slide into your hand and its textured back panel that provides a good grip.

Ergonomically impressive. I love the textured power key with its red flash so it's easy to find just by touching it or having a look at it, and the fingerprint sensor on the back is perfectly positioned, so I placed it every time without any problems. Although the size of the device makes it virtually impossible to use with one hand under normal circumstances, EMUI allows the screen and keyboard to be reduced to the lower left or right corner, making typing and navigation easier. Even the weight of 233 grams is evenly distributed, preventing the phone from feeling listless.

Review By Expert: Camera:

The three Leica camera lenses are identical to the configuration used in the Mate 20 Pro. This means a 40 megapixel main lens with an aperture of f/1.8, a 20 megapixel lens with an aperture of f/2.2, and an 8 megapixel lens with an aperture of f/2.4 telephoto. It has a 3x optical zoom, night mode, wide-angle mode and all common artificial intelligence functions.

In my limited time with the phone large photos were taken - not too saturated, full of details, and close enough to real life with just the right amount of style added to make them shared.

In low light, it's excellent. It made me miss the use of the Mate 20 Pro, and reminded me how capable the camera is on the flagship of last year's Mate series. The night mode is not as extraordinarily effective as the P30 Pro, which is not a criticism, and still leaves some atmosphere in the night shots.

The 3x zoom mode retains color and detail, but the 5x hybrid setting isn't as good, and can't compare to the P30 Pro's 5x optical zoom. The large screen makes interacting with the camera application simple, and the large viewing area ensures that framing a shot is easy, and identifying focal points faster than doing so on a smaller screen.

Review By Expert: Battery Performance:

Huawei has installed a 4,200mAh battery inside the Mate 20 X 5G, and it's probably a bit small for the job. This is the main disadvantage of having a 5G connection on a phone now. My test phone used about 50% of its capacity during my afternoon test, and that was just a selection of speed tests, and using the camera. I expected something worse, but it's still not fantastic.

He stayed connected to the network all the time, but no applications were set up to send notifications. In the real world, I suspect that hard use of the Mate 20 X 5G will make it difficult for the battery to last a full day, although the level of 5G connectivity and how difficult it is to look for the signal will also have an impact on this. A longer term test will reveal more.

5G consumes a lot of energy, and the batteries will have a hard time keeping up. This is not a situation exclusive to Mate 20 X 5G: it is a situation that affects the first wave of 5G phones in general.

Review By Expert: Verdict:

The Huawei Mate 20 X 5G is available in China and the UK from 26 July. It is also on sale in Monaco with Monaco Telecom, and in some other select countries. It is expensive, like most 5G phones, and costs £1,000 (around $1,250). It is unlikely that the Mate 20 X 5G will be launched in the United States, considering that Huawei is still on the List of Entities.

If you are a Monegasque resident eager to try 5G, the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G is a great choice. I hope to be able to try it in the UK, where my experience so far has not been as positive. Offline, the Mate 20 X 5G is great: The camera takes good pictures, the screen is big and attractive, the design is subtle without being boring, and it is powerful for games.

After using the phone for a day, I wasn't the intimidating monster I was worried I would be. The Huawei Mate 20 X 5G is a soft giant that is tied to a rocket.

Review By Expert: Vivo S1 6GB RAM And 128GB Storage Complete Review

2019-08-10T09:22:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Vivo S1 6GB RAM And 128GB Storage Complete Review:

Review By Expert: Vivo S1 6GB RAM And 128GB Storage Complete Review

It would be correct to assume that smartphone manufacturers are investing in a two-pronged war, and to reach the top, brands must have a strong presence both offline and online. While some Chinese OEMs like Xiaomi started out with online retailing before venturing offline, others like OPPO and Vivo entered the offline arena first. To further strengthen its presence in the country, Vivo recently announced its S series of smartphones, which will cater to shoppers who want to have a phone in hand before reaching their wallet. The first device in this range is the S1, which has been in my pocket for a week. And, after trying it hard, this is what I do with the phone.

Review By Expert: Vivo S1: Design and Visualization:

Here's the thing - I've come to expect too much from the design of affordable mobile phones, and for good reason. Smartphones like Realme X and Redmi K20 have greatly increased the wager when it comes to the overall appearance of a phone and therefore I hope that other manufacturers will follow their example as well. In that sense, the Vivo S1 never ceased to dazzle me with its back-up gradient design and its pale blue tone. Along with the gold accents around its camera module and a striking diamond-shaped finish on the back, the S1 is among the most attractive phones in the affordable segment at the moment.

Unfortunately, no matter how good the phone looks, its design is not without flaws. To begin with, the phone is still shipped with an archaic micro-USB port, unlike the new Type C standard that many of Vivo's competitors have adopted. In addition, the S1 has a noticeable protrusion of the camera and the phone rings if you try to use it when it is kept in a horizontal position on the table. Finally, you will need to have a good time cleaning the back of the device, as it stains very easily.

Fortunately, the company corrects some mistakes by making the S1 delightfully friendly with one hand. The phone has bevelled edges and a curved edge that allows me to hold it comfortably. I could even reach the top edges of the phone and lower the notification bar while traveling on a subway, which says a lot about the ergonomics of the device. Also, if you're still using wired headphones, then you'll notice the presence of a headphone jack on the Vivo S1.

As for the screen, the Vivo S1 comes with a 6.38-inch FHD+ panel with a water drop notch in the center. In addition, the panel uses Super AMOLED technology, which means you can delight your eyes with vibrant colors and sharp contrast levels. As a result, watching movies or videos on the S1 screen was an absolute pleasure, as the screen offered a discrete media consumption experience and rich colors. In addition, the screen also illuminated satisfactorily and therefore I had no problems using the smartphone in the sun.

Now, for security, Vivo S1 offers you two options: you can unlock the smartphone using the on-screen fingerprint scanner or use the facial unlock to access the home screen. As for the first one, the sensor ran smoothly and the unit felt accurate and consistent during my tests. However, I mainly relied on the face unlocking function during my time with the phone as it was very fast.

You see, unlike the competition, the S1 is not delivered with an automatic pop-up camera, which means you have to deal with the small notch on the screen. However, this does wonders for unlocking the face. Since the front camera doesn't have to go up and down, I was able to unlock the S1 faster than the Realme X (revision), the OPPO K3 (revision), and even the Redmi K20 (revision), all of which have pop-up cameras.

Review By Expert: Vivo S1: Cameras:

It's not uncommon to find an affordable phone with multiple camera sensors today. In this sense, the Vivo S1 takes four cameras to the park, one of which is located in the front, while the other three occupy space in the back of the phone. The selfie camera is supplied with a 32MP sensor with an aperture of f/2.0, while the rear camera configuration integrates 16MP, 8MP and 2MP sensors with apertures of f/1.78, f/2.2 and f/2.4 respectively.

Now, there are things I like about the S1 cameras and some things I think the company could have done better. I've summarized my experience with the phone camera below, so take a look -

1. The Vivo S1 can click on good photos when it's light and sunny outdoors, but you'll want to measure the exposure in your photos as the phone almost always explodes the lights in the sky. A good example of the same is the first image I have attached in the gallery below where the phone could not resolve the details in the sky.

2. Like most other devices in this price range, Vivo S1 also spoils the reds. For example, the photo of the red flower in the gallery where it is difficult to distinguish the shape of the petals.

3. The camera of the S1 has constantly failed me due to its delicate approach. In fact, the camera lost track of the subject with the slightest movement and, therefore, you will have to be extremely patient when clicking on the photos with the phone.

4. As for the general details of the shots, the S1 also leaves something to be desired. You see, despite being sent with a 16MP main sensor, the phone's rear camera rarely clicked on the photos, which didn't fade in the second I zoomed in. To give you a better picture (no pun), here's a picture I took with Realme X (in standard mode), as well as with S1. As for their nominal value, the shots are more or less the same, but if you zoom in on the photos, you'll notice that the leaves in the foreground, as well as the tree behind, are best seen through the lenses of the Realme offering.

5. More and more smartphone manufacturers are taking advantage of the power of software to improve the quality of photos in low light, so it's a little disappointing to see the S1 missing a dedicated night mode. As a result, photos taken at night have considerable noise, and despite using the built-in LED flash, I struggled to capture a photo with gram value with the S1 in a low-light environment.

6. The 32MP self-timer, on the other hand, exceeded my expectations. The phone clicked on impressive selections during the day that were rich in details and colors, and the camera even stood on its own after the sun had set. That said, I was a little disappointed with the portrait mode for the front shooter as it created strange artifacts around the subject's face. However, I am willing to point this out as a software problem and hope the company will fix it soon.

Review By Expert: Vivo S1: Performance, Software and Battery Life:

The Vivo S1 marks an industry first as it is the first device powered by MediaTek's Helio P65 processor. The octa-core chip has been timed to 2GHz and works together with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in, user expandable storage. Now, for the price of the S1, you can opt for a smartphone with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 710/712 processor, which works best when it comes to synthetic benchmarks. For example, take the similarly priced Vivo Z1 Pro (review), which is backed by the Snapdragon 712 chip. The phone scored 1.85.063 points at Antutu's 3D reference point, leaving the S1 to catch up with a score of 1.46.716 points.

Leaving aside the reference points, I never felt that the S1 was delaying me during my time with the phone. I could comfortably get in and out of the apps, play casual games like Clash Royale without problems and even run intensive titles like PUBG over the phone. Suffice it to say, while it may not be the fastest phone for the price, it still does the job.

As for the software, the S1 boots a custom skin of FunTouchOS v9 on top of Android Pie. The custom skin is designed to mimic Apple's iOS software and comes with a lot of bloatware. Fortunately, most of the included applications can be uninstalled, but to begin with I would have preferred a cleaner look. In addition, the custom user interface includes some ingenious features, including a dedicated one-handed mode and numerous gestures that make switching system functions (such as the flashlight) easier. In general, although I'm not a supporter of custom skins superimposed on Android, the S1 interface was, for lack of a better word, usable.

If there is 1 thing. I say about the vivo S1, it is that the smartphone has big battery range. The device is powered by a 4,500 mAh cell that lasted me more than a day with intensive use. To give it a better image, the smartphone lasted about 19 hours in our battery loop test, which is a phenomenal figure and took a little less than two hours to fully charge. Rest assured that the battery life of the S1 will rarely be below the ten percent mark at the end of the day. Interestingly, the Vivo S1 battery can be used to charge other devices by means of an OTG cable. Therefore, you can easily charge devices such as your smartwatch, or your Bluetooth headset if the battery is in its last stage.

Review By Expert: Vivo S1: Conclusions:

The Vivo S1 is sold for an initial price of 17990 Rupees and for the price, it offers an attractive design, long battery life and reliable performance. Unfortunately, the price of the phone compares it to devices like Realme X, OPPO K3 and the company's own Vivo Z1 Pro, which offer better performance, along with sharper cameras on the back.

This puts the S1 in a difficult situation and eclipses the convenience of being able to pick up the phone from its nearest point of sale. Therefore, despite bringing some quality features to the table, it is difficult to recommend the S1 due to the merciless competition in the space available at this time.

Pros:

Good looking Design
Long Lasting Battery Life
Responsive Face Unlock and Finger Print Sensors

Cons:

No USB C Type Port
Cameras Not Best In The Market Rate
Performance Not Best as Competitions

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 complete Review

2019-08-09T20:53:00.000+05:00

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Release Date and Price:

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 complete Review

Samsung announced Galaxy Note 10 at their Unpacked event in New York on August 7, and you can now order worldwide. The release date of Galaxy Note 10 is August 23rd in the US, UK and Australia.

If you are placing an advance order in the USA, you will get a $100 credit for Samsung's online store - we don't currently know if Samsung will be running a similar plan for customers in the UK.

In Australia, however, pre-booking Samsung's phone or any of the major retail stores will get an AKG N700 Wireless Headphones voucher valued at AU$499.

If you are buying the phone directly, the price of the Galaxy Note 10 is set at $945 / £869 / AU$1,499.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Design and Visualization:

The biggest design change compared to other Samsung phones is the introduction of a full screen with a perforation hole for the front camera at the top center of the screen: both the Galaxy S10 and the S10 Plus have the automatic camera at the top right.

The Note 10 has a 6.3 inch AMOLED screen with Full HD resolution, which comes in 2280 x 1080 pixels, with 401 pixels per inch. It includes HDR 10+ technology, and considering that Samsung has not opted for a QHD screen, we are impressed with the look of the screen.

We were using the phone in natural sunlight and couldn't test the quality of the screen in an indoor environment, but outdoors it looked impressive.

It's not clear if this will continue to be the case when you compare the phone to other Samsung phones, but the video we saw on the screen seemed vibrant and clear.

Some may not be fanatics of the central location of the camera sensor, but it could be said that it is much less intrusive than the notches you get on other popular phones, such as the iPhone XS.

Not only is Note 10 smaller than Note 9, but it is also lighter and thinner. It measures 72 x 151 x 7.9mm, and at 168g it is one of the lightest Samsung phones available.

This is a Note that is designed for those with smaller hands, who want high-end features like the S Pen stylus, but don't want a gigantic phone that's hard to hold.

That said, this is still a big phone, and those with smaller hands will probably have difficulty using it with one hand - don't expect it to be as easy to use as phones like the iPhone SE or the compact line of Xperia phones from Sony.

Like the S10 and S10 Plus, Samsung has embedded the fingerprint scanner underneath the screen here, and it is slightly higher than the bottom screen scanners on some other Android phones. This feels like a more comfortable place to put it, as the thumb naturally falls over this area when using the phone.

At the bottom edge of the phone you will find the USB-C connector in the center, with a speaker and the S-Pen slot to the right of it. The top edge of the phone is uninterrupted apart from the SIM card tray.

At the left end of the phone is the volume control and power button below. Samsung has chosen to remove the Bixby button that has appeared on many of Samsung's latest flagships - to activate that function, now you just have to press and hold the power button for a few seconds, which is a much more efficient solution.

The frame of the phone is made of premium metal, while the back is made of glass. Its colour options are Aura Glow (a combination of blue and white), Aura Black and Aura Pink, but it is currently unclear which markets will get which colours.

We especially liked the Aura Glow variant, whose color changes depending on the light the phone is used with.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Camera:

If you have used the Galaxy S10 or S10 Plus, you will find that the Galaxy Note 10 camera is not an exciting update to those phones. It is using the same combination of an ultra-wide 16MP lens, a regular 12MP lens and a 12MP telephoto lens.

These must be combined to offer a fantastic photographic experience, if they work as well as the Galaxy S10 range. We had limited time to test the cameras during our practical review, but from what we saw they seemed to capture images that looked as good as other recent Samsung phones.

Most of Note 10's enhancements in the camera department are in its video recording capabilities. Image stabilization technology has been improved, and there is a new feature called Live Focus Video, which allows you to capture 'bokeh' background blur effects of the kind seen in portrait mode frames.

It can also make a subject come out of its background in other ways, for example, by keeping the subject in color while making the background black and white - again this is an effect we've seen for frames, but it's a new idea for video.

In Note 10, all this is achieved through the software, but Note 10 Plus uses a separate ProfthVision lens to work its magic, so if this sounds like a must-have function for you, it's likely to work better on a larger phone.

Another feature is called AR Doodle, which allows you to write over moving images. This works similar to the Instagram or Snap chat filters with its augmented reality technology, but it is designed so you can create your own images using the S-Pen.

The front camera is in the center of the screen and is a 10 MP sensor. We haven't had much time to test this yet, but we'll make sure to investigate how well it works in our next complete overhaul.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Specifications:

Because it's a Galaxy Note phone, the S Pen is here for you to take notes, draw on the screen and more. If you're looking for a stylus phone, this is one of the few devices currently available, and the others are mostly other Note devices.

Improvements to the S Pen for Note 10 include gesture controls that allow you to control certain applications, such as the camera, video or gallery, by moving the S Pen in different directions.

It is present limited to galaxy applications or apps, but the company is allowing third party application creators to access this part, so third party applications may start using it in the coming weeks.

Users in the United States will have access to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip set inside their phone. If you're in the United Kingdom (and other countries around the world), you'll get the newly announced Exynos 9825 chip set, which is built with 7nm EUV technology.

This essentially allows Samsung to make a chip set that is smaller but more efficient, and the company has chosen to include the new chip in Note 10.

The phone has 8 GB of RAM and is only available with 256 GB of storage; it is not compatible with micro-SD, and Samsung says this is to help keep the size of the device low. That's a lot of room for the average user, but if you want more you'll have to opt for the Note 10 Plus, which comes with 512 GB of built-in storage as well as support for micro-SD.

Another feature that has been sidelined in the effort to keep the Note 10 thin is the 3.5mm headphone jack. This is the first time Samsung has dropped the jack on their high-end phones, and some will be unhappy with the decision. You will be able to use the USB-C port on the bottom of the phone for certain headphones (including a pair in the box), but you may need to replace some of the cables you currently use.

Samsung has chosen to put a 3,500mAh battery into Note 10. We still don't know how that battery will work, but we'll make sure to test it during our full review.

Wireless charging is available, and you can also use Samsung's Wireless PowerShare feature to charge compatible devices such as headphones, smart clocks or other phones from your Note 10.

Looking for a phone with 5G support? The Galaxy Note 10 is not - you will have to opt for a more expensive 5G version of the Galaxy Note 10 Plus in order to get that support on board.

Review By Expert: Conclusions:

Samsung's first attempt at a smaller Note device means the loss of some of the high-end features that some of those who opt for the company's premium range are looking for, but this is a fantastically designed device that is one of Samsung's best phones so far.

If you're looking for a Galaxy Note phone that's easier to hold, it might be this one. If you're looking for the most powerful device Samsung has to offer, you should try the Galaxy Note 10 Plus instead.

That said, the Galaxy Note 10 already seems to be one of the best phones Samsung has ever created and is immediately one of the best options on the market if you're desperate for a stylus that works with your phone.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Release Date, Specifications and Rumous

2019-08-09T20:25:00.000+05:00

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Release Date, Specifications, Specifications and Rumors:

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Complete Review

Samsung Galaxy Note series is one of the best smartphones. It combines great design and excellent performance, offering almost everything you need or need from your smartphone.

Galaxy Note 9 is a great device, but Samsung hasn't changed much in design compared to Note 8. Will the Galaxy Note 10 shake up?

Here are all the rumors about Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10.

August 7, 2019.
Note 10: 949 euros is declared
Note 10: EUR 1099 declared

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will be presented on August 7th at the next Samsung Unpacked event. The event will be held at the Brooklyn Center, New York, and will be broadcast live.

We expect availability to start in mid-August, assuming that Samsung follows the same release scheme as Note 9, which was announced on August 9 and will go on sale on August 24. Reports suggest that August 23 will be a ready date for note 10.

Features of Galaxy Note 10: So far Reported

Redesign
Reduced frame
Glass and metal housing
Built-in S Pen
6.3-inch display
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on display
Front camera punched hole
Triple rear camera
Qualcomm SD855 or Exynos 9825
8 GB RAM
256 GB storage option
3500 mAh battery
Reverse wireless charging
AKG-tuned speakers
No 3.5mm headphone jack

Features Galaxy Note 10: So far Reported

Redesign
Reduced frame
Glass and metal housing
Built-in S Pen
6.8-inch display
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor on display
Front camera punched hole
Quad rear view camera
Qualcomm SD855 or Exynos 9825
12 GB RAM model
256 GB / 512 GB storage options
Support Micros SD
4300 mAh battery
Reverse wireless charging
AKG-tuned speakers
Model with 5G support
No 3.5mm headphone jack.

Rumors of Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10: What Happened?

August 2, 2019: Samsung Note 10 and Note 10 Price Leaks Better Start Saving
According to Ishan Agarwal, Note 10 will cost 949 euros for 256 GB and Note 10 - 1099 euros for 256 GB and will rise to 1199 euros for the 512 GB model.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is in pink, and it's great
Roland Kwandt from Winfuture, who was responsible for some other Note 10 renderers, demonstrated Galaxy Note 10 in pink, and it's great.

Renders represent pink color of the corresponding pink S Pen, and it looks more solid color for the model with silver gradient, which we saw earlier.

On July 29, 2019. Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 pre-orders can start on August 7th and are available from August 23rd.

According to the report, Note 10 will have 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of memory, and Note 10 will have 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB or 512 GB of memory.

Note 10 5G Appears...
A version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G with the model number SM-N976N appeared on the Geekbench with 12 GB of RAM and Exynos 9825 chipset, which were detected by SamMobile.

Judging by the results of benchmarking, the results look approximately the same as in Samsung Galaxy S10.

Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 visualization
Leaker Ice Universe tweeted some images of the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 and said that the new color "Aura Glow" is not a fixed gradient, as offered by Huawei phones.

Obviously, the new color Note10 "Aura Glow" is not a fixed gradient, it changes depending on the angle / illumination, so don't compare it with Huawei phones, they are very different. pic.twitter.com/ERUoEowbDR

July 24, 2019: the latest Galaxy Note 10 leak allows us to get to know the phone and its features better.

WinFuture has published some images and specifications for the Galaxy Note 10. The site says that the device will have a 6.8-inch display, but its area will be approximately the same as that of Note 9.

He also said that Note 10 will support microSD, which is not the case with Note 10, 3.5mm headphone jack and 4300mAh battery.

Other specifications detailed in the report mentioned a four-chamber rear view camera consisting of standard (12 megapixels), super wide-angle (16 megapixels) and telephoto (12 megapixels) lenses, as well as a flight time sensor, and a S-Collar lens with "Air Gestures".

Leakage discloses key features of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10:

Slashleaks has published a table of specifications for Note 10 and Note 10, offering some key specifications. According to the table, Note 10 will have a 6.3-inch Full HD display, a 3500mAh battery and a triple rear camera with two 12-megapixel sensors and a 16-pixel sensor.

At the same time, Note 10 will have a 6.8-inch Quad HD display, a 4300mAh battery and the same triple rear camera as the standard model, but with the addition of a fourth ToF sensor.

Both devices are said to run either on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9825 chipset. Note 10 is said to come with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of memory, while Note 10 has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of memory.

Tweet compares the S10 and Note 10 functions
Leaker Ice Universe tweeted a number of details comparing the Samsung Galaxy S10 with the upcoming Note 10.

Note10 series compared to S10 series:
Appearance update, larger screen, greater screen ratio
Added 5G support
UFS2.1 → UFS3.0
15 W → 25 W (45 W)
Sepn adds a new somatosensory operation
Camera update ≈0
Performance update ≈0

Proof that Note 10 does not have a headphone jack, provided by the FCC
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mistakenly released some images of the next Samsung device, showing both the top and bottom, as well as the back and front. Measurements appear to have been uncovered, as well as rumor support involving two devices, a triple camera on the back of one of these devices and the absence of a headphone jack.

The first official Samsung Galaxy Note 10 images appeared on the network
Roland Kwandt from WinFuture and Ishaan Agarwal from MySmartPrice shared official images of what is said to be Samsung Galaxy Note 10. The images show a triple camera at the back, as previously known, along with a camera with a hole in the center of the display at the top.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 "confirms" that the headphone jack is no longer a
Alleged cases of rendering of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 with the phones themselves appeared on the Internet, showing the devices that do not have a key function.

Samsung to Present Galaxy Note 10 August 7
Samsung has sent out invitations to the next UnPacked event, which will take place on August 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Although the invitation does not confirm that the event is for the Galaxy Note 10, it has an image of the S Pen stylus and one camera lens below.

Samsung
It is not clear at this time whether the camera lens belongs to the S Pen with its own camera. Alternatively, the camera simply refers to the puncher camera expected in Note 10.

In any case, note 7 August in your diaries.

Note 10 confirmed
TechRadar noticed the name Samsung Galaxy Note 10 during a visit to the Samsung campus in Korea. The site also took part in the round table, where the name Note 10 was confirmed by the CEO of Samsung DJ Koh.

Koh answered a question about Bixby, saying: "and for our note 10 it will be another step for Bixby", at the end of his answer. Nothing was mentioned about the names Note 10 or Note 10 Pro.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 photo leak shows a huge jump between generations
SlashLeaks has published several shots of what is said to be a Galaxy Note 10 (formerly referred to as Note 10 Pro) with Tech Talk TV, showing the device with hardly any bezel, a camera with a hole in the center at the top of the display, and what appears to be a triple camera in a horizontal format on the back of the device.

Legitimately, Note 10 looks like it will offer a huge jump in generation compared to Note 9.

19 June 2019. The new report suggests that Samsung Note 10 will be released on August 7
CNET reported that sources familiar with this issue reported that Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will be released on August 7 at the Brooklyn Center in New York.

Earlier reports said that on August 10 and August 10 - Saturday, we believe that August 7 is more plausible. Nothing has been confirmed so far.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 may be launched on 10 August
ET News announces that Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Pro will be released on August 10. He also announced that there will be 5G and 4G versions of LTE models, as well as a 6.28-inch screen for Note 10 and a 6.75-inch screen for Note 10 Pro.

The Korean site also reported that there will be 12GB of RAM and an Infinity O display from the Samsung Galaxy S10, but the front camera is expected to be centralized at the top of the display rather than in the top right corner.

Contradictory rumors do not suggest charging 45 watts
Despite rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will be equipped with a fast charge of 45 watts, other sources claim that Note 10 will offer a fast charge of 25 watts, as the current Note 9.

The Note 10 view shows a triple camera and the Note 10 Pro is reserved for a four-dimensional camera

Leaker Ice Universe shared the visualization of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, created by OnLeaks and 91 Mobiles, showing the triple rear camera in a vertical format, as well as a camera with a perforation hole on the front panel at the top of the display in the center.

Ice Universe claims that the renderer shows a smaller model of Note 10, adding that the larger model is called Note 10 Pro and that it will add a ToF camera to the rear camera setup, which will lead to the appearance of a quad-core camera, as suggested by other rumors.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will appear on Geekbench
Two versions of Samsung Galaxy Note 10 with model numbers SM-N976V and SM-N976B appeared on Geekbench. Features of the first model include Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, 12 GB of RAM and Android Pie. The second model has an Exynos 9825 chipset with 8 GB of RAM.

Both are expected to support 5G with the same set for the Verizon network in the US.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 can charge up to 45 watts
A mysterious tweet from Ice Universe shows an image of Leonardo Di Vinci combined with a lightning bolt and number 101101. It is said that the Galaxy Note 10 is codenamed Da Vinci, and the 101101 is translated into 45 in decimal form, as GSM Arena found out.

Therefore, it is assumed that the leak has assumed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will have a 45W fast charge in the image.

Further reports suggest a button less design for Note 10
Android police say that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 can be in two sizes, and none of them will have a 3.5mm headphone jack or any physical buttons, which confirms the previous rumor from ET News in March 2019.

The site claims that the buttons will be replaced by textured capacitive or sensor areas.

May 24, 2019: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 renderers will appear on the network
Phone Arena has created some renderings of what Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will look like based on rumors.
Based on the visualization, it is proposed to have a front camera with a hole for perforation in the center of the display at the top and a four-chamber camera at the back in a vertical matrix. Renders show all the ports and buttons that are still present.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will be released with the 5G
Verizon CEO Hans Westberg confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will have a 5G model.

Comments were made during the quarterly income statement, where he said: "Note and Galaxy will have 5G this year.

Larger Note 10 may get a quad-core camera
The Korean website The Bell said that the larger model Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will have a quad-core camera, and the smaller model will have a triple camera. The site also supported previous statements that one of the Note 10 models will have a 6.75-inch screen.

1 April 2019: Two rumored Note 10 models
Korean media report that Samsung is working on two models of the completely redesigned Note 10. Information comes from sources in the supply chain, and one model, as previously reported, has a 6.7-inch display, but the other size was not detailed.

March 26, 2019: Button less design for Note 10?
ETNews reports that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 can be "keyless" or "buttonless" by turning off the power, volume and Bixby buttons to control touch or gesture. No further details were provided.

7 March 2019. The appearance of note 10 is based on preliminary information.
PhoneArena has published some versions of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, which are said to be based entirely on preliminary information. The images show a four-chamber camera at the back, combined with a double-hole camera at the front.

There is no fingerprint sensor, indicating that it will be under the display, as the Samsung Galaxy S10. As you might expect, the renderers also show the built-in S Pen and double curved display.

5 February 2019: Samsung filed a patent for the Galaxy S Pen, doubled as a camera
Patently Mobile reported that in February Samsung received a patent in which the S Pen Galaxy Note doubles as an excellent optical zoom system.

The patent suggested that the camera would be placed at the top of the S Pen, and the control key would control zoom. No details were given about when or when the patent would ever be issued.

October 16, 2018: Note 10 screen will zoom in
Bell reported that Samsung Galaxy Note 10 will increase the display size to 6.66 inches, which is 0.26 inches larger than the Note 9. This makes sense given that the Galaxy S10 now has a size of 6.4 inches, walking through the territory of the Note.

We hope the show to be a Super AMOLED panel with HDR similarity and at least Quad HD resolution.

October 15, 2018: Note 10 may drop a 3.5mm headphone jack
My Smart Price reported that a South Korean publication claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 may abandon the 3.5 mm headphone port in favor of USB Type-C. Obviously, the information came from "insiders", although no additional information was provided.

Review By Expert: Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD video Camera Review

2019-08-09T09:21:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD Video Camera Analysis:

Review By Expert: Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD video Camera Review

The Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD video camera has motion sensor, the quality of the images is excellent, even at night. It records in a loop and automatically overwrites the oldest files. No matter what city you're in these days, driving can be a big headache. Anarchy on the roads, defective lane systems and motorcyclists running like water through a crack, it's only a matter of time before you end up in a bad situation on the road.

Whether an accident is your fault or someone else's, it's good to have the facts clear. That's why cameras are so valuable these days.

Selecting the right one is a process in itself. There are a number of options on the market with a wide range of prices, but a lot depends on what your particular needs are. Do you need a direct script camera or are you looking for more options, such as car safety? The Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD includes an arsenal of features that makes it stand out from the crowd, at least on paper.

But how does it work in the real world? Let's find out now.

Unlike its audio solutions for cars and even headphones, Blaupunkt's DVR 3.0 FHD doesn't have the same visual finesse. It looks pretty cheap overall, with a plastic casing that doesn't look very sturdy. Then there are the faint buttons that almost crack when pressed and the low resolution, low contrast display. The lack of a touch screen and poor controls to navigate through the options make you feel that this product doesn't really belong to 2017.

Review By Expert: Blaupunkt Video Camera: Characteristics:

The front of the unit has its protruding lens, which is 140 degrees wide and has a f/2.2 opening aperture. There are speakers on both sides of the lens to use when playing back recorded images. The back of the DVR, which is the part you'll see most of the time, has a 2.7-inch LCD screen along with menu and multi-function buttons. Finally, you can find a Micro-USB port for charging and data transfer (USB 2.0) at the top.

The Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD comes with a small suction cup holder that has a spherical joint, allowing you to tilt the camera to the position you want. If you haven't used a dash camera before then, you should understand that they tend to obstruct your view no matter where on the windshield you place them. We advise you to place yours behind the rearview mirror, but if you ever need to plug in your charging cable while driving, that could be a major hassle. It's just how the cameras are and this one is no different. That said, the suction cup that came with the Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD was of high quality and remained firmly attached to our windshield despite all the bad roads we went through. The device also comes with a Micro-USB car charger that has a generous cable length.

The Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD includes a number of features. It records video at 1080p 30fps at a very wide angle, covering everything you see through the windshield and much more. The mount gives you the freedom to turn it around, so if you ever feel like recording your karaoke sessions in the car with your friends, you can do it. The camera records in a loop, so that the oldest video file is overwritten once the microSD card runs out of space. For testing, we set the recording time per clip to 3 minutes, with the highest quality and resolution settings (1080p, Super-Fine), resulting in AVI files of approximately 335MB each. You also have the option to set the recording time to 1 minute or 5 minutes per clip.

Review By Expert: Blaupunkt Video Camera: Functionalities:

In addition to its basic functionality, the Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD also offers some quite interesting features. The first is motion detection, which means that the camera can automatically start recording when it detects motion. You can set the sensitivity to low (camera starts recording every time the car is moving), medium or high (recording starts only when an impact is detected).

We do not recommend setting it to a high level, as recording only the consequences of an accident may not be very useful.

Another feature that sounds very good in theory is the monitoring of parking lots. You can leave the camera waiting inside your car, and you are supposed to start recording every time you detect someone moving in front of the car. We say it well in theory, because the feature never worked despite multiple attempts during our test period.

The quality of the recordings was quite good. The sequences taken during the day were quite sharp and well exposed in general, and the camera was stable enough not to add any fluctuation to the sequences when driving on bad roads. Even at night, the camera captured the license plates well and made the most of the available lighting. The overall quality of the camera is what seemed to us to be the main differentiator between the Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD and the cheap nameless brands available on the market.

Review By Expert: Blaupunkt Video Camera: Battery Life:

The battery life during recording was about an hour, which is not much. However, with dashcams, the waiting time is more important than the recording time, as they can be connected to the car battery. There is a power saving mode LCD that would give you more recording time.

There is no doubt that the DVR 3.0 FHD can be a very useful car accessory, especially if you have to deal with bad traffic regularly. However, considering that we could not make the parking monitor work, and considering the quality of construction and the user interface, we cannot recommend this product. For Rs. With $12,490 you would expect a level of fineness that you won't find here.

If you want a camera that only works, there are a number of alternatives available at a fraction of the cost of the Blaupunkt DVR 3.0 FHD.

Pros:

Good quality images
Wide-angle lens
GPS, motion sensor are useful additions

Cons:

Cheap construction quality
Tedious interface
Parking control does not work
Expensive
Valuation

Overall score: 6/10

Review By Expert: GoPro Fusion Complete Review

2019-08-09T08:59:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: GoPro Fusion Complete Review:

Review By Expert: GoPro Fusion Complete Review

GoPro has long been a ruling competitor in the action camera space, but lately the company has been fight's with Poor sales and has also left the drone market Place. VR is a new vertical for GoPro, and is betting heavily on GoPro Fusion, its new 360-degree camera. The Fusion went on sale internationally late last year, and although GoPro has not yet made it available through retail channels in India like their other cameras, you can send a unit here. With a price of 600€, which does not include shipping, is Go Pro Fusion worth the high price? Find out in our review.

Review By Expert: GoPro Fusion: Design and Quality:

Fusion's design is quite different from what we're using to see with the company's Hero line of cameras. To begin with, it is larger than the typical rectangular GoPro Hero models, and it is heavier. The whole body has a rubber finish so it should be able to handle minor falls.

It is also water resistant up to 4.88 m (16 feet). There is an 18 megapixel sensor with a fisheye lens on the front and back of the Fusion to capture 360 degree images. These lenses are protruding and have no scratch protection, so you'll need to be very careful when handling the camera. GoPro sends a briefcase with the Fusion for the same reason.

There is a small backlit display on the front that shows you the current shooting mode, battery level, number of remaining shots and other details. It's not a touch screen, it's a step back from Hero6. This means that you will have to navigate through the menus with the Mode and Shutter buttons on the camera, as you do with the Hero Session camera series.

There are red status LEDs on the front and back to let you know if the camera is recording or capturing an image. There is a bracket on the bottom with mounting fingers that can be used to connect the Fusion to any GoPro mount, but it is removable so you can keep the Fusion in a vertical position by yourself.

The GoPro Fusion receives a much larger battery than the Hero6, at 2620mAh, and is inserted from the right. There are microSD card slots on either side of the battery, and both must be occupied for the Fusion to work. The reason for this is that the material captured by the two sensors is stored separately on the individual cards.

Only when you copy the footage to your phone or PC and use the GoPro software, the 360 degree images and videos will be merged. Naturally, this has a cost on the device you're rendering on, but we'll address it a bit. GoPro recommends cards of class 10 or higher, and the maximum capacity it can support is 128GB (per slot).

There is a smaller flap to the left of the camera that protects the USB Type-C port. Finally, there are three microphones at the top and a speaker grille at the back. Such as any other Go Pro camera the Fusion detect premium and well form. Its size makes it quite eye-catching, but it is still manageable when mounted on a bicycle helmet, for example.

The Fusion comes with a good starter kit. In the box, you'll find two adhesive holders, a C-type cable, a camera bag and a multi-purpose handle called the Fusion Grip. The latter can be used as a tripod or selfie stick, and its telescopic arm can be extended to give you more flexibility. Fusion Grip's quality construction and finish are great. It feels strong and well done, even though it is mainly made of plastic.

Review By Expert: GoPro Fusion Performance and Battery Life:

To test the Fusion, GoPro sent us two 32GB Lexar microSD UHS-II cards for this review. It's best to use two cards with identical capabilities in the Fusion, because if one of them fills up before the other, you won't be able to record any more shots. This also poses another potential problem: if one of the cards gets corrupted for some reason, it will only have half of the camera's images. Ideally, we would have liked to have a little integrated storage, especially considering the cost here.

You'll be familiar with the menu system if you've used a recent GoPro camera. You can use the Mode button to cycle through the shooting modes and the Shutter button to start capturing. In video mode, you can take spherical images at speeds up to 5.2 k (4992 x 2496) at 30 fps, or 3 k (3000 x 1504) at 60 fps. In photo mode, you can choose between auto, burst, and night photo settings.

With the latter, you can adjust the shutter speed and field of view. In most shooting modes, you can activate a function called Protune that allows you to manually set ISO and exposure compensation values if you need more control over lighting.

Fusion works just like any other GoPro. You can sync it with the GoPro application on Android or iOS via Wi-Fi, as well as Bluetooth to watch live video from the camera, just like a viewfinder. You can also change settings, such as GPS status and screen brightness. You can use voice controls, verify free space on the card, and update the camera's firmware as well.

Nevertheless; the list of mobile phones that support Fusion is not un limited. For iOS, you will need an iPhone 6s or later, and only a few recent iPad models are supported. For Android, the support is a bit gloomy at the moment, as there are only a handful of first-class devices that can work with Fusion. You can see the full list of compatible devices on the GoPro website.

We tested the Fusion with a Google Pixel 2 XL and an iPhone 6s Plus for this review. While the Pixel 2 XL managed to play the live stream and sew 360 degree videos without getting too hot, the older iPhone 6s Plus had trouble keeping up, and this caused it to warm up very quickly. Speaking of heat, the Fusion itself heats up even when inactive and gets very hot when recording videos or timelapses.

360-degree images can be shared only on Facebook, while videos can be trimmed for YouTube (up to 90 seconds) or Facebook (up to 30 seconds). You can also capture a 360-degree frame from the video and share it. Images and videos downloaded from the camera reside in the GoPro application, so there's no way to access them through your phone's gallery or share them through other media.

If you want to extract the 360-degree image and video files, you'll need to use the desktop application called Fusion Studio. The software is available for Windows and MacOS, but it takes a lot of work. In Windows 10, the program would simply refuse to detect the camera despite multiple attempts, and initially we also had the same problem on a Mac, although in the end the persistence paid off.

One solution for this is to manually copy the files from the microSD cards to your PC and then import them into Fusion Studio. This is a bit annoying, but at least it works. After doing this, you will have to wait a long time while the software generates a preview by combining the footage from both microSD cards.

Once processed, you will see all your clips in the left panel and several options to represent them in the right panel. The longer videos are saved as multiple clips of seven minutes each on the cards, but when you see them in Fusion Studio, they appear as one big video clip. Once selected, you can trim the video, adjust yaw, pitch and roll, and adjust color properties.

You can even try to stabilize the video if you need to before generating the final result. At this stage, you can choose the type of codec (H.264, CineForm '422 High' or ProRes 422), the resolution and the audio format (stereo, audio 360) you want.

Overcapture in iOS allows you to crop standard-looking videos into 360-degree footage for easier sharing.

The Fusion has a genius trick up its sleeve, and that's the Overcapture function. It's currently only available in the Fusion Studio desktop application and in iOS, allowing you to create standard looking videos from its spherical footage. You can choose from multiple aspect ratios, including 16: 9, 4: 3 and square, and even set the projection type for Little Planet or Fisheye for some very interesting effects.

Rendering a 16: 9 video clip using Overcapture is fast, but if you want to render a 360 degree clip, your waiting time will depend on the power of your PC or device. In our mid-2015 iMac with a Core i5 CPU and 16GB of RAM, a five-minute 360-degree clip rendered in 4K (from 5.2K) took over an hour. Our iMac may not have the latest specifications, but this is still an impractical time.

On a Windows 10 laptop with an 8th Gen Core i7 CPU, previews were faster, but exporting the same five-minute file with the same settings as on the Mac took about 45 minutes. Fusion Studio is also extremely inaccurate and imprecise.

He hung himself a lot of times when it came to watching sequences, and going through the timeline wasn't very sensitive on the longer clips. The program often stopped responding, and we had to force it on the Mac.

The processed images look good, and the stitch lines aren't visible for the most part. Objects that are placed too close to the camera appear a little deformed when sewn, but as long as you have the camera away from you or the subject, it should be fine. When using the Fusion Grip, most of the pole is invisible because it's just below the two lenses, so it looks like your hand is holding a handle that's not attached to anything.

The image quality is good in daylight, and Fusion does a good job of measuring the scenes. The colours are also very saturated. Under direct sunlight, a portion of the sky may look a little burnt but everything else is very legible. In low light conditions, there is some visible noise, but in general, the level of detail is still quite good. Burst and timelapse modes work the same as with other GoPro cameras.

The video quality is also excellent during the day and the stitches are handled well. In low light conditions, the details get a little success, but the quality is still decent. The video can be played back with the Fusion VR player application, or if you have Windows 10, the default video player also supports 360-degree video playback.

Note that if you have Fusion mounted on a helmet, the area around the helmet will appear a little deformed as it is too close to the lenses, but everything else is well rendered. The video is fluid and may add more stabilization in post-production.

Sewing videos consumes a lot of resources on the device you are using. Again, our Pixel 2 XL didn't get too hot, and a seven-minute video took approximately 16 minutes to process. However, the iPhone 6s Plus often could not import videos longer than two minutes, and it would get very hot.

Still images and videos are saved in JPEG and MP4 formats respectively, and you even have the option to shoot in RAW format, although this increases the time needed to save the shots. The 360 degree images are eaten through their storage space quite quickly.

We fill our 32GB cards with a combination of photos, burst shots, and an amount of material up to 5.2K, which amounts to about 50 minutes. A seven-minute clip capture at a typical 5.2K resolution is approximately 2.8GB in size per lens.

We found some bugs in the current Fusion firmware. For example, the red status light on the front would remain on when the Fusion was turned off, and sometimes random conversations would activate voice commands, causing the device to switch modes or start recording.

Despite its large battery, we managed to get only one hour of continuous use by recording at the highest resolution. This was with Wi-Fi enabled, but GPS and Protune were turned off. Charging the Fusion takes approximately three and a half hours using a standard wall adapter. As with other GoPros, even if the camera is turned on but idle for a while, there will be a noticeable decrease in battery life. Fortunately, Fusion shuts down after seven minutes of inactivity.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:

The GoPro Fusion is the company's first attempt at a 360-degree camera, and while it captures very good images, it is not the easiest camera to use. First, there is the need for two microSD cards at all times. Then there's the software, which has a long way to go, especially the Fusion Studio desktop application.

Don't forget you'll need a powerful desktop and smartphone if you want to work with the footage this camera captures. Support for the Android app is limited to a handful of flagship phones right now, and Overcapture, which is a crucial feature, has not yet reached Android.

This puts it in the same stadium as other 4K 360 degree cameras such as Ricoh Theta V and Nikon KeyMission 360. GoPro tells us that it plans to sell it through local online and offline channels, but for now, this is the only way to get your hands on one.

Right now, Fusion is too expensive for what feels like an unfinished product. The hardware is solid, but the software has a lot to recover. It would made feeling to wait a small and look how things better with software upgrades in the coming weeks or if GoPro has a follow-up version of Fusion planned for 2018.

Pros:

High quality 360 degree footage
Resistant and waterproof
Bundled Fusion Grip is practical
Excessive capture works well

Cons:

Fusion Studio software is glitchy
No built-in storage
Android support is bleak (for now)
Costly
Processing 360 videos can be cumbersome

Ratings (out of 5):

Design: 3.5
Performance: 3
Value for money: 3
Overall: 3

Review By Expert: Canon EOS M50 Camera Complete Review

2019-08-09T08:31:00.001+05:00

Review By Expert: Revision of the Canon EOS M50 Camera:

Review By Expert: Canon EOS M50 Camera Complete Review

Canon's line of non-mirror products has been around for a couple of years, but the company has taken the time to update the series with the latest features. Meanwhile, others like Sony and Fuji-film have embraced the mirror-less segment with open arms, delivering some truly spectacular products. Canon is finally playing catch up with its latest model, the Canon EOS M50 interchangeable lens camera, which is also the first in the series to finally support 4K video recording.

The Canon EOS M50 is Tagged as a "Beginner" level mirror less camera, and priced at Rs. 61.995 which includes a kit lens, goes against offers like the Sony A6300 and the Fuji film X-T100. Does the EOS M50 have what it takes to stand up to the competition? It's time to find out.

Review By Expert: Canon EOS M50 Design:

The Canon EOS M50 looks like a miniature DSLR camera, with reduced body width. This is possible because there is no physical mirror system, allowing the lens to be placed much closer to the sensor. Despite its small size, the camera body is not exactly pocket size due to the bulge at the top of the electronic viewfinder (EVF) and xenon flash. We are happy that Canon has kept the grip decently large, which makes it very comfortable to hold this camera. It weighs about 387g with the kit lens, which is quite light.

The Canon EOS M50 feels sturdy, and the quality of the buttons and switches is first class. There is a microphone input on the left, as well as Micro-USB and Micro-HDMI ports on the right. All of them are covered by fins, which offer a small degree of weather resistance. The camera also has NFC for fast pairing and a dedicated button to turn Wi-Fi on or off.

The EOS M Fifty have 3" LCD touch screen with a resolution of 1.04Milion dots or Pixels. The touch response is good and can be used to change focus and navigate menus, and as a touchpad for the electronic viewfinder (EVF). The screen opens outwards and can be fully articulated. The EVF is a 2.36 million dot OLED that produces sharp images to help you frame a shot. You get a built-in pop-up flash and a safety shoe on top.

The mode dial on the right is a little stiff, which is good. Even the on/off switch has a reassuring snap. The shutter button is comfortable to reach and around it we have a textured sphere. The video recording button is placed just at the edge of the top, but can still be accessed with your index finger. There are also some additional buttons on the back, and fortunately, all of them can be reprogrammed to the setting you prefer.

The battery and microSD card compartment are at the bottom of the camera. In the box, you get the LP-E12 battery, a charger, a neck strap and the lens of the EF-M 15-45 mm f / 3.5-6.3 IS STM kit. The lens has a built-in stabilizer, which is useful as there is no stabilization in the body. The lens is also retractable, giving you a smaller footprint when not in use. The EOS M50 uses EF-M-mount lenses, but with an adapter, you can also use EF and EF-S lenses.

Review By Expert: Canon EOS M50 Features and Specifications:

Canon has given the EOS M50 some decent improvements. It is the first to introduce the company's new DIGIC 8 image processor and the first M series camera to support 4K video recording. It has a 24.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with autofocus contrast detection (AF) and Dual Pixel AF. The latter gives you 143 autofocus focus points for faster focus.

Unfortunately, PDAF does not work when 4K video is taken, and the camera uses contrast detection autofocus. The reason for this, according to Canon, has more to do with the way you want to put the camera on the market than a technical limitation.

The EOS M50 has an ISO range of 100-25,600 for still images and 100-6,400 for video. It has built-in Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth and NFC. The camera also has the usual set of functions such as face tracking AF, a healthy 10 fps burst mode with the autofocus type set in One-Shot, 4K video recording at up to 25 fps and 1080p video at up to 60 fps.

You can enable high frame rate shooting, which captures 720p images at 120fps. 4K timelapse videos are also supported.

In addition to PSAM shooting modes, the mode dial also has options for a fully automatic mode; creative fisheye filters and black-and-white effects; and a scene mode that includes a silent shooting mode. This last feature is useful when you want to avoid shutter noise, but you can't take burst shots, which makes its use a little limited.

The menus are well distributed, so it's easy to find what you're looking for. You can choose between the standard tab style menu system or a "Guide" for novice users. The M50 can also be paired with a smartphone via the Canon Camera Connect application for Android and iOS.

This allows you to shoot remotely and also have your photos automatically transferred to your phone as they are taken. This all works very much like what we've already seen in the EOS 1500D. You can do a bit of post-processing work inside the camera, such as red-eye correction, resizing, etc.

Review By Expert: Canon EOS M50 Performance And Battery Life:

The EOS M50 has a good ISO range on paper, but now it's time to see what part of that range is really usable. In our ISO test, the camera handled the noise quite well up to around ISO 1,600. The details also held up well. There was a slight drop in quality when we went to a higher stop, and at ISO 6,400, the noise was easily visible. The image was quite distorted at the native ISO maximum of 25,600, so it is unusable. There is an extended ISO setting that allows it to go up to 51,200, but the resulting image quality is very low.

Review By Expert: Canon EOS M50 ISO Test:

The Canon EOS M50 is easy to master, as there are not many buttons or dials to worry about, although advanced users may find this a bit limiting. Dual Pixel autofocus works very well and the camera quickly locks the focus while scrolling or focusing on different objects in a frame. The change of focus is also very smooth, allowing you to achieve some ingenious focus-attraction effects in videos.

Distortion correction must be enabled in the menu, because without it, there is a noticeable barrel distortion in the images. In daylight, details are good and colors are very well saturated without any noticeable bias toward a particular color. Sharpness is also good in areas that are in focus, but objects on the sides of a frame tend to look a little soft and blurry at times, if they are in the similar level of attention.

Shut Down shots have good dynamic range and convergence levels. The edges around objects are also well defined, although our macro shots of very small subjects, such as a flower, seemed a little soft. The 15-45mm kit lens doesn't have a very wide maximum aperture, but even at f / 3.5, the bokeh effect is decent.

In low light conditions, we consider it best to limit the automatic ISO value to ISO 6,400, as all of the above results in relatively noisy images, even with the 'High ISO Noise Reduction' setting enabled. The sensor captures good details even at night.

The camera's lightness makes it easier to handle, and the ability to flip the screen in all directions gives you more control when you have the camera pointing at you for vlogging. The audio quality with the built-in microphone is also good. The EOS M50 can take good portrait shots, with support for automatic focusing of the eye if you use Face + Tracking AF mode. We found it works decently well.

The EOS M fifty can record Excellent quality Image at 1080 p and 4 K resolutions. Lens stabilization along with electronic stabilization inside the camera works well for resolutions up to 1080p. In 4K, we do not find the stabilization as effective. The Dual Pixel autofocus works well for video, but if you are recording at 4K, get ready for a much slower autofocus. This becomes a problem in low light, where the camera tends to search for focus even with a slight movement.

Most cameras without interchangeable mirror lenses are not known for battery life and that's because, to keep the body slim, you must compromise a little battery capacity. The EOS M50 is no different. It is rated to deliver 235 still images with the LCD screen in use, and during our tests, which inevitably involved recording some video as well, we only got about 183 shots. You can't charge the camera via USB, which is disappointing.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:

The EOS M50 seems like a step in the right direction for Canon, as it features features that long ago should have been due to the company's non-mirror offerings. The new model is built very well, takes high quality images with good light and is quite compact. The Rs. The selling price of 61.995 is not bad either, considering that it includes the lens of the 15-45 mm kit. However, we believe there is still a lot of room for improvement. Low light images are noisy at higher ISO values, the battery life is weak and the lack of double pixel autofocus on 4K could be an obstacle for some.

Meanwhile, the Sony A6300, which was released two years ago, addresses all the shortcomings of the M50 and offers advanced features as well, including the ability to shoot in S-Log for color classification in publishing. It has a slightly higher price at approximately Rs. 68,000 with a 16-50mm lens, but you also get many more features. The Canon M50 is a fun little camera, but it's hard to ignore the more versatile options that have been around for a while.

Pros:

Lightweight and compact body
Fully articulated screen
Above average image quality in daylight
Dual Pixel auto focus works well

Cons:

Weak battery life
Slow auto focus on 4K
ISO high average yield

Ratings (out of 5):

Structure / design: 4
Image quality: 3.5
Video quality: 3.5
Performance: 3.5
Value for money: 3
Overall: 3.5

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Review

2019-08-08T17:53:00.001+05:00

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e: The Thinnest Tablet:

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Review

Samsung has cultivated a surprisingly long line of tablets. From the original Galaxy Tab 7.0 of 2010 to last year's Galaxy Tab S4, more than 20 different devices have arrived with the moniker Galaxy Tab. As the MWC begins, there's another Samsung Galaxy tablet arriving in stores. The Galaxy Tab S5e is the company's thinnest tablet yet, and possibly the first Android tablet with the potential to eliminate the power of Apple's iPad line.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e: Specifications:

10.5in, WQXGA (2560×1600), Super AMOLED display
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 processor (2x2GHz, 6×1.7GHz)
4GB or 6GB of RAM
64GB or 128GB of storage (512GB microSD expansion)
13MP Rear View Camera
8MP auto-photo camera
7,040mAh battery
245.0 x 160.0 x 5.5 mm
400 g

Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e Release Date
UK launch date: Can be booked from March, but available for purchase in summer.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e launch price
Price: From 360€:

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e: Design, Key Features and First Impression:

At first glance, it is clear that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e is preparing for a fight in the ring with the powerful Apple iPad Pro. It's slim, sleek and light as a feather, yet it also promises enough power to make you wonder how Samsung has managed to keep it so slim.

The Galaxy Tab S5e measures 245 x 160 x 5.5 mm (HWD). This makes it an exceptionally thin tablet, outperforming the comparatively strong iPad Pro 2018 by a margin of 0.4 mm. You'll be interacting with a 10.5in Super AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 2.560 x 1.600 and a pixel density of 287ppi. In simple terms, this is a very impressive display, and one that hits most of Android's competitors at this price out of the water.

The tablet lacks a headphone jack, which is a strange move from Samsung since the tablets are traditionally devices more focused on entertainment. Fortunately, the Tab S5e has an ace up its sleeve in the audio department: four speakers tuned to AKG and surround sound using Dolby Atmos technology. With speakers like that, you might not want to use headphones when you're watching a movie at home.

Of course, the Tab S5e is also equipped with all the usual ports and buttons, including a USB-C charging port, volume controls and a power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor. The Galaxy Tab S5e comes in three colours (black, grey and gold), although it lacks the old start button of its ancestors.

Feeding the Tab S5e is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 670, which is approximately on par with the Snapdragon 835 feeding the Tab S4. It is an octa-core processor, featuring a combination of dual 2.0GHz cores and six cores with a clock speed of 1.7GHz. The processor integrates one of Qualcomm's new Adreno 615 GPUs, so it must have decent 3D gaming capabilities.

There are two memory configurations to choose from: 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Regardless of configuration, the Tab S5e comes with a Micro SD port that supports cards up to 512GB in size, so digital hoarders can easily rest.
Despite the S5e's narrow frame, Samsung has managed to put a 7,040 mAh battery into the new tablet. This promises to provide around 14 hours of battery life on a single charge, as well as supporting fast charging and charging of Samsung's 'POGO' using a compatible base.

Finally, the Tab S5e is equipped with two cameras. The rear facing camera unit has a resolution of 13 megapixels, with an aperture of f/2.0 and a sensor size of 1/4.0 inches, while the front camera is an 8 megapixel unit, with the same aperture and a sensor size of 1/3.4in. Even if those specifications mean little to you, they are proof that the Galaxy Tab S5e will take some reasonably good photos, not vitally important in a tablet, but it is still a definite advantage.

The rear camera is capable of recording video at a resolution of 3.840×2.160 at 30 fps, while the front snapper can recognize your face and unlock the device.

Review By Expert: First Conclusion:
At this initial stage, I am impressed with what the Galaxy Tab S5e has to offer. With Apple's iPad Pro dominating the high-end tablet market for what should be four years, I think we finally have a suitable Android alternative in our hands.

Of course, all this may change when I receive the Galaxy Tab S5e for review, but after my brief time of use with the device, I can color impressed.

Review By Expert: iPad Air 2 Review

2019-08-07T17:44:00.002+05:00

iPad Air 2: Replaced by the Latest 9.7" iPad:

Review By Expert: iPad Air 2 Review

You can no longer buy the Apple iPad Air 2 from Apple, as it replaced the popular model with the simple title iPad. This new iPad 2018 is essentially little more than an iPad Air 2.5, improving some areas of Air 2 and exposing weaknesses in others.

The iPad is a thicker fraction than the iPad Air 2, and Apple has incorporated an A9 chip to improve performance compared to the A8X of the Air 2. In terms of performance, there is no competition, the iPad has it. However, the quality of construction is not as good as that of the Air 2, as the glass is not laminated on the LCD panel, generating images that are not as immediate or vibrant.

A minor consideration on the contrast can be forgiven if you consider the price, which has been reduced from 399€ to 339€. In the absence of a 16GB, 32GB or 64GB mini 4 iPad, that means that the new iPad is now the cheapest Apple tablet you can buy. The cheapest iPad mini 4 costs €419.

Review By Expert: iPad Air 2:
iPads remain the best versatile tablet available, thanks in large part to the quality of iOS and an excellent selection of applications. You should only look at Android tablets if you have a budget that does not fit Apple prices or prefer Android in general. With this price cut, there's really no reason to consider an Android tablet unless it costs you much less than 200€.

The hardest question is whether you should buy an iPad Air 2 or iPad Pro 9.7in. This depends on one thing and only one thing: the price. If you want a 9.7-inch iPad but don't want to spend as much, the Air 2 is your only choice. Even iPad mini 4 is more expensive, starting at €419 for the 128GB version.

Stretch to €469 and you get an iPad Air 2 with 128GB of storage and Wi-Fi and 4G, so you can connect to the Internet anywhere with coverage. By comparison, the 128GB 4G version of iPad Pro 9.7 will cost you €759.

However, if you have the budget, it's best to get an iPad Pro 9.7" in the long run. For your extra money, you'll get a better screen, a much faster device (and so you'll be ready for the future) and support for the Apple pen and smart keyboard.

Review By Expert: In Depth: iPad Air 2 Hardware:
The design of the iPad Air 2 is essentially the same as that of the original iPad Air, although Apple managed to reduce the thickness of the device by 1.4 mm and 32 g of its weight. At only 6.1 mm thick, 240 x 169.5 mm and 437 g, this is a tablet that you can easily hold and use with one hand.

Everything else oozes premium quality, too, with a precision-cut aluminum case that's as amazing as you'd expect from Apple, and options in silver, gold, and "Space Gray," all with a spectacular look.

The iPad Air 2 start button includes Touch ID, the fingerprint reader you can use to unlock your iPad, log in to some applications (I find it especially useful for password managers), and authorize online payments.

Apple has maintained the same resolution as previous iPads from iPad 3 on wards: 2,048 x 1,536. This Retina class display has a pixel density of 264ppi and excellent color reproduction, but lacks the true-tone function that comes with the iPad Pro 9.7inch. True Tone uses ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the color and intensity of the screen to match the light in your environment, which means you get a much better color in all conditions. In short, if you want the best display, get iPad Pro instead of iPad Air 2.

Compared to the Super AMOLED displays you'll find on devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S , the iPad Air 2 lacks enthusiasm, but in return, you get brightness and color accuracy. However, this is still a big screen for any size.

In terms of performance, iPad Air 2 is still perfectly acceptable even today. It uses the 64-bit A8X, a three-core chip with a clock speed of 1.4GHz to 1.5GHz, along with 2GB of memory. When we first reviewed it, this made iPad Air 2 the fastest tablet we'd ever seen, but since then it's been overshadowed by the iPad Pro series.

That said, the performance is still excellent: it is on par with the Google Pixel C, and is better than its rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 and the Huawei Media Pad M3 . In short, it's more than enough for almost everything you'll find in the App Store. If you want to extend the limits of any of the games, video or photo manipulation, you'll want the Pro, but otherwise, the Air 2 is more than capable.

Apple has also slightly redesigned the volume buttons, housing them in a hole, rather than making each button go through its own hole. There's no difference in feel, though the new design is a little more attractive and cleaner than the previous one.

Battery life, too, is solid. In our normal video playback test, the battery lasted 9 hours and 32 minutes at a screen brightness of 170 cd/m2. This is still a good result for a large tablet and, although the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Google Pixel C last longer, it is unlikely to be disappointed. Combined with its excellent standby time (the iPad Air 2 hardly consumes any power while resting), you'll find that you don't have to charge this tablet too often.

And yes, you get two cameras: a front camera for video chat applications and a back camera for taking pictures. The latter is an 8 megapixel camera that's good enough for everyday use in daylight, but suffers a lot in low light. The software includes the ability to shoot panoramas, a 10 fps burst mode and, of course, 1080p video.

Review By Expert: iPad Air 2: Software:
Unlike the older iPad Air, Air 2 can take full advantage of the split screen feature introduced with iOS 9, which allows you to have two applications in view at the same time. In fact, iOS (now in version 10) is a mature, full-featured mobile operating system with an extensive library of applications and high-quality games.

As with most Apple stuff, iPad Air 2 works best if you already have other company devices. For example, Hand off is a feature that allows you to start working on one device and then "deliver" the same application to another.

Let's say you're working on an email on your iPad. A small icon appears in your Mac Dock, and clicking on it opens the unsent email, even with the cursor exactly where you left it. Similarly, iOS recently introduced a universal clipboard, which allows you to crop something on your Mac and then paste it into an app on your iPad or iPhone.

Review By Expert: iPad Air 2 Alternatives:
iPad Air 2 may not be the star iPad now, but it still compares to other tablets, iPad, Android, and Windows.

Google Pixel C: the best Android tablet of its size at the moment, the Pixel C has the advantage of an optional detachable keyboard. However, although Android has made great strides, it remains the second best for iOS as a tablet operating system. A little more expensive than the iPad Air 2 at around 479€.

Apple iPad Pro 9.7: If your budget can be extended to it, the iPad Pro 9.7inch offers you many more features: Smart Cover and pen support, a much better display and a major upgrade for the camera and processor. But you're going to pay a little more.

Microsoft Surface 3: the "forgotten man" of the Microsoft Surface line, the Surface 3 is a Windows tablet that for 419€ is only a little more expensive than the iPad Air 2. However, the performance is a little low and is also becoming a little bit now.

Review By Expert: New iPad Mini 5 Review

2019-08-07T10:33:00.004+05:00

New iPad Mini 5 will be Compatible with Apple Pencil:

Review By Expert: New iPad Mini 5 Review

The iPad mini 4 brought the joy of portable tablet size to our lives in 2015. Even today it remains one of the best 8-inch tablets on the market. After such a long wait, surely an iPad mini 5 is working. Or has it been abandoned and consigned to scrapheap?

Well, the latest news coming to the scene is that the renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (through MacRumors ) has stated that the iPad mini 5 will materialize this year.

In a research note on Sunday, February 17, Kuo states that Apple plans to launch two new iPad Pro models, a 10.2-inch iPad and an updated mini iPad, all with updated processors, sometime this year. This shouldn't come as a big surprise, given that the rumors of the mini iPad have been consistent for a few months, but there's more about that below.

The report does not provide more details apart from saying that the updated mini iPad is happening and that it should be happening this year.

Kuo has a solid track record in predicting Apple's release schedule, using his contacts in Apple's Asian supply chain with great effect. As a result, we are tempted to put money into a new mini iPad that will be released before the end of this year.

Until then, here's everything we know about the iPad mini 5.

iPad mini 5: All you need to know
iPad mini 5 release date: When will iPad mini 5 be announced?

There was a time when the iPad mini was the world's most popular iPad, but thanks to a preference for iPads with larger screens and stagnant tablet sales in general, the iPad mini has fallen a bit in the way.

So, could 2019 be the year of the iPad mini 5? Maybe.

Our last guess was that it would be announced by the end of 2018, along with the iPhone X, but the year ended without the mini iPad receiving as much as a mention. We saw a new iPad Pro in Apple's fall keynote, but nothing in the 7.9 in class.

The iPad Mini 4 came out at the same time as the first model of iPhone Plus, the iPhone 6S Plus. Since then, Apple has continued to release extremely successful 5.5in Plus models, and those, in a way, have taken the place of the mini iPad.

There have also been some reports from analysts suggesting that the Mini iPad has been kicked off. According to a BGR report, Apple was already starting to retire the mini iPad in 2017.

More recently, an August Bloomberg report quotes a person familiar with Apple's plans by saying that the mini iPad will not be updated. In short, we may never see a new iPad mini.

However, as mentioned earlier, the respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to produce a version of the mini iPad with an improved processor and a lower-cost panel sometime this year. This rumor suggests that we might see a fifth-generation mini iPad at Apple's spring event.

Review By Expert: Design and Features of iPad mini 5:

Take a look at all the previous iPad minis and you'll notice one thing: they all look the same.
While they have been getting thinner and thinner, the overall design has remained the same. Can we expect something similar with the iPad mini 5? Probably. There is a reason why there have been few changes from iPad to iPad, and that's because of the price.

The iPad mini has always been considered the most affordable, cheapest and cheerful iPad, so it's very unlikely that you'll see exclusive Pro features, such as a True Tone screen, on the 7.9-inch iPad.

That said, we believe the camera will almost definitely get an update if we get the mini 5. The iPad mini 4 has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.2 megapixel front camera. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro has a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. We expect the iPad mini 5 to at least match those specifications.

Review By Expert: iPad Mini 5 Price:
In case an iPad mini 5 emerges, we do not believe that Apple will increase the current cost price of the iPad mini 4.

That means you should stay around the baseball stadium from €379 to €499, depending on your choice of storage capacity, and of course, whether you opt for an iPad with LTE or not. In fact, when Apple updated the iPad range for 2017, the 9.7-inch model actually saw a price cut as well as an increase in specifications.

While Apple may be phasing out the mini iPad series, we are still hopeful. The iPad mini has always been a better iPad choice for some, thanks to a combination of price and portability.

Review By Expert: iPad mini 5 Specifications:
What will the new tablet power up?

It seems increasingly likely that we will see an update to iPad mini this summer. The word 'upgrade' is important: it won't be a new product, according to serial subsidiary Steve Hemmerstoffer (@Onleaks ). Hemmerstoffer reported seeing a CAD rendering of the new iPad mini 5 a couple of weeks ago and quickly pointed out that this is a product that uses the same shape factor as its predecessor.

As you can see, iPad mini 5 is likely to enhance mini 4 in some key ways. We can expect a hardware upgrade that will bring the processors and memory in line with the latest developments (which is the A12 Bionic), and almost certainly we will see the return of some longstanding mini iPad features. However, it seems quite unlikely that the iPad mini 5 will present anything particularly revolutionary.

The code found by developer Steve Troughton-Smith indicates that the new iPad mini could offer support for the Apple pen and smart keyboard. This would be the first mini iPad to offer such a thing: the Pro pen was only compatible with the expensive iPad Pro until last year, when Apple introduced the sixth-generation iPad.

So far, this is the only major update for which we have concrete evidence. The 3.5mm headphone jack and the Lightning charging port will return, and it looks like the dimensions of the device will also be the same. In addition, a magnetic stripe will probably pass by one side of the iPad mini 5 to charge the Apple Pencil.

Steve Hemmerstoffer reported that the microphone is now centrally located on the top rear panel, but there is a good chance that this is the most surprising design alteration the iPad mini 5 will offer. Expect it to be faster and more powerful than, but otherwise similar to, its predecessor.

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch Review

2019-08-06T20:02:00.001+05:00

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro 12.9-Inch Review Apple iPad Pro 12.9-Inch:

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch Review

The fastest iPad in history. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is at the center of a battle at Apple headquarters. It's not a literal battle. I'm not talking about Jony Ive in a chain dimension tabard that pricks a sharp pike in Tim Cook (though that's an image I'm going to have a hard time getting out of my head). No, I'm talking about the fight for the future of mobile computing. More specifically, the battle between iPad and MacBook.

Now in its third generation, the 2018 12.9in iPad Pro is a device that is powerful enough and able to accept traditional laptops like MacBook Air and MacBook 12Book in its own game. Soon you'll be able to run full Photoshop, it's fast enough to keep up, and it's very proficient in every conceivable area.

However, there are still some major obstacles to using an iPad Pro in a professional environment and, increasingly, those obstacles feel artificially imposed. It's as if Apple wanted the iPad to become a professional tool, but couldn't completely untie it.

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro: What You Need to Know:
I will refer to what those impediments are later in this review. For now, however, we are going to take the big details out of the way.

This is the latest version of the Apple Pro 12.9in iPad Pro. It's the tablet that Apple says it wants you to replace your laptop. It's best to use it along with the additional keyboard and the Apple Pencil, which are "optional" extras that must be purchased separately.

And this model marks the biggest iPad Pro redesign yet. Not only has Apple improved performance in 2018, as it does annually, it has also radically redesigned the design. These changes include removing the Touch ID sensor (replacing it with Face ID as in the last iPhones), thinning the beveled frame, trimming the edges of the tablet, and redesigning the keyboard box and Apple Pencil.

Review By Expert: IPad Pro: Price and Competition:
It is also much more expensive, following the rather unfortunate trend of rising prices for almost all technology-related products. The basic 12.9 inch iPad Pro with 64 GB of storage will cost you €969, the new Smart Keyboard Folio costs €199 and the second generation Apple Pencil costs €119.

Totea all that and you will have to pay 1,287€ for your new 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Alternatively, if you want premium Wi-Fi and iPad Pro cell phone with 1TB of storage and all the accessories, you'll pay €2,187. Wow, that's a lot of money.

Suffice it to say that this brings iPad Pro 12.9in into direct competition with 2 in 1 detachable laptops like Microsoft Surface Pro 6 and Google Pixel Slate. In fact, the new iPad Pro beats both rivals in price, although it comes with half the storage.

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro: Design And Features:
Apple has certainly improved its game when it comes to design. Not only is this new iPad Pro more attractive and modern to the eye, with its square edges, rounded corners, and edge-to-edge screen, Apple has also made changes that improve the functionality of the design as a whole.

The keyboard box, for example, is now a front and back folio design, so even though it's more expensive than before, you get full protection for your iPad Pro from the start. The keyboard box now also has two positions, instead of the one you have on the first iPad. One is as steep as the previous one, and another is a little more relaxed, making iPad Pro much more comfortable to use on your lap. This arrangement doesn't yet achieve the flexibility of the infinitely adjustable foot stand on Surface Pro 6, but for my money, iPad Pro feels more stable when it's perched on your thighs.

Another obvious improvement Apple had to make over the previous iPad Pro was the loading and storing of the Apple pen and has been inspired by Microsoft Surface devices. Instead of clumsily having to remove a cover that can easily be lost from the end of the pen and plug it into the tablet port to recharge the battery, the new Apple pen magnetically attaches itself to the top edge and charges wirelessly. This has not been fully implemented to perfection; if you place the pen to the left or right of the center, it will stick but not charge, but it is much, much more convenient.

A hidden consequence of the new shape and design is that the three contacts that connect the tablet to the keyboard are no longer at the bottom edge, but at the back of the tablet. This means you won't be able to save money and use the new iPad Pro with its old smart keyboard. Owners of the first or second generation iPad Pro may also be surprised to discover that their old Apple Pencil won't be compatible either.

In short, if you bought an iPad Pro from the previous generation and you're upgrading, you'll have to buy the batch back. That, if not entirely surprising, is still a bit disappointing, especially since the two accessories cost a total of 319€ not inconsequential.

Review By Expert: Second Generation Apple Pencil:
Still, at least you get an upgrade if you decide to add the second-generation Apple Pencil to your basket when you purchase your new iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard Folio. And, apart from wireless charging and being able to stick it to the top edge of the tablet when it's not in use, it's been completely redesigned.

Now it's shorter, flattened along one side and finished in a soft, matte coating, which in my opinion makes it more comfortable to hold and use. The nib also has a slightly softer feel, which makes it more like using a pencil and paper than ever before. Apple has also added tactile sensitivity to the barrel, allowing it to take several shortcuts with a light double touch.

By default, this double-tap gesture switches between the current tool and the eraser, although it's possible to customize it to some extent. You can switch between the current tool and the last tool used, for example, or use it to display the color palette.

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro: USB Type-C:
To give Apple some credit, there's a good reason it's not compatible with the first-generation pen, and that's because the iPad no longer has the Lightning port needed to charge it.

On the other hand, possibly the most significant change for the iPad since the first time the iPad was produced, its main connector is no longer proprietary but based on standards. All USB Type-C hail.

Except that it is not really what you would expect from a device connected to USB Tipo-C. On a laptop with Windows 10 or macOS, a USB Type C connection would allow you to connect all kinds of devices: monitors, printers, calibrators, storage devices; here, in a typical Apple revisionism episode, the USB Type-C is much more restrictive.

There's some good news: now you can use a charger to recharge your laptop, tablet and phone. In addition, you can attach any old Type-C SD card reader and import photos and videos from your DSLR. You no longer have to spend a small fortune on a bunch of Apple adapters and connectors, which has to be a good thing.

What you can't do is anything else you expect to be able to do with USB Type-C. Not yet, at least. Want to connect a second monitor? That kind of work works, but by default, connecting iPad Pro to a USB Type-C monitor will only reflect the screen. Until Apple adds support for signaling devices to iOS, you won't be able to do much more with it. iMovie is set up to preview the monitor a second time, but you'll never be able to do more than view the content because you can't manipulate what's on the screen without a mouse or touchpad.

The USB Type-C port on iPad Pro 12.9in also doesn't support mass storage. It's not the right thing to do anyway. Want to plug in a hard drive or USB drive and transfer files back and forth? You're out of luck. The only external storage medium comes in the form of importing photos into the Camera Roll. You can't even import photos directly into applications like Lightroom; instead, you must import them into Camera Roll and from there into Lightroom. It's a bit faff

Even the compatibility with USB headphones seems to be a little inconsistent. Although all the cheap USB Tipo-C headphones I plugged in worked well, a 3.5mm third party USB Tipo-C headphone adapter didn't work. And, yes, you will need one if you want to connect traditional wired headphones. One of the other new "features" in this year's iPad Pro is that Apple removed the 3.5mm headphone jack. That's just bad.

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro: Performance, Display and Battery Life:
All this sounds like small complaints and, in fact, most papers are easy to overcome, all except for multiple monitor support, of course. But when you look at the raw power available to the iPad owner today, it's funny that Apple hasn't made much progress in these areas.

With Apple's new Bionic A12X chip inside, along with 6 GB of RAM, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2018) is simply incredibly powerful. Just take a look at the reference graphics below. In Geekbench and GFXBench, not only is it faster than last year's iPad Pro, but it's also faster than the eighth-generation Intel Core i5-based Microsoft Surface Pro 6 we reviewed a month ago. That's pretty impressive.

If that wasn't impressive enough, remember that this is a tablet that can offer you more than ten hours of continuous offline video playback, which lasts 25% longer than the Core i5 Microsoft Surface Pro 6 in the equivalent test. It can't match the iPad Pro 2017 Endurance or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 based on Android, but more than ten hours in this test is better than most Windows laptops can handle.

Last but not least, the screen is excellent. Apple still uses IPS technology here and has not yet moved to AMOLED for their iPads, but it is excellent as always.

It is super sharp, with a resolution of 2.732 x 2.048 (for a pixel density of 264ppi), the tactile responsiveness is as good as possible and the image quality is absolutely flawless. Maximum brightness reaches 629cd/m², contrast impacts 1.529: 1 and sRGB coverage is 90.9%. This is a wonderful screen for any size.

Review By Expert: Apple iPad Pro: Cameras, Speakers and Microphones:
So far, I've covered the great leading artists: the things that really make the difference between this year's iPad Pro and last year's iPad Pro. But there's also a whole stretch of smaller improvements that take it to another level.

Things like the improved audio from the redesigned four-speaker loudspeaker and the best audio capture from its new five-microphone configuration (the last iPad had "only" three). There's also Smart HDR for the iPad's 12-megapixel camera, although I still think you're a little crazy if you use it as your main snapper, and also with 4G Gigabit class and eSIM support for the mobile version of the iPad Pro.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:
Everywhere, on the specification sheet of the 2018 iPad Pro, in fact, there is a minor or major update, which adds up to a big step forward for the iPad Pro as a whole. It's super fast and incredibly well done. It is better in almost every possible way than the previous model and even outperforms Intel-based Windows 2 in 1 tablets for its performance.

The problem I have with this iPad Pro is the same as with previous models. Although now as expensive as a full-featured and equally fast laptop, it's simply not flexible enough to justify the cost, if not more, than its Windows and MacOS equivalents.

There is still no adequate support for multiple monitors or signaling devices. Still, you can't always easily transfer files from one application to another without having to think a lot about what you're doing first. And, despite the introduction of USB Type-C, mass storage support remains limited.

Until Apple removes those obstacles, iPad Pro will remain a tool that only a few people can use professionally. For such a magnificent and capable piece of hardware, it's a real shame.

Review By Expert: All in One Dell Inspiron 27 7775 Review

2019-08-06T09:29:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: All in One Dell Inspiron 27 7775 Review:

Review By Expert: All in One Dell Inspiron 27 7775 Review

All-in-One (AIO) desktops are ideal when there's not a lot of space or you just want a clean desk. While the PC market continues to fight an uphill battle, premium AIOs, including Apple's iMac alignment, remain popular among those who need a serious desktop machine for heavy-duty work, such as video editing. Today we bring you the All-in-One Dell Inspiron 27 7775.

In the Windows space, Dell has added a new product list to its portfolio, and one of them includes the new Inspiron 27 7000 series AIO. This PC is built around an AMD CPU and GPU, which distinguishes it. It's not just a new version of an existing model with AMD processors instead of Intel; the new Inspiron 27 7000 series has a completely different design.

Two configurations are currently on sale in Europe and we have to revise the top end that costs 2000.84€. Let's see how it goes.

Review By Expert: All-in-One Dell Inspiron 27 7775: Design And Manufacture:

Installing the Inspiron 27 7775 once you take it out of the box is quite simple. The base for the bracket is all that needs to be fixed, and all you have to do is tighten a wing screw. In the box, you also get a wireless keyboard and mouse that connect to the AIO through a single USB adapter.

A power cord is the only wiring you have to deal with, and it can go through a hole in the neck of the bracket. The 330W external power pack is massive, but this size cannot be avoided when it comes to powering desktop components.

Thanks to its aluminum gray finish, the Inspiron 27 looks very elegant. Even the back is well designed, and complements the overall look very well. The PC is not very thick when viewed from the sides, and there are ventilation openings at the top and bottom for air to pass through. The screen tilts five degrees forward and about 30 degrees backward, but its height is not adjustable.

The screen has pretty thin edges around it, which gives the AIO a very elegant look. An anti-glare coating helps cut out most of the glare from the interior lighting, so we didn't need to maximize the brightness most of the time. The 27-inch screen has a resolution of 4K (3840×2160) and is of the IPS variety, which means that colors are accurately represented and viewing angles are wide.

We haven't noticed many color changes when viewing the content at extreme angles. Because of the thin edges around the screen, the front camera system had to be located underneath the screen.

We also have the two front speakers below the screen, which offer a total output of 10W. They are complemented with a rear-mounted subwoofer that pumps from 5W. The HD camera on the front is accompanied by two IR emitters and an IR camera that are used in conjunction with Microsoft's Windows Hello authentication function.

Just below the screen, to the right, we have a button to change the input sources and the power button. However, there are no manual brightness or volume controls. To the left of the speaker, we have an SD card slot, a USB 3.1 port and a combined headset/microphone port.

The rest of the physical connectors are located on the back of the PC. Right next to the power input is a Gigabit Ethernet port and an audio output jack. The rest of the connectors look back and include two USB 2.0 ports; three USB 3.1 ports; a USB Type-C port (USB 3.1 Gen1); an HDMI input for connecting another source; and an HDMI output for a second monitor or projector.

Review By Expert: All-in-One Dell Inspiron 27 7775: Specifications and Features:
With this version of the Inspiron 27 7775 AIO, you get an AMD Ryzen 7 1700 desktop CPU, which includes eight cores for a total of 16 threads. Along with this, you also get 16GB of DDR4 RAM running in dual-channel mode. Graphics tasks are handled by a discrete AMD Radeon RX 580 GPU with 8GB of GDDR5 memory.

For storage, there is a 1TB hard drive at 5400rpm and a 256GB NVMe solid-state drive. Connectivity options include 802.11ac Wi-Fi and dual-band Bluetooth 4.1. The AIO also has four array microphones on top, just in front of its ventilation openings.

The rear panel slides easily from the top once two screws are removed at the bottom. With it off, we can see the woofer, the 2.5mm hard drive and the giant exhaust fan. There is another metal panel on the right that, once unscrewed, allows access to the SSD and RAM modules.

It's good to have this option since most AIOs don't allow you to update anything, at least not easily. However, despite this convenience, Dell says that opening the back on your own will void the warranty, so you'll need to bring your Inspiron 27 to a service center to have anything updated.

Dell ships the AIO with Windows 10 Home, along with a 15-month subscription to McAfee Antivirus and a pre-installed full copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition. There's also the usual package of applications pre-installed on Windows Store, which you can remove if you don't need to. You also get Dell's software utility, which periodically checks and downloads system drivers.

Review By Expert: All-in-One Dell Inspiron 27 7775: Performance:
The overall performance of Windows is very good. The large amount of RAM and the speed of the SSD ensure a fast boot, and applications are also loaded quickly. The text on the screen is crisp, which you can see when surfing the Web or even working on Excel sheets. The large screen is ideal for multitasking with multiple windows open on the desktop, without having to resize them too much.

The webcam captures video and photos at an awkward angle due to its location below the screen, but has a wide field of view so it fits easily to the entire upper body. Windows Hello works very well, although we realized that if the screen is tilted forward, you'll have to bend down a bit to get your face recognized.

We tried to use the HDMI video input functionality of Inspiron 27, which allows it to use the All-in-One as a screen, and it worked well. We connected an Xbox One X and were able to play with native 4K resolution. Audio has to be sent to external speakers using the audio output port next to the power input, as it is not played through Inspiron's own 27 speakers.

There is also a small warning when it comes to using another video source, which is that the PC needs to be turned on and running Windows. Even if the PC remains in sleep mode, the video is interrupted. This is a useful feature, but it does not allow you to use the AIO display as a standalone monitor to extend its life after the next update, or if the PC does not work for any reason. That said, it's still nice to have this option, as most AIOs won't let you do this.

The speakers become really noisy and the audio quality is very good. You can adjust the audio levels and microphone sensitivity through the Waves MaxxAudio Pro software. The games work very well. The Radeon RX580 is VR ready and handles most 3D games very well in native 4K screen resolution.

In Rise of The Tomb Raider, with settings set to Very High at 4K, the built-in cue point has only returned 23.6 fps. Things improved slightly when we switched to High Preset where we got 29 fps. At 1080p using the Very High setting, we got much smoother frames with an average of 57 fps. The best balance we found was to use 2560×1440 with the Very High preset, with which we averaged 35-40fps.

We were also pleasantly surprised to see the Inspiron 27 GTA V very well, with all the graphic sliders at maximum and most of the candy eyes turned up (except for anti-aliasing, which was turned off). The built-in benchmark averaged 33 fps while during the actual gameplay, we were able to get around 34 fps, which is still pretty smooth. All this went to a resolution of 4K.

The exhaust fan is easily audible when playing, and if you don't have your headphones on, it can be a distraction. We also did some synthetic benchmarks and scored 5047 points in 3DMark's Fire Strike Extreme test, while PCMark scored 3636,5618 and 3012 in the Home, Creative and Work suites respectively.

The included keyboard is of medium quality and is not the best when it comes to prolonged typing. However, we liked the mouse, which offers good ergonomics and works well on most surfaces.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:
The Dell Inspiron 27 7775 All-in-One comes at a strong price and is backed by a three-year warranty. As a premium AIO, it is quite feature-rich and offers very good multimedia and gaming performance. As a bonus, we like the fact that the components can be easily changed if needed, and you can use the 4K display with another source, such as a game console as well.

If you don't need all this power, Dell has a tamer version of Inspiron 27 7775 at a price of 1430.83€. With this variant, you get an AMD Ryzen CPU 5 1400.8 GB of RAM, a Radeon RX560 GPU and a 27-inch HD screen. You also lose on the SSD, but the rest of the features are the same.

If you are thinking about going the DIY route, building a desktop with a configuration similar to the one we tested today wouldn't really save you a lot of money. Upgrading the components would be simpler, of course, but getting the look of an AIO would be almost impossible. We would have liked a better quality integrated keyboard, and webcam placement could have been more natural, but overall, this is a fairly solid AIO PC that offers good flexibility and performance.

Pros:

Vivid 4K display and good sound
Upgradeable components
Good connectivity
Eye-catching design and robust construction

Contrast:

The included keyboard is not very good.
Exhaust fan is noisy at full load
Webcam placement is uncomfortable

Ratings (Envelope 5):

Design: 4.5
Screen: 4
Performance: 4
Software: 4
Value for money: 4

Review By Expert: iBall Comp Book i360 Review

2019-08-06T09:09:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: iBall CompBook i360 Review:

Review By Expert: iBall Comp Book i360 Review

Finding a functional laptop for less than €196.55 is not too difficult today, and most major brands like Dell, HP and Acer have something to offer in this segment. Not long ago, we also saw the launch of Hyderabad-based RDP enter the market with a very convincing solution. iBall has been in this space for a while and our previous encounter was with the CompBook Exemplaire, which was fine, but its outdated CPU and questionable build quality made us think twice before recommending it. Today we're going to review the iBall CompBook i360 notebook.

Most laptops in this segment use the same basic screens, CPUs and other components, but some Indian companies like iBall aim to raise the bar by offering convertible options. Meet the CompBook i360, a 2-in-1 touchscreen laptop that turns into a tablet - still for less than €196.55. While this sounds very tempting on paper, it's time to put it to the test and see that iBall has solved the problems we face with its previous model.

Review By Expert: iBall CompBook i360: Design:

Laptops in the budget segment are limited when it comes to material quality, and the i360, like most others, is built using plastic. The color of the champagne is not too bad to be seen, but the quality of construction is quite average.

With the lid closed, there isn't much noticeable flex in the body, but the base crackles when written with any pressure and there's a lot of deformation on the screen when the lid is gently pressed. The laptop is also quite thick, 17 mm, and weighs 1.35 kg.

The double hinge mechanism feels sturdy and there is enough torque to hold the screen in place at virtually any angle. Being a convertible, you can turn the screen upside down to use this laptop as a tablet. The physical connectivity is quite decent - you'll get a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port, a mini HDMI port, a combined 3.5mm headset and microphone port, and a microSD card slot (up to 64GB).

There's no full-size SD card reader here. The power button is located to the right next to a switch to turn off the keyboard when switching to tablet mode. This last function should have been automatic, and having to do this manually feels like a lazy solution.

The screen is an 11.6 inch TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 1366×768 and multi-touch support. The viewing angles are very narrow and the screen is not good with color reproduction. The low resolution also means that the text is remarkably irregular, especially when using the laptop as a tablet. The trackpad is wide and its buttons are easy to press, but the tracking is not very good.

Very often, we ended up randomly minimizing windows when we were trying to move the cursor. The island style keyboard is well positioned and the keystroke path is good, but the keys are too soft, which means typing is not very comfortable. In the box is a charger, a cleaning cloth and, for some reason, a Micro-USB cable.

Review By Expert: iBall CompBook i360: Specifications:

The CompBook i360 is powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 SoC, which is the same chip used in the RDP ThinBook and Notion Ink Able 10 from RDP. It has four CPU cores without Intel HyperThreading, operating at a maximum speed of 1.84 GHz, plus Intel HD Graphics. There is 2GB of DDR3 memory soldered to the motherboard and 32GB of flash memory. The notebook also features Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and a VGA webcam.

The CompBook i360 comes with Windows 10 Home 32-bit, and only the essential drivers for all the hardware. There are no additional utilities, as larger OEMs tend to pre-install. Apart from some applications and games from the Windows Store store, there is no unwanted software.

Review By Expert: iBall CompBook i360: Performance:

The i360 may be able to perform dual functions, but at the end of the day, you need to remember that you only have entry-level hardware, so you need to manage your expectations. Fortunately, the flash memory used here is decently fast so booting doesn't suffer.

At SiSoft Sandra, we got a physical drive score of 148.7MBps, and at the file system reference point, we measured the sequential read bandwidth at 160MBps and the sequential write bandwidth at 79.6MBps. One good thing about this SoC is that it doesn't need active cooling, so the i360 always runs quietly. The base heats up a bit during loading, but not enough to make it feel too uncomfortable.

Application and gaming performance is weak. Programs take a while to load and sometimes even opening Windows Explorer needs a little waiting. This is also reflected in the benchmark scores, where PCMark only scored 1208,1314 and 1377 points in the Home, Creative and Work suites respectively.

The iBall CompBook i360 is not the most effective tablet when converted, primarily because of its weight and thickness. The 10-finger touch response is decent, but because of the separation between the outer surface and the actual screen, it feels more like using a resistive panel than a capacitive one. In addition, the brightness is quite weak, the viewing angles are poor, and the colors are off. We also don't like the huge bezel around the screen too much.

The i Ball compact Book i360 can handle very high resolution video playback thanks to a dedicated video decoding engine in the SoC, so 4K videos are playable. There are stereo speakers at the bottom that don't lock when in tablet mode. The speakers are quite noisy, but only the higher frequencies are handled well, and the middle and low frequencies are drowned out. The dialogue in videos is not always different.

The Comp Book i360 includes a 10000 mAh battery that lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes in Battery Eater Pro. With regular use, the laptop will easily help you through a full working day and possibly more. The only complaint is that it takes a long time to charge, as the included 12.5W power adapter is not enough.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:

iBall has the right idea here with the i360, but unfortunately its execution needs a rethinking. It is not easy to incorporate this type of functionality into a laptop at this price, which is also a reason why the biggest brands have not followed this concept. At 182.14€, the iBall version of a convertible laptop is not a good product and we think you would be better off with a traditional laptop.

Curiously, iBall offers a model called Flip-X5 with prices 26.21€ higher (but selling for less than a premium than that), which on paper, is the same as the i360 but with a full high definition screen. We can't really comment on its performance since we haven't seen it in person, but at least you would have a much sharper screen with that model.

Battery life is virtually the only factor that redeems the CompBook i360. Plus, this is one of the least expensive Windows 10 machines on the market with a touch screen, which is sure to attract many. However, if you have important computing necessary you should see else where.

Pros:

Economical 2 in 1 with Windows 10
Touch screen
Good battery life

Cons:

Slow charge
Thick and heavy
Display off
Spongy keyboard and erratic trackpad
Weak application performance

Ratings (Envelope 5):

Design: 3
Screen: 3
Performance: 2.5
Software: 4
Battery life: 4
Value for money: 4

Review By Expert: Acer Nitro 5 Spin Review

2019-08-06T08:35:00.001+05:00

Review By Expert: Acer Nitro 5 Spin 2019:

Review By Expert: Acer Nitro 5 Spin Review

Today we are going to analyze the features of the Acer Nitro 5 Spin. High-end gaming laptops usually have the burden of being bulky and sloppy, but they're made that way for one good reason: all of their energy-intensive components require heavy-duty cooling.

However, that picture is slowly changing as mobile GPUs become more efficient and new design guidelines such as Nvidia's Max-Q emerge, aimed at providing the same horsepower but with thinner form factors.

To meet the needs of players on a tight budget, Acer introduced the Nitro 5 Spin in the last quarter of 2017. This laptop is only 17.9 mm thick and is one of the first 2-in-1 gaming laptops. Of course, we've had 2 in 1 with discrete graphics cards for a while, but none of them have been powerful enough to handle high-end games. Let's see how well it works.

Review By Expert: Acer Nitro 5 Spin Design and Construction Quality:

The Nitro 5 Spin is a 15.6-inch laptop, so it's pretty complicated if you're taking it with you. Its slim profile definitely makes it easy to slide into a backpack, but it still weighs 2.2 kg. Also, despite the slim body, it's not based on Nvidia's Max-Q design guidelines. It feels premium thanks to the all-metal body and the brushed aluminum finish on the lid. You can only get it on a colored edge, which is black with crimson accents.

The cap attracts fingerprints and stains quite easily, so some attention is required to keep its appearance clean. Acer boasts a special ExoAmp antenna design on the Nitro 5 Spin, which is visible at the edges of the cap, and promises better Wi-Fi range.

The 360-degree hinge offers good torque and the lid stays in place at most angles. Of course, you can flip the lid so you can use the laptop as a tablet. The 15.6-inch IPS screen runs at full HD resolution, resulting in decently crisp images and text. There is a bit of irregularity around the text, but at a normal typing distance, this is not too noticeable.

The thick black edges around the screen aren't very attractive from an aesthetic point of view, but they help you grab the device when you use it as a tablet (not many would use a 2.2kg tablet too often, but still). The protective glass on the screen causes a good amount of reflection, so we had to use the laptop with full brightness most of the time, even inside.

The matte finish hand rest area of the Acer Nitro 5 Spin is spacious and has a decent-sized trackpad that sits a little off-center so it won't get in the way of typing. We have a full-size chicklet keyboard along with a numeric keypad. The keys are backlit in red, with only one level of brightness. We found that the keys are comfortable for typing without being noisy, and keyed journeys are good, but we would have liked a better arrangement of the arrow keys.

The touch panel has a fingerprint sensor embedded in its top left corner, which is used for Windows Hello authentication. The stereo speakers are placed between the two hinges and the speaker grid is wrapped around the edges at the top, so they shoot up when you use this 2 in 1 in store mode. Exhaust outlets are also here, while the large fresh air inlet slots are at the bottom. Unfortunately, there is no hatch for easy access to components.

To the left of the Acer Nitro 5 Spin, we have an HDMI port, a USB Type-C port (USB 3.1 Gen. 1) and two USB 3.0 ports, while to the right, there are two status LEDs to turn on and charge, a volume control, a 3.5mm headset and microphone combo connector, an SD card reader, a USB 2.0 port and the power button. In the box, you can expect a charger and warranty brochures.

Review By Expert: Acer Nitro 5 Spin Specifications and Features:

We have the high-end version of the Nitro 5 Spin with us for your review. This variant features an 8th generation Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, 8 GB RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU with 4 GB of GDDR5 dedicated memory. You also get a 256 GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive. The basic variant of the Nitro Five Spin Attributes Core i5 CPU and no SSD. Other specifications include Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi, HD webcam and stereo speakers with a sub woofer.

The laptop is shipped with Windows 10 Home 64-bit. You get a pre-installed Acer software package, including Acer Portal, Care Center and Quick Access. Added software involve a trial version's of Norton Security and a full copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition. The Windows Ink workspace is enabled by default, allowing you to access sketching and 3D modeling applications from a single location.

Review By Expert: Acer Nitro 5 Spin Performance and Battery Life:
The Nitro 5 Spin works well in portable mode. When running regular web and office applications, the exhaust fans run quietly so there's no noise. However, it turns on a game and fans increase to a point where they are easily audible. This can be a bit distracting if you're not playing with headphones. We also found that the left side of the laptop's body warms up after playing for about 15 minutes or so. This is a problem since the WASD keys, which you will have on your fingers most of the time, will feel quite uncomfortable after a dot.

Being a 2-in-1, the Nitro 5 Spin can be used in a variety of modes, such as tent and tablet. We discovered that the tent mode can be useful if you run out of desk space, although you'll need a separate controller or keyboard. However, we found it a bit impractical to use this device as a real tablet, mainly because of its size and weight.

The touch screen response is good and we had no problems here. The trackpad also works well for Windows 10 gestures. It gets a high-definition webcam and a series of four microphones on top of the cover, which work well for picking up Cortana's voice, even when he's some distance away from the laptop.

The speakers on the Acer Nitro 5 Spin are quite noisy and the sound is good even when you're not in laptop mode. The left and right audio channels change automatically, depending on which mode the device is using. Dolby software allows you to modify the sound, which is useful.

Video playback handles well for 4K media files and the screen produces vibrant colors. The viewing angles are good, although sometimes the reflections are a bit annoying.

When the reference points are reached, the Nitro 5 Spin also works well in this department. The quad-core, multi-process CPU gave us good scores of 3,806, 4,738 and 3,403 in PCMark 8's Home, Creative and Work test suites. 3DMark Fire Strike gave us a score of 5,064 points, which is good considering the CPU and GPU in this device.

The Micron SSD on the Nitro 5 Spin gave us a respectable drive score of 490 MB/s on the SiSoft Sandra benchmark. The 1TB hard drive runs at 5400rpm lower, so if you have installed games here, you will notice that the load takes a little longer.

In real games, the Nitro 5 Spin offers good performance. All tests were performed at the laptop's native resolution of 1920×1080, while individual graphics settings were adjusted based on how well the game worked.

We started with Rise of The Tomb Raider, which was developed at an average frame rate of 28.15 fps, as measured by the game's built-in reference point. It was the Very Highiest preset and FXAA enabled. We also got a similar framerate when we played the game, which was pretty easy.

Metro: Last Light Redux is a demanding game, which proved to be too much for the Nitro 5 Spin even in the Medium preset and without tessellation. Here, they averaged 9.33 fps at the game's built-in reference point. Doom is a wonderful game to try out, as it looks gorgeous and also works well even on modest gaming systems.

With the configuration set all the way up to the Ultra preset and with the Vulkan API selected, we got an average of 57 fps at the casting level. The gameplay was obviously very fluid and we didn't suffer any slowdowns.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a stressful game, but the Nitro 5 Spin achieved some respectable framerates here, giving us 28fps with High Preset using DX12, but without anti-aliasing. Far Cry 4 might be a bit old, but it's still a very attractive game even by today's standards.

Here we got about 31 very playable fps in the Ultra configuration. We had some falls in the framerate during the intense battles, but these were very intermittent. Last but not least, GTA V delivered an average of 33 fps without problems, with a combination of high and very high settings.

The 4-cell battery of the Nitro 5 Spin managed to deliver an average battery life of six hours, with light use consisting of surfing the Web and watching videos. The laptop is also compatible with Nvidia's Optimus technology, which turns off the GeForce GTX 1050 when it's not needed. For tasks and applications that do not require a lot of graphics, the laptop uses the capabilities of the Intel UHD Graphics 620 CPU. The most demanding Battery Eater Pro test lasted 2 hours, 17 minutes.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:
Acer Nitro FIVE Spin is a Two in One gaming laptop. If you're not going to travel much with your laptop and use it mainly on a desktop, then you can find slightly better specification game models from Dell, Lenovo and even Acer at a close price.

The Nitro 5 Spin is available through the company's authorized stores, but you can also find it at Flipkart.

The slim body of the Nitro 5 Spin is great for aesthetics, but it also gets quite warm when you play, and also under your fingertips, which is not comfortable after a while. The screen is also a bit too reflective and the exhaust fans become noisy as they increase. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll see thinner and lighter game laptops, including 2 in 1, from all the big manufacturers.

Pros:

Good gaming performance
Slim body
Many of the ports
Comfortable keyboard

Cons:

Keys heat up during games
Fans can be noisy
Heavy

Ratings (out of 5):

Design: 4.5
Screen: 4
Performance: 3.5
Software: 4
Value for money: 3.5

Review By Expert: Top 4 Laptops for Programmers 2019

2019-08-06T08:01:00.003+05:00

Review By Expert: Top 4 Laptops for Programmers 2019:

Review By Expert: Top 4 Laptops for Programmers 2019

Are you a programming student or a software engineer from a renowned IT company or a budding entrepreneur trying to shape something revolutionary in the field of coding? Today we bring you a list of the 4 best laptops for programmers.

Whatever you are, a laptop is the most important gadget you would need to make your dreams come true.

It's not an easy task to buy the best laptop to program. In fact, there are a lot of features you should check before buying a laptop, especially if you are a programmer.

Here is a guide to buy the best laptop for a programmer or encoder. Know the best laptops that suit your needs.

Best Laptops for Programmers
Review By Expert: ASUS F510UA Vivo Book:

The ASUS VivoBook model is probably the best choice on the list when it comes to the most suitable laptops for programmers, which also with a tight budget. This is probably the cheapest of all the list, but that doesn't mean it compromises in terms of performance.

This laptop is compatible with the 8th generation Intel Core processor (u5-8250U) which is quad core and even supports multitasking through its 8 GB RAM. Intel's integrated UHD 620 graphics card works well while handling casual gaming and programming.

Review By Expert: DELL XPS-13:

If you want to use a computer that is at its best in terms of performance and portability, the Dell XPS 13 is the best. This 13-inch laptop is even lighter and smaller in size than the Apple MacBook Air. The touch screen and carbon fiber design make it extremely lightweight.

For students who have specialized in Computer Science or Information Technology, this 2.9 pound laptop is your ideal choice. This laptop houses an Intel i7 kaby lake CPU and HD Graphics 620, making it the best for graphic programmers and game developers.

Review By Expert: ACER Aspire E15:

Whether it's gaming or programming, the Acer Aspire E15 is a multi-faceted notebook that has the ability to handle whatever you want to work. In 2017 it was the best-selling laptop for programmers and student programmers and will definitely work well in 2018 as well. Amazon had it as the best laptop for students.

At a price of Priced at $550, the Aspire E15 works with the 7th generation Intel Core i5 dual-core processor and has 8GB of RAM. This remains unbeatable compared to other laptops due to the powerful specifications that are best for coding and programming.

Review By Expert: Apple MacBook Pro 15:

For Objective C encoders and Swift lovers, the Apple MacBook Pro is definitely the best notebook computer for encoders and programmers, especially when you want to make games and applications for Mac OS and iOS. It is also powered by the kaby lake i7 processor which is quad-core and also supports 16GB of RAM. All in all, it has enough output to power up code editors, local servers and Safari browsers with 20 tabs. Doesn't that sound impressive?

So, if you're a programmer or an entrepreneur with coding in mind, what are you waiting for? Check your pockets and make the best decision to choose the best laptop for 2019. Select anyone from the list above.

Review By Expert: Better Laptops For College Students 2019

2019-08-05T21:58:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Better Laptops For College Students 2019:

Review By Expert: Better Laptops For College Students 2019

In recent years, a personal computer has become a more important part of our lives rather than just a luxury accessory. With these computers not only can we perform work activities better and faster, but, with the help of the Internet, there is a lot of potential in laptops for students and teachers.

Laptops have taken over desktops because they are smaller and easier to carry. With the option of having battery life for an entire day without the need for a charge has made students use laptops in schools and universities instead of having them in their bags. Schools and universities also encourage students to use laptops for educational purposes both at home and at university.

A de cennary ago, there were not countless options to buy a laptop, as there were only a few manufacturers and the computers were made to do only specific operations with limited features, but these days, there is great competition in the market. If you have only a couple of hundred dollars to 5K, there is a perfect laptop to meet your needs somewhere out there.

It's just a matter of research and a little extra effort that you can find a laptop that is both affordable and tailored to your needs. Before you buy a laptop for your college teen, here are some factors you need to review to understand what features you are looking for and 5 best laptops for college students are also listed below.

Some of the Best Laptops for College Students:

Review By Expert: HP Spectre X360:

Without a doubt, this is one of the best and highest quality students on the market right now. When the producer is HP, there is no necessary to worry about the quality of this laptop. This is a machine that really revolutionizes laptops and what people think about them. This machine includes the Intel Core i7 processor with up to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of SSD storage options.

It has a 13.3 inch touch screen with a resolution of 4K. The best thing about this laptop is that it can run all day on a single charge with a battery life of up to 16 hours and because its screen can be rotated 360 degrees, it is a perfect combination of a laptop and a lightweight Tablet PC. The price of this laptop starts from $1000 and goes up as more RAM and larger hard drive is included.

Review By Expert: Dell XPS 13:

We've been looking at this awesome Dell series for 3 years... This is far most of the top 3 affordable laptops and excellent performance, if not the best. This laptop includes 13.3 inch touch screen with almost no bezel and Full HD resolution. The specification includes the Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB to 16GB RAM and 128GB to 1TB SSD hard drive.

Again, this may be a bit expensive compared to similar laptops from other brands, but the quality of construction and performance is unmatched. The battery life of this laptop is also very impressive and can be used all day in college without charging. XPS 13 starts at $779 and goes up to $1175 depending on how much RAM and hard drive you need.

Review By Expert: Asus Chromebook Flip:

The best thing about this laptop is that its price is half of what you would pay for other expensive brands like Apple, but the features are almost the same. The quality of construction is simply remarkable and if that's not enough, it's a 2 in 1 laptop. This means you can turn the screen up to the keyboard and use it as a tablet.

It has an Intel Core M3 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of hard disk with a 12.5-inch touch screen and a backlit keyboard. The price of this machine starts at $540, which makes it perfect for use by students who are not looking for an extraordinary high performance laptop at a very high price.

Review By Expert: Samsung Notebook 7 Spin:

In the last few years, we have seen some of the best laptops from Samsung and this is another amazing model in the laptop series. This is a 2 in 1 lightweight laptop and a 360 degree swivel hinge, which means it can also be used as a tablet. It is equipped with Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD hard drive and 13.3 inch Full HD touchscreen.

What is missing in this model is that there is no stylus included so you can only use it with your fingers, but the speed of the processor and the graphics in this machine outweigh all the drawbacks. The price of this laptop starts from $780 and goes up to $830 depending on the RAM and hard drive.

Review By Expert: Asus Zen Book UX310UA:

If you're only willing to pay less than $900 and still want to get a great laptop for your kids' college needs, there's nothing better than the Asus Zenbook UX310UA. This laptop is made from a single block of aluminum so the quality built is more than you can expect from a cheap laptop like this one.

This includes good battery life, back lit keyboard, Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, 256GB of hard drive and 13.3" Full HD display. You can't use this laptop as a tablet, since the screen doesn't turn all the way back to the keyboard, but the keyboard itself is so good that you may not want to use your fingers on the screen at all.

Review By Expert: Microsoft Surface Laptop Review

2019-08-05T21:35:00.002+05:00

Review By Expert: Microsoft Surface Laptop Review:

We have waited years for Microsoft to launch their Microsoft Surface Laptop, and it takes more time for the surface book and surface laptop capacity to arrive. This family of devices is designed to show Windows to the best extent possible: they are all premium without apologies, but more than that, they are really fresh and interesting.

Microsoft is competing with its own partners pushing PC hardware, and is emphasizing design and engineering to differentiate itself. It is quite obvious that Apple's success in integrating hardware and software has influenced this strategy.

Of all Surface devices, the Surface Laptop is the most conventional. It's not a 2-in-1, and it doesn't have a sophisticated hinge or goat leg design. It's destined to strike a balance between portability and productivity, and it will appeal to those for whom the Surface Pro with its keyboard cover won't cut it.

Interestingly, Microsoft had students in mind when it first launched this laptop more than a year ago in the United States. There's a lot to go through, so let's get started.

Review By Expert: Microsoft Surface Laptop Design:

Everyone looking at photos of the Surface Laptop will want to know how your fabric cover feels, and honestly, it's not easy to describe, even though we used it earlier on the Surface Pro Type cover. Alcantara is a material with 68 percent polyester and 32 percent polyurethane, and is a bit similar to suede with a slightly waxy coating. It's not perfectly smooth, but it doesn't have the texture of the cloth either.

It doesn't fray or unravel even when scratched hard, and is molded like plastic around the keyboard tray. The Alcantara extends to the edges of the platform and is crushed, leaving room for a fingernail to help lift the lid when it is closed.

The material is supposed to be resistant to spills and stains, and Microsoft even says it can be cleaned with warm water and mild soap, two things we wouldn't want anywhere near a laptop. We still can't tell how well it will withstand long-term use, especially for people who tend to use their devices while eating.

It is worth noting that the fabric has one major disadvantage: it is permanently attached to the metal chassis. The only way to replace or repair anything inside this laptop is to tear the layers with a knife, and after that you don't have to reattach them. In fact, when Surface Laptop was first launched in the U.S., it received an iFixit score of zero on the reparability index.

As for the rest of this laptop, it's pretty minimalist but still very remarkable. The lid has a simple matt aluminum finish, but with a prominent Windows logo and highly reflective in the center. Microsoft has said that it is not bringing the options of Burgundy, Blue Cobalt or Gold Graphite to some countries, which is a shame.

The lid is quite thin and bends and flexes under pressure, but surprisingly there is no distortion at all on the screen. The hinge is sunken and completely hidden under the fabric layer. It feels firm, and at least in our new unit, the lid didn't fall off, even if left barely open. Overall, despite its waif-like outlook, the Surface Laptop look to be built very good.

Lack of connectivity will be a big concern for many buyers. The Surface Laptop is even more minimalist than the MacBook Air, with just one USB 3.0 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Mini-DisplayPort for video output. There's not even an SD card slot. Many netbooks are light in ports, but the Surface Laptop is not as thin or light. In this day and age we would have expected USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3 preferred, but most people will be fine with the much more common standard of type A.

Their only relief comes in the form of Microsoft's Surface Connect Port, the slot to the right of the tab used by the included loader, which is also compatible with Microsoft's Surface Dock. This accessory will give you four more USB 3.0 ports, two Mini-Display ports, Gigabit Ethernet and another audio output.

The ports are also a bit difficult to reach thanks to the inward sloping sides of the Surface Laptop. Slotting the charger into the narrow Surface Connect port in particular is an extremely complicated process, and we ended up having to lift the laptop and tilt to see exactly what we were doing each time.

Next to the ports on either side of this laptop there are white patches that look a lot like the antenna lines that are now common on smartphones. They stand out very clearly and unfortunately look like additional ports or slots that have been removed.

The keyboard has an important peculiarity, which is the placement of the power button. Obviously, Microsoft wanted the Delete key to be in the top corner of the Backspace key, but it's still likely that we'll accidentally press the power button. It's also not flatter or stiffer than the keys around it, which would have been the obvious precaution to take. The Fn row has been moved by the search keys and several shortcuts, but you can switch primary and secondary key roles by simply touching the Fn modifier once, which is quite convenient.

The exterior Place Laptop is only 14.47 mm deep at its thickest point and weighs 1.25 kgs. It is super portable and super convenient to take out of a backpack or backpack. The only thing you get in the box with Surface Laptop is its patented 44W charger, and we love its integrated USB port. You may not have enough ports on your laptop, but at least you can charge your phone while traveling. However, we found that the power cord is too short.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Specifications and Software:

Microsoft is vend the Surface Laptop in 5 different configurations. At the bottom of the stack you get an Intel Core i5-7200U CPU with integrated Intel HD Graphics 620, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD. The high-end variant has a Core i7-7660U processor with Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, 16 GB RAM and a 1TB SSD.

This is a fairly wide range, so Surface Laptop competes with the premium light and thin models, including MacBook Air, as well as the luxury and 2 in 1 laptops, such as Lenovo Yoga 920 and Dell XPS 13 9370. It is worth noting that these Intel Core 7th Gen processors are almost two years old and are significantly weaker than the current offerings. It's also surprising that Microsoft has released such expensive variants here, but not the entry-level ones with Core m3 processors and 4GB of RAM.

Considering that RAM and SSD are soldered to the motherboard and there is no access to them anyway, you'll want to account for future needs from the beginning. Updates are simply not possible.

The touch screen measures 13.5 inches diagonally, but has an aspect ratio 3: 2 original old school. Microsoft chose this square shape for its Surface tablets, and it makes sense when trying to use a device vertically or horizontally. While the appearance is consistent here, it's not necessarily useful. You may think it's extra vertical space or reduced width. It's not the best choice if you watch a lot of videos or need to work on two documents side by side, but it works well for overall productivity.

The resolution is completely non-standard at 2256×1504, and provides a density of 201ppi. Windows 10 scales to 150 percent by default and we found it to be comfortable and crisp. It may not be a 2 in 1, but the touch screen can be useful. We don't end up playing a lot, but it's always good to have it. Surface Pen is compatible, but it won't be particularly comfortable to use.

One thing we don't often see even on premium laptops is an ambient light sensor, which means the brightness adjusts automatically. Above the screen is also a 720p webcam and the sensors needed to support Windows Hello facial recognition. The stereo speakers are embedded underneath the keyboard.

Microsoft does not publish an exact battery capacity, but iFixit has discovered that it is a 45.2Whr unit. It has a nominal capacity of 14.5 hours of video playback, which is impressive on paper, but we'll soon see how well it works.

Our review unit was running Windows 10 Pro. Originally, the Surface Laptop was intended to send Windows 10 S, a reduced-functionality version of Windows. Similar to Windows RT, Windows 10 S made Edge and Bing the default web browser and search engine, respectively, with no ability to change them. Users can also install Windows Store applications instead of just downloading what they like.

This was designed to guide users to a walled garden similar to iOS, but due to the massive reaction, this edition of Windows has been discontinued. Instead, the surface laptop is shipped with Windows 10 in "Mode S", which behaves the same way. This mode can be disabled at no cost, as long as you find an option that is hidden in the Microsoft Store application. Without a clear address, this could confuse many buyers who just want to download Google Chrome or any other common software.

Review By Expert: Microsoft Surface Laptop Performance:
The Surface Laptop is very easy to transport and can only be opened anywhere you want to work. Its keyboard is the right size and has a decent keystroke path, but it felt too soft for our taste, and it also flexed in the middle. Even so, we were able to type quickly and accurately in a short time. The white backlight is also subtle and useful, and there are three brightness levels to choose from.

Although the trackpad is large and smooth, the mechanism is rigid and superficial. It also seemed to decide that we were right-clicking more often than we really wanted.

We got used to screen 3:2 without even noticing it. It's ideal for reading web pages and working on Word documents. Of course, there are thick black stripes when you look at most video content, and this can be quite annoying because of how reflective the glass is. The biggest problem we faced was with games: some titles simply aren't designed to scale to non-standard aspect ratios.

The screen is bright and vibrant, and virtually every video and broadcast file we tried to watch looked great. We had a problem with video stuttering when we first unpacked Surface Laptop, which turned out to be due to a lack of a driver. A quick trip to the Windows Update resolved that in a few minutes.

The overall performance was quite flawless. We didn't have any problems with multiple heavy sites open on browser tabs, with other programs running in the background. Our usual benchmarks gave us decent results for a conventional laptop. PCMark 10 scored 2,969, Cinebench R15 scored 124 and 334 points in its single and multi-core tests, and POVRay ran its reference standard in 6 minutes and 56 seconds.

Graphics testing and gaming didn't work as well, thanks to the basic integrated graphics capabilities of the Intel CPU. Unigine Valley gave us only 16.6 fps on average, at 1920×1080 and using the Medium preset, but it worked to fill the entire screen. We tried the touch-sensitive Age of Empires: Castle Siege from Microsoft Store, and it worked perfectly.

We ran the integrated Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark at 1920×1080 and stretched it to fill the screen. We got only 8.16 fps at 1920×1080 with Low Preset, and the reduction to 1024×768 gave us only 15.78 fps, which not only couldn't be reproduced, but looked horrible.

Doom has an aspect ratio control, but the only resolution available in 3: 2 was the native 2256×1504, which is too high for this GPU to handle. The game ran in 1280×720 mailbox format, but we only got 15-25 fps in the real world game, which means that modern 3D games are completely out of the question.

While the Surface laptop was virtually silent even under heavy load, the keyboard platform got quite warm. The wrist rest area was fine, but the keyboard itself became quite coarse, especially in the upper middle.

Finally, we came to battery life. The 14.5 hour claim on the Surface Laptop seems to be accurate. We started our day with a full battery. With web browsing and casual typing plus a little video transmission with the screen brightness adjusted automatically, we only went down to 85 percent in two hours and were able to spend a full 8-hour working day before running out of power. The Battery Eater Pro stress test ran for 2 hours, 27 minutes with the screen brightness set manually to 50 percent, which is not bad for a thin, light laptop.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:
Microsoft has designed a very nice laptop. It offers solid performance for everyday tasks, as well as great battery life, while still being thin and lightweight. It feels extremely premium and will definitely take eyeballs. However, the approach seems to have been too narrow.

The appearance has the cost of common usability problems, such as having only one USB port and not being able to upgrade or replace any parts. We believe this laptop would be more suitable for frequent travelers who care more about work than entertainment.

The most polarizing thing about Surface Laptop is its Alcantara cloth surface. Throughout our review period, we continued to evaluate how we felt about the texture and finish, and we have to say that we weren't exactly speechless. If you write for a long time, you may not like the texture against your wrists. We wouldn't miss anything if he'd left, and we definitely wouldn't pay more for it.

That brings us to the question of pricing, which could also severely restrict the appeal of this laptop. It can improve in terms of portability or performance, or even get a more flexible 2-in-1. In fact, the Lenovo Yoga 730 at exactly the same price has a better processor, double the storage and two Thunderbolt 3 ports (but a lower Full-HD screen) and still weighs only 1.12 kg. You might also consider the Dell XPS 13 9370 and the HP Spectre x360 that have comparable prices.

Review By Expert: Pros:
Bright, crisp display
Very light and thin
Good performance for daily tasks

Review By Expert: Cons:
Only one USB 3.0 port
Heats up a bit with intensive use
Impossible to upgrade or repair
Costly

Review By Expert: Ratings (out of 5):
Design: 4
Screen: 4
Performance: 3.5
Software: 4
Battery life: 4.5
Value for money: 3
Overall: 4

Review By Expert: Dell G7 15 Laptop Review

2019-08-05T20:23:00.002+05:00

Review By Expert: Dell G7 15 Laptop Review:

Review By Expert: Dell G7 15 Laptop Review

Dell is one of the leading hardware developers in the PC gaming space. We've already tried some pretty good gaming laptops so far this year, such as the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin 8RF and Asus ROG Zephyrus M to name a few, and now it's time to try Dell's new G series of gaming laptops, the Dell G7 15 notebook.

So far, Dell has used its Inspiron series to offer "budget level" gaming solutions, while its Alienware series satisfies the enthusiastic crowd. By 2018, the company plans to change its Inspiron game series into the new G line of notebooks, which currently consists of the G3 and G7 models.

Today we will try the star offering, which is called Dell G7 15 7588. This high-end model includes an Intel Core i9 CPU and an Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU with Max-Q, which is the highest specification Dell is offering. Let's see if this new gaming laptop makes the cut.

Review By Expert: Portable Design Dell G7 15 7588:
The core design of the G7 15 is not so different from Dell's current Inspiron 15 7577 series, except for the 'G7' logo that has been added. However, the company is moving away from the previous red/black motif and adopting new color combinations such as gray/blue and white/alpine blue that we have in our unit.

It looks really clean and the matte texture does not attract stains or fingerprints easily. However, apart from the color scheme, the overall design language does not feel too cool compared to what the competition offers.

The construction quality is fantastic. The G7 15 feels robust, and this is partly due to the magnesium alloy chassis taken from the Alienware series. Metal inserts for the hand rest area and lid increase the feeling of stiffness. This laptop is slim enough to be portable and we were able to place it in most backpacks with ease.

However, it's not as portable as some of the gaming laptops we've recently tested, as 25mm still has considerable thickness. The weight is about 2.63kg, which is also something you'll notice.

The Dell G7 15 has a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with a matte finish. Reflections are not a problem and the brightness is also suitable for most cases of use. We discovered that the viewing angles are nice and wide, and the colors are vividly represented. The thick edges around the screen look a bit old-fashioned, but fortunately the HD webcam is where it belongs on the screen.

The laptop has a simple hinge design with good torsion, so the hinge is easily held at any angle.

The hot air vents are placed on the back of the laptop, while the inlet openings are on the bottom. You can take a look at the metal heat sink that is painted blue through the vents, which looks good. All ports are located on the sides of the laptop.

There are three USB 3.1 ports, a Type-C Thunderbolt 3 port, HDMI, an SD card reader, Gigabit Ethernet and a combo headset/microphone connector. The ports are separated enough from each other so that there is no problem plugging in the accessories. There is a single power LED that faces the front, but nothing that shows hard drive activity or battery level.

The keyboard area is spacious and has plenty of room for a full-size numeric keypad. The chiclet keys have individual backlighting with two brightness levels, but the color cannot be changed from the default blue. The power button is isolated in the upper right corner and also houses a fingerprint sensor for Windows Hello authentication.

The armrest area is spacious and the touch panel is also generously sized. The Dell G7 15 ships with a 180W charger, and according to the site, there is a limited time offer that also provides you with a complimentary backpack.

Review By Expert: Laptop Dell G7 15 7588 Specifications and Features:
The Dell G7 15 7588 model we have today features an Intel Core i9-8950HK CPU, which is part of the Intel Lake's Lake product line. The 'Core i9' is a step higher than the Intel product stack 'Core i7', but like the latter, it still has six multi-threaded CPU cores, which gives it a total of 12 threads to play.

Much higher clock 2.9GHz, with the ability to accelerate up to 4.8GHz.

It also has a larger L3 cache, and the 'HK' in the name means an unlocked multiplier, which makes it much easier to overclock. With the G7 15, Dell has not provided any overclocking utility and does not advertise this feature either, so although you can easily do it with Intel's XTU program, we recommend caution. Any damage done will not be covered under warranty.

Our Dell G7 15 7588 comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM (2666MHz), running in dual channel mode; a 128GB PCIe M.2 SSD boot drive along with a 1TB hard drive (5400rpm); and a GeForce GTX 1060 Nvidia with Max-Q and 6GB of GDDR5 RAM. Dell also welcome a different variant with a Core i7-8750H CPU.

Other specifications include 802.11ac Wi-Fi with 2×2 MIMO antennas, Bluetooth 5 and a 56WHr 4-cell battery. The bottom of the laptop comes out very easily, as it is held in place with a single screw. Here you can access the SSD, hard drive, RAM slots and battery. Dell also confirmed that these parts are intended to be replaced by the user and that doing so will not invalidate the warranty.

Dell craft Windows 10 with the G7 15, along with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 and a 15-month subscription to McAfee. You also get a lot of Dell applications, such as Dell Update and Power Manager, which allow you to set up multiple load profiles based on how you use your laptop (fast charge, always connected, etc.).

Mobile Connect allows you to receive phone calls and messages from your iPhone or Android phone. Dell has also partnered with Rivet Networks, and this laptop comes with its SmartByte software that allows you to prioritize data traffic for online chats, video streaming and downloading when using Wi-Fi.

Review By Expert: Dell G7 15 7588 Performance and Battery Life:

The hallmark of a good gaming laptop is its ability to handle 3D games cold and quietly. While the Dell G7 15 relies on air cooling, it has two exhaust fans to help expel hot air. We're glad to see that this design works quite well, as the hand rest area and most of the keys you would normally use to play don't get hot.

The bottom gets a little hot at best, but it's probably not a good idea to use this laptop on your lap, as your thighs would block the air inlet. With regular use, fans are silent as the Nvidia GPU is turned off, but when you play, they tend to be quite noisy.

The Core i9 CPU is no more a source of resources than the Core i7-8750H for casual use, as both have the same 45W TDP rating. However, the higher clock speed allows it to perform better in tasks such as file compression. Reference parameters such as Cinebench R15 gave higher scores in single-threading and multiple-threading tests.

Interestingly, our unit recorded slightly lower scores on some CPU tests such as SiSoft Sandra, and Blender took a little longer to complete its reference index compared to the Zephyrus M. However, the overall performance of the CPU was in line with what we observed in our review Asus ROG Zephyrus M, which had the same CPU.

The SSD helps speed up boot times and programs also load quickly, but its performance is very basic. The Hynix unit inside only handles bandwidths of sequential and random read speeds of about 500 Mb/s, and about half of that for write speeds. These are even better than any mechanical hard drive but average compared to the top-of-the-range SSDs.

The Dell G7 15 is designed with gaming as its primary goal and does not disappoint. The GTX 1060 with Max-Q is capable enough to play 1080p, although we would have preferred a standard GTX 1060. We talked to Dell about this decision and were told that given the product's position and the target price of the G7 series, this was the optimal choice.

Also, using something more powerful would have narrowed the gap between this and the Alienware series, which is why, if you want advanced features like Dell, you'll have to use advanced features like a screen with a higher refresh rate, G-SYNC, etc. spring for an Alienware model.

Some games rely heavily on the CPU and benefit from the Core i9. For example, we got about the same average frame rate at the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark compared to a laptop like Asus ROG Zephyrus M, which had a fully-fledged GTX 1070. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was a bit too much for the GTX 1060 to handle with the configuration up, and we averaged only 27 fps. Metro: Last Light Redux worked surprisingly well, averaging 46 fps.

We managed to get very good framerates in Doom, generally averaging 90-100 fps at Foundry level with all settings pressed to the maximum. GTA V also worked, averaging 45 fps. We also saw good frames per second in newer titles like Assassins Creed: Origins and FarCry 5, in which we got 52 fps and 63 fps respectively. Then we tried popular online titles like PUBG and Fortnite . In the first one, except for some appearances of textures, we got a solid framerate of 59 fps, while in Fortnite, we managed to average 75 fps with the graphics preset 'Epic'.

The Dell G7 15 has stereo speakers that look outward, so there's little chance of blocking them when you're using it. The speakers are quite noisy and the audio quality is decent for movies and games. The keyboard is very comfortable for typing and the blue backlighting is uniform on all keys. The keys have a good 1.4 mm travel and are not noisy. The HD webcam is quite normal and the footage looks grainy even in a well-lit room.

Battery life is also average. Even with Optimus committed and working on Google Docs most of the time, we achieved just a little over four hours before receiving the low battery warning. With Battery Eater Pro, the Dell G7 15 7588 lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes. The laptop supports fast charging, which can recharge the battery up to 25 percent in 15 minutes.

Review By Expert: Conclusion:
Today, Dell has a unique position in the market with its high-end G7 15 7588 notebook computer. It is one of the few (if not only) gaming laptops at this price that has an Intel Core i9 CPU. Although it compromises the GPU a bit, the faster CPU tends to compensate for it in some games. Dell also offers the same exact configuration, but with a Core i7-8750H CPU in place, which seems to be a better choice.

In terms of value, the high-end G7 is probably not the best choice to play for the same price (or around), you can get laptops with a better GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and even a 144 Hz refresh display Rate. The new HP Omen 15 is one of those laptops that comes to mind.

The Dell G7 series looks nice, but we would have liked a fresher design. Although it's a bit square, the laptop doesn't overheat even when you're in the middle of the battle. Those looking for the fastest portable CPU for content creation may consider this high-end G7 model. If your main goal is gaming, then a laptop with a GeForce GTX 1070 GPU is what you should aim for at this price.

Review By Expert: Pros

No overheating
Comfortable keyboard
Powerful CPU
Lots of full-size ports
Easy access to components

Review By Expert: Cons

Fans are noisy when stressed
Lower than average battery life
Slightly soft aesthetics

Review By Expert: Ratings (out of 5)

Design: 3.5
Screen: 4
Performance: 3.5
Software: 4
Battery life: 3
Value for money: 3.5
Overall: 3.5

Review By Expert: The Best And Latest Laptops 2019

2019-08-05T11:20:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: The Best And Latest Laptops 2019:

Review By Expert: The Best And Latest Laptops 2019

If you're looking for a new laptop, or just want to do a little virtual window shopping, you've come to the right place. To help you along the way, we've reviewed all the laptops we believe are worthy of your hard-earned money in 2019 and selected ten of the best.

Wondering why you should listen to us? Simple. Every year, hundreds of the latest, best, and not-so-excellent laptops pass through Expert Labs. Each and every one of them is subject to our rigorous internal tests and benchmarks, so when we recommend a laptop, you can be sure of one thing: it's a laptop that we'll be happy to buy and own.

Read on and you'll discover everything from top-of-the-line enterprise-class laptops to super stylish ultraportables, gaming laptops and 2-in-1 hybrids. In short, there's something for everyone.

Review By Expert:The Best Laptops You Can Buy In 2019.
Dell XPS 15: Possibly the Best Windows Laptop There Is:

Dell XPS 15: Possibly the Best Windows Laptop There Is:

Dell's recently renovated XPS 15 may be one of the most expensive laptops on this list, but make no mistake, this is the new king of laptops. Surprisingly well priced due to its generously fast interiors, which include the latest Intel Core i7 and i9 processors, dedicated Nvidia GPUs and up to 32 GB of massive RAM, the XPS 15 is not for gaming. It's the fastest Windows laptop we've ever tested, no doubt, and the 15.6-inch InfinityEdge screen (either 4K or Full HD) is still as exquisite as ever. Look no further, as there is simply nothing better than this, if you can afford the funds.

Key Specifications - Dell XPS 15
Processor : Hexa-core 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Screen resolution : 3,840 x 2,160.
RAM : 16GB Weight : 2kg
Total storage : 512GB.

Review By Expert: LG Gram: Large Screen Portability:
Eagle-eyed readers may have already seen the LG Gram on this list, but it was previously at the lower end of the hierarchy. Why was that? Well, before now you would have struggled to find the LG Gram anywhere outside Korea or the US. However, everything has changed for the better, as the LG Gram can now be purchased in the UK.

And it's the best lightweight laptop with big screen that you can buy right now. This is the lightest laptop because of its size and there are no performance compromises either. Its screen rivals even the best professional four figure monitors and is well priced. Now that the Gram is available in UK stores, there's no excuse.

Key Specifications - LG Gram
Processor : Quad-core Intel Core i7-8550U Display resolution : 1.920 x 1.080.
RAM : 16GB Weight : 1kg
Total storage : 1TB.

Review By Expert: Dell XPS 13 (2018): Small, Light and Powerful:

Dell's XPS 13 has spent several years at the top of our wish list, and the 2018 XPS rightly reaffirms its place on the laptop podium. That Full HD InfinityEdge display is still dazzling, and Intel's eighth-generation CPUs combine with a very fast NVMe SSD for incredible performance. Of course, it's not as light as the other machines on this list, but the XPS 13 is still a wonder.

Key Specifications - Dell XPS 13 (2018)
Processor : Quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7 -8550U Screen resolution : 1,920 x 1,080.
RAM : 16GB Weight : 1.21kg
Total storage : 512GB

Review By Expert: Microsoft Surface Pro 6:

The Best Tablet/Laptop Hybrid in the Business
Microsoft's latest Surface Pro is the company's best hybrid yet, but it's also the most expensive: prices start at €879, and Type Cover adds €125, whichever model you buy. What's good about it? Quite a bit, actually. Enhanced Intel Kaby Lake R chips offer great performance and twice the battery life of the previous model. The design has also been subtly improved and the new Surface Pen supports angle drawing so you can shadow as much as possible with the Apple pen. There's even a new premium Signature keyboard, lined with high-end Alcantara fabric. Tempting.

Key Specifications - Microsoft Surface Pro 6
Processor : dual core Intel Core i5-8250U 1.6GHz Display resolution : 2.736 x 1.824.
RAM : 8GB Weight : 1.08kg
Total storage : 256 GB.

Review By Expert: Apple MacBook Pro: Configurations in Abundance:
The latest update to Apple's MacBook Pro is tremendously expensive, but it brings with it many new and exciting features. On the one hand, there's the custom touch bar at the top, which is much less sophisticated than it looks. The redesign has seen it emerge thinner than ever, and the new giant-sized touchpad, which occupies a large proportion of the wrist rest, is excellent.

Specifications are up to the task, too. Intel's Kaby Lake processors go hand in hand with updated SSDs, which are capable of speeds that would embarrass other laptops. The result? The new MacBook Pro continues the family tradition and fuses power, portability, an impressive display, and long battery life. If you haven't noticed yet, the price hike hasn't done enough to keep the MacBook Pro off our wish list.
Key Specifications - Apple MacBook Pro
Processor : Dual Core 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 Screen resolution : 2,560 x 1,600.
RAM : 8GB Weight : 1.37kg
Total storage : 128GB
Best Laptop 2019: The best of the rest.

Review By Expert: Razer Blade 15:
Razer's new and improved Blade laptop is no joke. Achieving the impossible, the Blade 15 combines portability and power in a way that no other laptop on this list can manage. It's slim and built on the same all-metal aluminum chassis as before, but what's particularly special are the Blade's internal components.

With a selection of Nvidia Max Q graphics chips, Blade attacks through our game benchmarks and is ideal for almost any game or application you can imagine. Combine that with a soft 144Hz screen and it's clear who the real winner is.

Key Specifications - Razer Blade 15
Processor : Hexa-core 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Screen resolution : 1,920 x 1,080.
RAM : 16GB Weight : 2.1kg
Total storage : 512GB

Review By Expert: Google Pixel Book:
Fair play, Google. California's technology giant has finally created a Chromebook that it would be willing to use every day. Before now, the mere mention of Chromebook gave me a chill: it's a category of machine that's full of sticky, scruffy, disposable devices that should never see the light of day. Not to mention that they all run an operating system that, as I said before, is an eye-catching and restrictive experience.

But the Pixelbook is not such a device. Of course, it is running Chrome OS like the others, but it has a trick in the form of a Google Assistant. Yes, now you can ask your laptops the same useless questions as the digital butler in your kitchen. Plus, this is a first-rate device, with superior specifications compared to anything else on the market and a wonderful high-resolution display.

This is not like those low-powered Chromebooks that do nothing but haunt our dreams: the Pixelbook is a proper performance workhorse. It's a laptop that, if you're willing to hand over vast sums of cash for it, will serve you well as your primary device long after other Chromebooks have kicked the bucket. Once again, congratulations to you, Google.

Key Specifications
Processor; Dual Core 3.3GHz Intel Core i5-7Y57.
RAM : 16GB Weight : 1.1kg
Total storage : 256GB SSD.

Review By Expert: HP Spectre 13:
HP has set the gold standard (literally) for design and overall appearance with the Spectre 13. With a mere thickness of 10.4 mm, the beautifully designed chassis and premium gold details give it a genuine touch of class. With the choice of the right Intel Core i processors, you're not sacrificing performance, and the high-quality display also competes with Microsoft Surface Pro. The only drawbacks? The battery life could be better and it's not cheap.

Key Specifications - HP Spectre 13
Processor : Quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550U Screen resolution : 3,840 x 2,160.
RAM : 8GB Weight : 1.11kg
Total storage : 512GB.

Review By Expert: Gigabyte Aero 15X
Giga byte might not be a name you are intimate with. The company is growing in popularity, but they are not as well known as big names like Dell and HP. However, don't let that deter you. Gigabyte's latest, the Aero 15X, is a performance marvel and is perfect for the avid office worker. The best part? This is one of the fastest laptops we've ever seen, thanks to its high-powered interiors.

Speed usually comes instead of portability when it comes to laptops, but that's not the case with the Gigabyte Aero 15X. It's incredibly thin, just 18.9 mm off the ground and weighs only 2 kg, which is not bad for a 15.6-inch laptop. And its 4K display is beautiful, clearly inspired by Dell's frameless XPS display design. It's a joy to watch and something that will definitely catch your eye on the night trip. Get the Aero 15 if you're looking for the best performance that money can buy.

Key Specifications
Processor : Hexa-core 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Screen resolution : 3,840 x 2,160.
RAM : 16GB Weight : 2kg
Total storage : 512GB

Review By Expert: Microsoft Surface Go
When you first come across Microsoft's Surface Go in its native tablet form, you may wonder "who would want to buy this? However, add the keyboard and it's a completely different story. The Surface Go transforms into a fully developed laptop.

Its key strength, which moves it ahead of rivals like the iPad Pro, is its versatility. Surface Go has the ability to run any Windows software, old or new, and its proper file system means you can move files without having to perform mental gymnastics. The screen and keyboard are also excellent. This tablet is ideal for watching videos, but it can also be used as a regular laptop.

However, there are caveats: the standard 4GB RAM edition runs just at the usability limit of Windows 10, so we recommend the high-end 8GB RAM version, which will cost you 500 pounds.

It's not cheap, but the quality is there for all to see: Microsoft Surface Go is a tablet like no other.
Key Specifications:
Processor : Dual Core 1.6GHz Intel Pentium 4415Y Screen resolution : 1,200 x 1,800.
RAM : 8GB Weight : 522g
Total storage : 128GB

Review By Expert: Asus Vivo Mini: A High Value Mini PC Review

2019-08-05T10:48:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Asus VivoMini: A High Value Mini PC Review:

Review By Expert: Asus Vivo Mini: A High Value Mini PC Review

Most mini-PCs generally try to make do with the essentials (CPU, RAM, and a single storage unit), while barebones start with less. Therefore, it is rare to see a small Windows computer that is as well equipped internally as the Asus VivoMini.

Specifically, we are using the VM65N-G072Z model; the VivoMini family has as many different configurations as a Rubik's cube, starting with the UN45 based on Intel Celeron and scaling up to our VM65N specification. It is very close to the top of the line, with a dual-core Intel Core i5-7200U processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive, and even a dedicated graphics chip, Nvidia's GeForce 930M.

Review By Expert: Asus VivoMini: Power:

This GPU is, like the CPU, a relatively low power laptop component, and is far from the desktop-friendly parts of the Zotac Magnus ER51060. This, however, is much cheaper, not to mention much more compact, and still presents a very competitive performance at our 4K benchmarks.

Review By Expert: Asus VivoMini: Power:

Its multitasking score of 14 is unfortunate (despite the active cooling of a fan, we wouldn't be surprised if there was any regulation), but its image score of 81 and its video score of 56 point to a system that can at least handle some low-end midrange editing, as well as basic things like navigation and word processing. Overall, VivoMini scored 39, easily surpassing rivals like the MSI Cubi 3 Silent.

Out of curiosity, we also ran the 1080p version of our reference points, through which VivoMini navigated: 206 in the image test, 182 in the video test and 186 in the multitasking test. That's twice the performance of the Intel Compute Stick, properly, at a little less than double the price. It is also interesting to see that VivoMini's multitasking weakness disappears in this less demanding test, and its score is much more proportional to the image segments and video coding.

The GeForce 930M also makes the Asus Mini-PC a suitable tool for light gaming. Running Dirt: Confronted with 720p, the VivoMini produced 43 fps with the high quality preset and 51fps with the low quality preset. It should be noted that the HP Elite Slice achieved a single additional frame in the Low configuration, despite using integrated graphics, but in the High configuration, which is where we would prefer to be, the VivoMini prevails over everything else.

Review By Expert: Asus VivoMini: Storage:

The VivoMini has excellent storage: the 128 GB SSD allows the fast operation of Windows, as well as some applications of choice, and its lack of capacity is compensated by a 1 TB hard drive. Most mini PCs, even the most expensive, such as the Elite Slice, settle for a single SSD, but we strongly recommend a larger backup like this HDD if you want it as your primary PC.

Review By Expert: Asus VivoMini: Storage:

Plus, you can exchange it for a larger disk if you ever run out of space. Opening the VivoMini is child's play: simply press a release switch on the back, slide the top cover and you're ready to go. It's true that the degree of updating and customization of this PC is slightly more limited than, for example, Cubi 3 Silent: it can only reach the hard drive and SO-DIMM memory slots, which are located in their own small, independent compartments. We get the impression that playing with the entrails of VivoMini is a last resort, rather than something that is recommended as it would be with a barebone system.

Asus has squeezed into a fine selection of ports. In addition to four USB 3 ports, there are two other faster USB 3.1 connectors, and dual display support is possible thanks to the HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. Gigabit Ethernet offers a wired alternative to the built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and the full-size SD card reader might be ideal for photographers and amateur filmmakers (provided their editing needs are not too demanding, taking into account the PC's benchmark scores).

There is even an optical S/PDIF output underneath the separate sockets for headphones and 3.5mm microphone. Support for high-end audio hardware is extremely rare among PCs at this price, even on larger desktops, so the presence of this port is a very pleasant surprise.

We wouldn't consider it a mistake, knowing how much is inside, but the VivoMini has a big footprint for a mini PC: with 52 x 190 x1 90 mm, it's taller and wider than an Elite Slice, and occupies much more real estate desk than a silent cubi 3. However, it's not a bad look, especially with the whirl pattern characteristic of Asus at the top of the jazz all a bit. It's also light enough, with a weight of 1.2 kg, that if you invest in a VESA mounting kit and place it in the holes at the bottom, you can place it on the back of a monitor, at the bottom of a desk or vertically on a wall.

Conclusion
It would have been easy to look at VivoMini's 4K multitasking score and postpone it, but otherwise, this is undoubtedly a very well-balanced mini PC. It is of great value, has enough processing power for use in the home office (and enough graphics power for the occasional 720p games), has large storage capacity and does not need any additional barebones-style installation. Unless you are willing to pay a few hundred pounds more for a higher power, this is the best of the mini PC gang.

Review By Expert: One Plus 6T Mc Laren Declare with 10 GB of RAM

2019-08-03T12:40:00.000+05:00

One Plus 6T Mc Laren Declare with 10 GB of RAM:

Review By Expert: One Plus 6T Mc Laren Declare with 10 GB of RAM

Mobile phone manufacturer OnePlus has announced a long-term partnership with Formula 1 racing brand McLaren at its "Salute to Speed" event. As the name suggests, this unlikely combination is inspired by the interest of both companies in the quest for speed. The immediate result of this relationship is the OnePlus 6T McLaren edition: a specially designed OnePlus 6T featuring some very impressive hardware changes, as well as an elegant painting job. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau describes the McLaren edition as the "fastest and most advanced device in the company. Let's see if that statement holds up in harsh daylight, okay?

McLaren OnePlus 6T Edition: Specifications and Design:

The new smartphone could best be described as a supercharged OnePlus 6T. The emphasis on speed is quite clear, as the most impressive feature is the huge 10 GB RAM, which for the sake of context is more than most laptops usually offer.

Combine this with 256 GB of built-in storage, and the OnePlus 6T McLaren should be suitable for shooting long 4K videos at 60 fps, editing RAW image files and handling the most graphic games that the Google Play store can offer you. Hell, with 10 Gb of RAM at your disposal, you can do all this at the same time.

These are the most noticeable changes when it comes to internal hardware. Otherwise, the phone is a normal OnePlus 6T, with a Full HD + AMOLED screen, Android 9 and two 16 megapixel cameras.

However, McLaren and OnePlus have slightly modified the phone's charging capabilities. OnePlus' new charging system, Warp Charge 30, is supposed to offer a daily charge in just over 20 minutes connected to the wall. If that's not a greeting to speed, I don't know what it is.

OnePlus may have supplied the hardware, but McLaren has influenced its influence on the entire design of 6T McLaren. The box features a carbon fiber Speedmark badge made from the same material that built the McLaren 2018 F1 cars, and also includes a brochure detailing the history of both companies.

Open the box and you'll be greeted by a OnePlus 6T with edges that fade from black to papaya orange as your eye moves from top to bottom. The back of the glass-covered phone is designed to mimic the same carbon fiber pattern mentioned above, and is adorned with a McLaren logo. It's not too creepy, and it certainly captures what McLaren CEO Zak Brown describes as the 'spirit' of the brand.

Review By Expert: Samsung Presents the New Galaxy Fold

2019-08-03T12:32:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Samsung Presents the New Galaxy Fold:

Samsung has finally shed some light on its first foldable smartphone, last seen in less than ideal lighting conditions. The Samsung Galaxy Fold, as it's predictably called, switches from a 4.6-inch smartphone to a 7.3-inch tablet in the blink of an eye, and Android dynamically adapts to change content to suit the new aspect ratio.

If you are thinking "oh, that's not goes to the cheap," then you're completely right. The Samsung Galaxy Fold will start at $1,980 making the smartphone as a very much expensive as possible.

To be totally fair to Samsung, there is a lot of good technology that justifies the price. It combines a 7 nm processor with 12 GB of RAM, making it "one of the most powerful phones on the market". It comes with 512GB of UFS 3.0 flash storage, which according to the company means it will be twice as fast at reading data as most other phones. Equally, it has a lot of internal storage, as there is no microSD support.

Review By Expert: Samsung Presents the New Galaxy Fold: Features:

You might think that putting a single lithium ion battery into a tablet that folds would be a big mistake, and Samsung agrees, which is why the Galaxy Fold comes with two, one on each side of the fold, for a total capacity of 4,380 mAh The phone has six cameras in total: three on the back (16MP, ultra wide angle f/2).2; wide-angle 12MP, f / 1.5-f / 2.3; telephoto 12x 2x with optical zoom), two in the middle (10MP, f / 2.2; 8MP, f / 1.9 depth detection) and one in the front (10MP, f / 2.2).

The image above shows one of the innovations that take advantage of that extra space on the screen: now you can have three applications on the screen at the same time and it looked pretty effective on stage. We are less convinced by its closed look, where the screen seems to be considerably smaller and looks like a return to the old days of thick bezels.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Complete Review

2019-08-03T12:23:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+ Complete Review:

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+ Complete Review

Samsung launches new iconic Galaxy S models at the beginning of each year. This year, a lot was expected of the Korean manufacturer, especially as we were eager to see which design direction it would take. Since the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung has kept its high Infinity screens, clearly not showing the intention to go for the same brands as everyone else. Their latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9, also had its front cameras above the screen, but the Galaxy S10 series are the first phones to launch with a more modern look that finally gets rid of all borders. the screen. The Samsung Galaxy S10 series, launched in San Francisco just ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, marked the debut of Samsung's new Infinity-O screens that extend to every corner of the front of these phones and have holes for front cameras.

Samsung launched 3 Best smartphones, that is Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10 Plus at the same time. Unlike Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, which had different rear camera configurations, Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ have the same three cameras on the back. Where they differ (apart from screen size and battery capacity) are their auto-photo cameras. The Galaxy S10+ has two front cameras, while the Galaxy S10 has to do with a single auto-photo shooter.

In a way, the Galaxy S10+ is the best smartphone Samsung has to offer right now. Is it good enough to fight the iPhone XS Max, Google Pixel 3 XL and Huawei Mate 20 Pro? We checked to find out.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Design:

Samsung is known for its interesting designs. While all other Android manufacturers were considering adopting a screen notch, Samsung resisted the movement and stayed with the traditional rectangular screen format. The new line of Samsung Galaxy S10 can be seen as the company's attempt to maximize screen size and minimize edges.

The Galaxy S10+ comes in five finishes and uses two different materials for the back panel. If you opt for the basic configuration with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, you can choose between Prism White, Prism Black and Prism Blue. If you want the ceramic finishes, you can buy this phone with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage in Ceramic Black, or choose the high-end Ceramic White option with the amazing amount of 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. That is the case at the time of publishing this revision; it is not known whether Samsung will make different configurations available in different finishes in the future. We had the Prism White unit to review, and we liked the way it changes color when light hits it from different angles.

Pick up the phone and it's obvious that the bezels are very thin on the top and sides, which makes it look like a phone without a bezel. The lower chin is comparatively thicker. On the screen, the earphone grid moves toward the frame, freeing up some space on the screen. The oval-shaped hole in the upper right corner of the screen houses a dual camera configuration. It's easier to notice here than in the Honor View 20, which has a smaller hole for its unique selfie camera. Samsung refers to this as the Infinity-O screen and is rounded at the edges.

Samsung has curved the sides of the frame of this phone, which makes it easy to hold and, at the same time, helps the screen and glass blend together perfectly. You'll barely notice the transition from the frame to the glass back when you run your fingers over the surfaces.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Design:

On the back, there are three cameras arranged in a horizontal strip, similar to the double camera arrangement on Galaxy Note 9. Heart rate and oxygen saturation sensors are placed in the same module along with the LED flash. This camera module has a slightly raised metal edge. It is not important enough for the phone to move when placed on a flat surface.

You won't find a traditional fingerprint scanner on the back of this smartphone like the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 9. Instead, Samsung has opted for an on-screen ultrasonic sensor. This is Samsung's first smartphone that has such a function and is placed towards the bottom of the screen, over the on-screen home button. The location is convenient and you can easily reach the sensor area by holding the phone with one hand.

We found that the location of the power button was too high on the right side of the Galaxy S10+ and was a bit difficult to reach. Like other recent Galaxy S series smartphones, there is a dedicated Bixby button located below the volume buttons on the left. All buttons are made of metal and have a reassuring click when pressed.

The top of the phone has a microphone and SIM tray. If you want a 3.5mm headphone jack on your smartphone, you'll be happy that Samsung has kept it in the Galaxy S10+. It's on the bottom, along with a USB Type C port and a speaker grille. The Galaxy S10+ also has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

Samsung has managed to pack a 4100mAh in the slim 7.8mm body, while keeping the weight at 175g (195g for ceramic options). This phone feels light in the hand compared to some of the other Galaxy smartphones we've used in the past. You get a quick charger and a pair of AKG headphones in the box, along with some other accessories.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Specifications, Display and Software:

There is no denying that the 6.4 inch AMOLED screen on the Galaxy S10+ is absolutely beautiful. It has Quad HD + resolution (1440×3040 pixels) but it is set to Full-HD + (1080×2280 pixels) by default and you can change it manually. There are several settings you can make to customize the screen. There are two modes to choose from, live and natural. As the name implies, Vivid mode increases contrast by making colors stand out more on the screen. When you're in Live mode, you get a slider for white balance and the option to adjust color levels. The natural mode looks more, good, natural.

The Galaxy S10+ definitely has one of the brightest screen panels on the market at 1200nits. We could read anything easily even outdoors. The phone offers a night mode that switches to a dark theme that is easy on the eyes. You have the option to change it manually or set it to turn on automatically at dusk or a scheduled time. This gorgeous screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 6 for your protection, which should help you resist scratches in everyday use.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Specifications, Display and Software:

Now let's tackle the hole punching screen. Yes, it cuts out a small part of the screen in the upper right corner of the phone, but it doesn't distract. The smaller hole in the Galaxy S10 might go unnoticed, but the S10+ can't do the same. Samsung has tried to reduce the impact by using wallpapers that have a darker upper right corner. We had no problem with the hole, and got used to the screen very quickly. You can also mask it by enabling the Hide front camera option in the screen settings. This places a thick black band at the top of the screen.

The AMOLED panel is so good that when this option is enabled it is difficult to distinguish the bezel from the screen. This panel is also certified and is capable of playing HDR10+ video in compatible applications. The Galaxy S10+ has a stereo speaker configuration where the headset doubles as a speaker when playing audio. There is a big prop up for Dolby Atmos, which makes a detectable difference when enabled.

The iris scanner that was present on Samsung's previous flagships, including the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S9 series, has capsized, and the Galaxy S10+ relies on its selfie camera for facial recognition. This worked well for us in most lighting conditions and was quick to scan and unlock the phone. In low light conditions, the brightness of the screen increased to get a facial scan. The Galaxy S10+ also gives you the option to unlock the phone and go directly to the home screen or wait on the lock screen. This can be toggled from the Face Recognition setting.

The traditional fingerprint scanner that was on the back of the Galaxy S series smartphones has also been shown to exit. The replacement is an on-screen ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. This is a better technology compared to the optical CMOS sensors that all other smartphone manufacturers have used for on-screen fingerprint scanning.

The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is fast and does not require firm pressure. Nor do you need the AMOLED display to illuminate the area around the sensor to scan a fingerprint. In fact, it works even when the screen is completely off. Samsung continues to illuminate the part where the sensor is placed to help you find the scanner. We were impressed with the speed, as it could scan and verify our fingerprints even with a light touch, which is something most other on-screen scanners can't do.

Samsung has chosen its new Exynos 9820 SoC to power the Galaxy S10+. The variant I tested had eight GB of RAM and 128GB of big hard drive. Higher variants of the Samsung Galaxy S10 plus are available that offer eight GB of RAM with 512 gb of hard drive and 12GB of RAM with 1TB of very bighard drive capacity. The Galaxy S10+ has a dual SIM hybrid tray that allows for storage expansion, but only at the expense of a second SIM. If you are not interested in expanding storage, you can use two Nano-SIMs. There is support for 4G, as well as VoLTE in both slots.

In this smart phone the Bluetooth 5, WiFi 6, ANT +, NFC and four satellite positioning systems available. Wireless charging is available in this phone, and the device has the capacity of reverse wireless charging. We tried this by activating the Wireless PowerShare function on the notification screen and placing the Samsung Galaxy Buds on this device. The samsung galaxy S10 plus could wirelessly charge in situation of the Galaxy Buds case. It also worked when we placed a Google Pixel 3 on top of this phone. This feature is quite useful for charging other devices with. We notice that the S10+ disables this feature automatically when its own battery level drops below 30 percent.

In front of the software, Samsung ships the Galaxy S10+ with its new OneUI over Android 9 Foot. We got our first glimpse of OneUI when Samsung released it on Galaxy Note 9. The software is polished and designed for easy one-handed use. In general, we prefer this to the Samsung Experience user interface, which is included with the latest generations of Samsung smartphones.

A quick slide opens the drawer of the application which is convenient. Slide your finger to the right from the home screen and you will be taken to the Bixby home screen. You can choose to scroll down anywhere on the home screen to display the notification shading, and the levers have been moved down so that they are within reach. When we started checking the smartphone, it was running the January 2019 security patch, but soon received its first software update that included the February security patch.

This software update also provided the ability to reassign the Bixby button on the smartphone. Holding down the Bixby button still invokes the Bixby Wizard. However, you can now invoke different actions by pressing the button once or twice, although at least one of them has yet to be configured to open Bixby. The other can be set to start another application, such as WhatsApp or Google Maps, or an action related to Bixby or a quick command. In addition, there are some limitations, such as not being able to call Google Assistant.

We use Bixby to see how far it has come. In our experience, speech recognition was not as good as Google Assistant. It's still good for tasks on the device, such as changing screen brightness or changing Wi-Fi. But ask him to navigate to a place or say, "I'm hungry," and he has no idea what to do. It's best to leave those tasks to Google Assistant on the Galaxy S10Plus.

Pre-installed applications include Samsung's Galaxy Store, My Galaxy, Samsung Pass and Galaxy Wearable. We found My Galaxy was a bit annoying because it kept sending push notifications. Microsoft applications such as Office Mobile, OneDrive and LinkedIn, along with a set of Google applications, are also installed on the smartphone by default. Samsung has reduced the amount of information that used to come with previous devices, giving you the option to download the applications you want from the Galaxy Store instead.

Game Launcher gathers all your installed games together. It allows you to choose between "Energy Saving Focus", "Balanced" and "Performance Focus" for all games, or set a level for each game individually. Game tools are available when a game starts, allowing you to minimize caller notifications, stop notifications, and even block Bixby while playing. You can also enable Dolby Atmos for gaming and put stereo speakers to good use.

Because OneUI is based on Android Pie, it gets the Digital Wellness feature that gives you detailed information about the amount of time you've spent on your smartphone. You also have the option of setting timers for applications, after which the phone locks them for the rest of the day. Gesture navigation replaces traditional navigation buttons with three tabs where you can slide up to perform the corresponding button action. As this didn't feel any more efficient, we continued with the traditional buttons.

There are some other gestures that include double tap to wake up, lift to wake up and a hand tap to take a screenshot. The Smart Stay feature keeps the screen awake when you're looking at it, and it's very useful. Samsung also has a pop-up panel option that lets you have applications like Messages or Whatsapp that hover over a game for easy multitasking.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Performance, Battery And Cameras:

Powered by the Exynos 9820, Samsung's most powerful chip, there's absolutely nothing to stop the Galaxy S10+. We never noticed any delays or stuttering when using this smartphone, and it could effortlessly handle the entire load of OneUI's animated animations. If you prefer, you have the option to dim these animations in the advanced settings. With 8 GB of RAM on board, we could easily perform multiple tasks without having applications removed in the background. The Galaxy S10+ also keeps games in the background, simply because it can do so without compromising performance.

We run our standard set of benchmarks to see how the Galaxy S10+ works against other Android smartphones. As expected, it topped the lists at most of the cue points we run. In AnTuTu, the Samsung Galaxy S10 plus with Exynos 9820 recorded 3,38,538, which is greatly higher than the 2,86,580 and 2,90,293 gets by the Apple iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max independently. In PCMark Work 2.0, the S10+ scored 7,791, which is slightly lower than the 8121 recorded by the Asus ROG phone.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Performance, Battery And Cameras:

This phone scored 4,406 and 10,358 in the single-core and multi-core tests of Geekbench 4, respectively. In comparison, the OnePlus 6T recorded 2,378 and 8,775 in these tests, while the LG V40 ThinQ recorded 2,406 and 8,582 respectively. The Galaxy S10+ achieved 4,514 in 3DMark Slingshot Extreme and 4,424 in 3DMark Slingshot. On the GFXBench T-Rex test bench, it managed to reach 60 fps while the Car Chase test yielded 40 fps.

We tried to play popular games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends. We couldn't find Asphalt 9 in the Google Play Store, but we could find the game and download it through the Galaxy Apps store. PUBG Mobile defaults to High setting for HD Graphics and High Frame Rate. The game also ran with a black bar at the top that hides the camera hole. We played some matches at Full HD+ resolution with these settings and the phone could handle it without getting hot. The battery consumption was 11 percent after 40 minutes of play.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Performance, Battery And Cameras:

We played Asphalt 9 in High Quality in FHD+ resolution and found that the S10+ ran this game in full screen mode, which led to an immersive experience. The hole in the camera made us lose a small part of the screen, but it didn't bother us or affect the game in any way. The graphics are strait like a line and the phone could runs this game without heating.

Samsung has increased battery capacity and the Galaxy S10+ gets a 4100mAh unit. We ran our high-definition video loop test on the smartphone with Full HD+ resolution and were able to run it for 16 hours and 25 minutes. While it worked longer than the Samsung Galaxy S9+, it couldn't work as well as the Galaxy Note 9, despite the slightly larger battery.

With our intensive use that involved playing PUBG Mobile for 40 minutes, an hour of navigation with Google Maps, an active WhatsApp account, and some landmarks, the phone has 25 percent of battery left at the end of 24 hours. The battery life is very good with the default settings, but you can extend it by lowering the screen resolution to HD+ and using one of the power-saving modes available in the Settings application.

Charging is fast and the supplied fast 15 watt charger is able to charge this phone quickly. It was charged to 41 percent in 30 minutes, and up to 79 percent in an hour. A full charge took only 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10+: Performance, Battery And Cameras:

Samsung has opted for a triple camera configuration in the Galaxy S10+ consisting of a 12 megapixel camera with a telephoto lens, OIS and PDAF; a 12 megapixel main camera with wide-angle lens, double pixel autofocus and variable aperture between f/2.4 and f/1.5; and an ultra-wide 16 megapixel camera. The variable aperture was also seen in the Galaxy Note 9, and you can see how the physical aperture changes when you look at the camera. The telephoto lens gives you a 2x optical zoom, while the ultra-wide angle sensor has a 123-degree field of view for landscapes or group shots.

The camera application is well designed and has many modes to choose from. The first thing you'll notice is a set of floating icons towards the bottom of the screen that allow you to switch between the three cameras at the back. You get Super Slow Motion (960 fps), Slow Motion, Hyperlapse Video, Live Focus, Panorama, Emoji AR, Bixby Vision and Pro modes.

The live focus is for taking portrait shots, and allows you to adjust the level of blur and even add some blur effects. Pro mode lets you control ISO sensitivity, aperture, autofocus, white balance and exposure, as well as adjust contrast, lights and shadows.

When using the normal photo modem, there are quick changes for beautification, as well as a scene optimizer that is said to be able to recognize what the camera is pointing at and make adjustments accordingly. We observed that the photos taken with the scene optimizer enabled had a slightly higher contrast compared to shots without it.

Emoji AR mode allows you to use AR stickers that can mimic your facial movements. There is also a food mode, which you can use while taking food photos. It adds a radial blur and allows you to change the color temperature.

The photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S10+ were impressive and had many details. Scene optimizer is enabled by default and helps the camera set the scene accordingly. When taking pictures during the day, the Galaxy S10+ measures light correctly and enables HDR when the scene requires it. Even objects at a distance had good details.

We took pictures using telephoto as well as wide-angle cameras. The photos taken with the telephoto camera had good detail, but you could see a very fine grain. The wide-angle camera has a fixed focus and should ideally be used when taking landscape photographs, but there is barrel distortion at the edges.

When taking macro photographs, the Galaxy S10+ was quick to lock the focus and the photos came out very well. It achieved a good separation between subject and background. These macro shots also had well-defined edges. The Life Focus mode achieved excellent edge detection. You can change the level of blur or the effect you have applied even after taking portrait shots.

The photos taken at night were brilliant and had a good deal of detail. Even objects at a distance were recognizable, and the text was legible. There was very little noise in photos taken with a nearby light source, but in darker environments, the output had visible grain.

Inside the hole drilled in the front of this phone is a 10 megapixel auto-photo camera and an 8 megapixel depth sensor. By taking selfies, beautification is enabled by default, but fortunately not too aggressive. You can change the level of beautification and also turn it off completely. The selfies taken with the Galaxy S10+ were sharp and had good details. In Live Focus mode, it puts the depth sensor in use, and the portrait shots had good edge detection.

Video recording is maximum at 4K at 60 fps for the main camera and 4K at 30fps for the selfie camera. Image stabilization is available in most modes except 4K60fps. The stabilization is excellent, and the phone managed to handle the tremors very well.

There is also a super constant mode, which managed to stabilize the images even when we were running. In this mode, the Galaxy S10+ uses the wide-angle sensor and trims the video, resulting in a stable shot. We also tested the HDR10+ video recording mode, which seems to be in beta at the moment. This mode offers a much better dynamic range when shooting against light.

Review By Expert: Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus:Conclusion:

The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is a brilliant smartphone with a powerful processor and an impressive display. Samsung's new perforated design allows for a large screen in a relatively small body. Samsung has also managed to put a good price on the Galaxy S10 series compared to the competition, giving these phones an advantage.

At launch price, the base variant of the Galaxy S10+ competes with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. You can also opt for the Samsung Galaxy S10, which is less expensive, and would not lose much.

For a small bonus on Huawei Mate 20 Pro , you get a more powerful processor and a better visualization. The Galaxy S10+ also has some ingenious features when it comes to the camera, especially the super stable video recording and HDR10+. That said, the Infinity-O design with the perforated screen may not appeal to everyone and may be a reason for some buyers to consider other options.

If a smartphone is on the market that stands upright among its peers, then the Galaxy S10+ is the one to choose. It looks futuristic, has the software to back up its powerful hardware and complements it with good and versatile cameras.

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro Complete Review

2019-08-03T11:44:00.000+05:00

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro First Impressions:

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro Complete Review

Just a few months after launching its flagship Mate 20 Pro, Huawei says it has been surpassed with the new Huawei P30 Pro. Many companies launch multiple high-end phones in a year, and some, like Huawei, alternate between product lines that target slightly different groups of buyers.

While the Mate 20 Pro is an all-rounder that emphasizes design and processing power, Huawei's P series is about photography. With this release, the Chinese giant has introduced a 5X optical zoom camera and a new type of sensor, in a direct challenge to Apple, Samsung and Google's best deals. We were able to spend a little time with a Huawei P30 Pro unit before its official launch, and here are our first impressions.

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro: Features:

However, in addition to its cameras, the Huawei P30 Pro has much to brag about. The device looks great, with the glass at the front and rear curved inward to the sides, interspersed with a thin metal frame. The quality of the construction is first class and we could barely feel the seams. Huawei says everything about this phone, from the colors to the alert sounds, has been inspired by nature.

The company has shown four color variants internationally, representing different times of day and night. Curiously, it seems that only the Aurora and Breathing Crystal options will not reach all countries; not even plain black. Our Aurora unit definitely catches the eye with its blue and purple rear gradients and bright blue frame, but we think some people would prefer a more discreet option.

On the front of this phone we have a 6.47 inch OLED screen with a small dewdrop notch on top. There is no headset, but the top of the screen vibrates to produce sound. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the screen, which according to Huawei is improved compared to previous models. These are the two things we will have to test in detail in our full review.

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro: Screen:

The display of the Huawei P30 Pro is compatible with HDR and is said to be compatible with the wide colour gamut DCI-P3. We definitely found it crisp and vibrant for us in our initial experience with the device.

This Huawei P30 Pro is great and a bit difficult to handle. On the other hand, it feels a bit heavy, and we were a bit worried about dropping it when we held it to take pictures due to the curved sides of the glass. However, the P30 Pro is not too difficult to grasp. The back definitely picks up a lot of stains and stains, you'd have to look closely to notice them because of their constantly changing colors.

The main attraction of the P30 Pro is, of course, the configuration of the camera in the back, which has already broken DxOMark's records. There is a somewhat elevated vertical strip with three cameras. From the top we have a 20 megapixel wide-angle camera, the 40 megapixel main camera and then the 5X telephoto periscopic camera underneath. Huawei says that the actual lens mechanism is arranged horizontally across the entire width of the phone, and a prism bends the light 90 degrees so that shots can be captured. There is also a time-of-flight depth sensor to the right of the module and a double LED flash on top of it.

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro: Cameras:

All four rear cameras are equipped with Leica optics. The main camera has a f / 1.6 aperture, OIS and a new type of sensor that Huawei calls SuperSpectrum. It is designed with RYYB filters instead of RGB filters, which are supposed to capture 40 percent more light. We'll see what this means for night photography in our full review.

The Huawei P30 Pro's zoom camera is said to have a 5X optical zoom, a 10X "hybrid" zoom and a 50X digital zoom, also with optical stabilization. This could be a game changer for smartphone cameras, and we will take full advantage of this range when we test the cameras of the Huawei P30 Pro as part of our in-depth review process.

As for standard specifications, we have Huawei's high-end Kirin 980 processor with a total of eight cores of three different types, for optimum power efficiency. There are 8 GB of RAM and options of 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB of international storage.

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro: Battery:

The Huawei P30 Pro has a 4200mAh battery, and you get a 40W SuperCharge charger in the box with this phone. 15W wireless fast charging is supported, and you can send power wirelessly to other devices using the 2.5W reverse charge function.

With the Huawei P30 Pro, you also get dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, dual-band GPS, NFC and, of course, 4G LTE on both SIM cards. However, thanks to the dual SIM hybrid design, you will have to sacrifice a second Nano-SIM if you want storage expansion. Instead of standard microSD cards, the P30 Pro can only use Huawei's own Nano memory card format. There is also no 3.5 mm audio connector.

Review By Expert: Huawei P30 Pro: Battery:

Huawei's new EMUI 9.1 mask runs on Android 9 Pie and introduces a more spaced grid of icons with new designs everywhere. The overall performance when moving through the user interface and some of the pre-installed applications was excellent, and the P30 Pro felt very agile in the little time we spent with it. Under the hood, Huawei promises speed improvements thanks to a new file system and software settings that include GPU Turbo 3.0 for gaming.

Soon we will have a complete overhaul of the Huawei P30 Pro, in which we will spend a lot of time with the cameras on this phone, as well as examining its overall performance, battery life, software, construction quality and much more.