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HTC Bolt SPEC

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sat, 12 Nov 2016 15:08:00 +0000

HTC was a very different company in 2011. It released the HTC Thunderbolt, an Android smartphone with a kickstand, and it raced past Nokia to become the third-largest smartphone manufacturer. Now it seems like the company is leaning on the Thunderbolt name to jolt some life into its declining sales. The HTC Bolt is the rumored device to be released on November 11, and here is what we think we know about it.

The rumored HTC Bolt may follow a trend that not everyone likes: The removal of the headphone jack. Don’t worry though, the latest reports suggest that the phone will come with “the world’s first adaptive earphones,” otherwise known as “HTC BoomSound Adaptive Audio.” The earbuds allegedly measure and calibrate sound to best suit your ears. A press-style glossy image of what may be the Bolt was leaked by @evleaks on Twitter, along with several newer photographs of the device in hand — a headphone jack is not visible anywhere on the phone’s body. Unlike Apple, where the multipurpose Lightning port is used on the iPhone 7, the Bolt will rely on a USB Type-C connector for charging and audio purposes.

The Bolt is also said to be water resistant, with an IP57 rating. Otherwise, the phone pictured is very similar to the HTC 10, except it’s larger thanks to its 5.5-inch display. The HTC 10 has not done all that well — AT&T did not sell the device outright, and T-Mobile dropped it just two months after it was released.

The side view shows a slight raised camera module, and the presence of two card slots, potentially one for the SIM and the other for a MicroSD card.

Leaked specs

Apart from offering us a glimpse at the device, Evan Blass has coughed up its specs as well. The 5.5-inch smartphone will have a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels and QHD display. It features 3GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, and a MicroSD card slot for more space.

HTC’s popular BoomSound audio tech will only be available when listening to headphones — even though there’s no headphone jack, you’ll get HTC’s exclusive feature via Bluetooth headsets. There’s a single, bottom-firing speaker, but it won’t offer BoomSound capabilities.

There’s a fingerprint sensor on the front, and a USB Type-C port just like the HTC 10.

The rear camera is packed with 18-megapixel with an aperture of f/2.0, and the front has 8-megapixels. The primary camera can shoot 4K video. We can’t verify this information, so we’ll have to wait and see if these leaked specs match up when the device is announced.

Curiously, the HTC Bolt is currently rumored to feature the Snapdragon 810 processor, a seemingly strange move that may result in overheating. The Bolt is also said to feature a 3,200mAh battery with quick charging, which will provide 20 hours talk time with “power to last a day” with just half an hour of charging. The upcoming phone is also rumored to be the first phone from HTC to run Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

HTC Bolt detailed specifications

GENERAL

Release date	November 2016
Form factor	Touchscreen
Battery capacity (mAh)	3200
Removable battery	No
Colours	Gunmetal, Glacier Silver
SAR value	NA

DISPLAY

Screen size (inches)	5.50
Touchscreen	Yes
Resolution	1440x2560 pixels

HARDWARE

Processor	octa-core
Processor make	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
RAM	3GB
Internal storage	32GB
Expandable storage	Yes
Expandable storage type	microSD
Expandable storage up to (GB)	2

CAMERA

Rear camera	16-megapixel
Flash	Yes
Front camera	8-megapixel

SOFTWARE

Operating System

Android 7.0

CONNECTIVITY

Wi-Fi	Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported	NA
GPS	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes
NFC	Yes
Infrared	No
USB OTG	No
Headphones	3.5mm
FM	Yes
Number of SIMs	1
SIM 1
SIM Type	Nano-SIM
GSM/CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	Yes
Supports 4G in India (Band 40)	No

SENSORS

Compass/ Magnetometer	No
Proximity sensor	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes
Barometer	Yes
Temperature sensor	No

Release

Noted leaker Evan Blass has mentioned that a device, likely to be named the HTC Bolt, will be available globally and on Sprint in October. But now that the month has come and gone, it looks as though November 11 is the most recent rumored release date.

HTC recently filed a trademark for the name “Bolt,” which is our main confirmation the phone exists. HTC’s having a busy time recently — now that the Desire phones have launched, and the Bolt looks set to follow soon, the company is also manufacturing Google’s Pixel smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Updated 2016 version Review

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 05:27:00 +0000

Samsung recently has introduced its new J series smartphone with the launch of Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7. J series made a good impact on the consumers by its performance, Now two new J series has launched by Samsung with some new features, phone is available online one can buy it form samsung or any other online market site where the Samsung galaxy J7 is available.

Display

Samsung Galaxy J7 has a display of 5.5 inches which is little bigger than the Samsung galaxy J5, 5.5 inches is good to use for playing videos, taking pictures, playing games it is fun to use such a device. It has a Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 16M colours, this device has a multi-touch and has a resolution of 720*1280 pixels which is good for the picture quality, watching videos, playing games etc.

Camera

One of the most important features nowadays is camera it come with the primary rear 13megapixel camera f/1.9, 28mm, and has a auto-focus through which the user can get the perfect picture and also has a flash in it which helps in taking pictures in dark or at night, it also has features like Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama.

The phone has a 5 megapixel front camera for selfies.

Body

The dimensions of this phone is 152.2*78.7*7.5mm, the look of this phone is like others Samsung smart phones. The weight of the phone is 171gm little heavier than Samsung galaxy J5. This phone has a dual sim card facility one can take a benefit of both the sims at a time or can make use of only one sim it has two sim slots for both the sims to get inserted it supports only micro sim. The network it supports is GSM/HSPA/LTE.

Platform

The Samsung Galaxy J7 comes with the Android OS, v5.1 (lollipop) which is older version as a new version of android is available but not a problem there would be a new upgrade soon.The phone has a CPU Quad–core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 and quad-core 1.0 GHz Coetex-A53 octa-core 1.5 GHz and has a GPU Adreno 405 mali-T720MP2.

Connectivity

In a predictable Samsung nature, the Galaxy J7 (2016) is available in single-SIM and dual-SIM variants, so you can get some flexibility in terms of carriers and plans.

Naturally, you get Wi-Fi, but it only operates on the 2.4GHz band, so needless to say there's no Wi-Fi ac support. There's GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth v.4.0, and an FM radio receiver. NFC is also on board with a dedicated options menu in the Settings.

Wired options include a micro USB port and a 3.5mm jack. The micro USB port can be used to attach an external accessory as it supports USB On-The-Go.

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) battery life

Inside the phone, there's a 3,300mAh Li-Ion battery, which users can replace with ease. The combination of 720p resolution and 14nm chipset manufacturing process promises solid battery life on paper, but we're not ones to go by the spec sheet alone.

A few days of testing later, we were nothing short of amazed by the J7's battery life. It achieved more than 18 hours in our video playback test. When browsing the web over Wi-Fi, the result isn't quite as spectacular, but is still great at almost 12 ½ hours. On a 3G voice call the smart phone is good for a full day and change.

All that adds up to an overall endurance rating of 101 hours an excellent results. It's a reasonable 10-hour improvement on the previous generation and some 30 hours on top of direct competitors like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (72h) and the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note (73h).

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Advantages or Pros:

1. Premium design and its build quality.

2. Second advantages is that the smartphone is extremely light weight and thickness is quite slim.

3. Another Galaxy J7 2016 is that the 13 megapixel primary camera produces very good quality images even in low light conditions.

4. The smartphone is installed with the latest version of Android Marshmallow.

5. Supports Dual SIM.

6. It also supports VoLTE (Voice over LTE).

7. 2 GB of RAM for multitasking.

8. Another Galaxy J7 2016 advantages is the massive 3300 mAh battery capacity.

9. Large 5.5 inch Super AMOLED display for watching videos and playing games on it.

10. Ten on ten sales after support, in fact Samsung provides the best sales after support.

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Disadvantages or Cons:

1. First Galaxy J7 2016 cons is the heating issues under normal gaming for more than 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Next disadvantages or cons is the bloatwares or unnecessary apps which cannot be uninstalled. (Note: Bloatware apps are not bugs but they are 3rd party apps apart from the clean Android).

3. The SAR value or radiation value is quite high at 1.10 W/Kg (for both head and body).

4. There is no backlit for the navigational touch buttons and its another Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 cons or disadvantages.

5. The display is not a Full HD and as a result the screen pixel density is very low at 267 ppi (pixels per inch).

6. Camera cannot record videos in slow motion is another demerits or cons.

7. Next Galaxy J7 2016 cons is that it does not have Gyroscope which is required for VR headsets.

8. No infrared sensor is another Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 cons or disadvantages which is important for IR blaster to wireless control you TV and AC etc.

9. Another There is also no any fast battery charging technology and its another demerits.

10. And the last Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 cons or disadvantage is the absence of Gorilla Glass as protection for the 5.5 inch display.

Samsung Galaxy On8 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 16:06:00 +0000

Samsung Galaxy On8 FEATURES:-

Latest Android 6.0.1 Marshamllow
Octa-core processor+3GB RAM+32GB ROM
Bigger 5.5 ”-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display
Camera 13-MP+8-MP
Finger Print Scanner
Powerful 3300mAh Battery with quick charge

Samsung Galaxy On8 SPECIFICATIONS:-

NETWORK 4G /3G/2G
Speed HSPA 42.2/11.5 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps
SIM type Dual SIM (Micro + Nano) with Dual-Stand by
OS Android 6.0.1 Marshamllow
Display 5.5”-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) Super AMOLED display, 401ppi and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection.
64-bit, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor clocked at 1.5GHz
3GB RAM
ROM 32GB Internal memory + MicroSD card Slot up to 256GB
Rear Camera 13MP with dual-Led flash, PDAF (Phase Detection AutoFocus)
Front Camera 8-MP for video calling and selfie
Sensors: Barometer, Proximity, gyro sensors, accelerometer, RGB light, Gesture, IR Sensor, Finger Print Scanner
3300 mAh non-removable battery with Battery stamina Mode
Talk Time : N/A
Standby time : N/A
Weight 169gm
Dimension 151.7x76x7.8mm
Colours Black and Gold
Rival Letv Le 2, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Lenovo K5 Note
Release date Sept. 2016
Availability Oct. 2016
Samsung Galaxy On8 Price in India Rs 15,900

At last few honest word from my heart that Samsung Galaxy On8 is coming to please you. What you think? Please be open to give your view.

Samsung Galaxy On8 offers 2G bands GSM , It comes with 3G bands HSDPA , It includes 4G bands LTE , Its speed is HSPA , LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps , It has got GPRS , It contains EDGE , It has body dimensions of 151.7 x 76 x 7.8 mm (5.97 x 2.99 x 0.31 in) and it offers weight of 169 g (5.96 oz) .

Samsung Galaxy On8 includes wonderful expandable memory through card slot microSD , It can be up to 256 GB (dedicated slot) , It includes an internal memory of 16 GB , It presents great 3 GB RAM that is very suitable in multitasking performance , Wonderful Sound Alert types are found like MP3 , WAV ringtones & Vibration .

Samsung Galaxy On8 contains loudspeaker , It presents 3.5 mm jack , It has got Comms WLAN like hotspot , Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n , Wi-Fi Direct , It gives you superb Bluetooth v4.1 , A2DP , It includes GPS, with A-GPS , GLONASS and it provides you with NFC feature .

Samsung Galaxy On8 supports FM radio , RDS , recording , It gives you USB , microUSB v2.0 , It offers sensors such as ambient light sensor , proximity , accelerometer , It includes messaging such as Email , Push Mail , SMS , MMS & IM , It offers Browser HTML5 and it contains ANT+ support .

Samsung Galaxy On8 offers MP4/WMV/H.264 player , It includes MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player , It has got removable Li-Ion 3300 mAh battery that lasts for long time , It is large enough to last throughout the day even for an avid user , Talk time is up to 17 h (3G) and music play is up to 82 h .

Samsung Galaxy On8 comes with misc colours such as white , black & gold , It offers flash that enables you take superb photos in low light conditions , The quality of pictures taken from the 13 MP primary camera are very good in both outdoors and indoors and it presents 4G in India (Band 40) .

Samsung Galaxy On8 has larger focal aperture of f/1.9 for the selfie camera , It can capture superb images without loosing details even in low light conditions , It has a thickness of only 7.8 mm and metallic body , So , it fells very slim and premium in the hands .

Samsung Galaxy On8 is compatible with Reliance Jio 4G internet service that is useful especially for Indian consumers , The navigational touch buttons are not placed on the screen and they are all outside , It offers super display which is a full HD Super AMOLED screen for the 5.5 inches with better viewing angles and lower power consumption .

Samsung Galaxy On8 disadvantages

Samsung Galaxy On8 presents heavy weight of 169 g , It does not have Java , It does not include Infrared or USB OTG , It offers few number of sensors , It does not have compass or Barometer , It does not have Temperature sensor and it does not have fingerprint sensor .

Samsung Galaxy On8 does not come with water & dust resistant , there is no gyroscope sensor that is important for playing games where AR is involved Moreover VR headsets also requires a gyroscope for better reality-like experience .

Samsung Galaxy On8 does not have fast charging feature such as Quick Charge or any other for the 3300 mAh battery , It has no protection for the display like Corning Gorilla Glass , The internal memory is only 16 GB that is too less for this priced smartphone and it is expensive .

Huawei P9: Review

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:13:00 +0000

Huawei P9: Review

The Huawei P9 has been a big part of my life for the past two months. Before this time, I had never used a Chinese smartphone on a daily basis, but something about the P9 captured my attention, and I wanted to spend some more intimate time with it. In our P9 review, you'll find analysis of all the technical details, but in this article, I'm going to give you a more personal account of what it's like to spend every day with the Huawei P9.

Display damage

The Huawei P9 features a 5.2-inch IPS display with Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) resolution. The screen is bright, responsive and offers vivid colors. However, it lacks Corning's Gorilla Glass 4 – a protective screen layer found on many modern flagships.
The result is a screen which, after just two months, shows a number of scratches. Of course, I'm partly to blame for this; I don't like using cases or screen protectors: it's the P9's native good looks which prompted me to investigate it in the first place.
As soon as I opened the P9 box, I freed it from the film protecting the screen and I've had no problem tossing it into my bag to become friends with the myriad objects found there. Then, a few days ago, as I tried to remove some fingerprint marks, I noticed small signs that the weeks in my bag had not been kind to the display.
Small scratches caused by keys, pens, and who knows what else have dotted the display with dozens of blemishes, with the edges suffering the worst of the damage. If you have just purchased the Huawei P9, I'd advise that you invest in some screen protection.

A keyboard that made me mad

The keyboard is usually one of the first apps I change when I get a new handset. After inserting my SIM card into the P9 and downloading WhatsApp, I thought this time I'd give Huawei's offering a go. Too bad that I couldn't type a sentence correctly; instead of creating spaces I just typed letters or punctuation marks.
The default Huawei keyboard is supplied by Swype creators Nuance Communications. If you're a fan swiping/gliding to send messages, rather than typing, you might find more success with it. I gave the native keyboard a fair chance and adjusted some of the settings to try and improve things, but after a week of incomprehensible messages, and Swiftkey only a free download away, I made the swap.

The Huawei keyboard is not as intuitive Swiftkey or Google Keyboard. / © AndroidPIT

A sleek and durable unibody

The P9 sports a slim and sleek metal unibody. It's compact but lightweight; it has a large display area but it's easily controlled with one (small) hand. And after two months in the care of a seriously clumsy individual, I can assure you that it's one tough cookie.
It has already made several flights ending in crash landings, slipping out of my hands or falling from a table, and it has handled most of them with minimal signs of damage: neither the body nor the frame that surrounds the device show signs of such dramatic falls.
That is with the exception of one fall which hurt the glass section holding the two main cameras. It's not indestructible, but given what I have have put it through, I'm surprised it looks as good as it does.

Camera ups and downs

With the P9, Huawei has made photography a focus and it delivers an excellent experience. The dual rear cameras were created in partnership with Leica – a German manufacturer of premium camera hardware – and present detailed, vibrant, noise-free photos. Whereas I used to borrow my boyfriend's iPhone to take pictures, now he asks for the P9.
It also includes easy-to-use software, where you can switch quickly from one shooting mode to another. This houses a number of filter presets as well as some cool features like 'Light Painting' which manipulates the light in an environment to produce some interesting effects. It's a great package for photography fans.

There is only one aspect of the camera that I do not love and that's the beauty option for selfies. If you try to take a selfie without turning off or decreasing the effect of beauty with the dedicated slider, the result looks ridiculous.

Fair skin, pink cheeks – even the dark circles under my eyes are less noticeable. If you don't want to look like a doll in your photos, remember to turn off the beauty effect before shooting.

Selfies can be great, just remember to turn off beauty mode. / © AndroidPIT

Farewell battery problems

With my old device, I couldn't afford to leave the house without a charger and a spare battery. Once a device reaches a few years old, you can't expect miracles from battery performance. Using the Huawei P9 throughout the day and reaching the evening with 40 percent charge is an experience that I was not accustomed to.

Every day, I use my P9 to manage two email accounts, use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as make calls. With this, in addition to watching videos and playing games like Crossy Road, I can often go to bed with between 30 and 40 percent charge still in the tank.
The P9 also happens to be my first smartphone equipped with fast charging. I don't think it's an essential feature, but it has been especially convenient when I only remember that I need to charge the battery ten minutes before leaving home.

Conclusions

I think that the Huawei P9 is an excellent device. Ergonomic, lightweight, and featuring an excellent camera and battery life, it holds all of the key ingredients that I require from a phone. Concerns with the keyboard and selfies are easily fixed, and if I'd been a bit smarter, I could have kept that screen in good condition, too.
In short, after two months, I I feel like I'm in love with the Huawei P9. And I hope this love story continues.
What are your thoughts on the Huawei P9? Let me know in the comments.

Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016)

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:22:00 +0000

Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016) smartphone was launched in September 2016. The phone comes with a 5.50-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels.

The Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016) is powered by 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and it comes with 3GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016) packs a 13-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 8-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

The Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016) runs Android 6.0 and is powered by a 3300mAh non removable battery. It measures 151.70 x 75.00 x 8.00 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 167.00 grams.

The Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016) is a dual SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts two Micro-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM, 3G, 4G. Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, and Gyroscope.

About Samsung

Founded back in 1969 as Samsung Electric Industries, Suwon, South Korea-headquartered Samsung Electronics today makes everything from televisions to semiconductors. It released its first Android smartphone in 2009, and can be credited with the launch of the first Android tablet back in 2010. The company is among the biggest players in the smartphone market in the world. It has recently developed smartphones running Tizen OS, as an alternative to its Android-based smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016) detailed specifications

General

Release date	September 2016
Form factor	Touchscreen
Dimensions (mm)	151.70 x 75.00 x 8.00
Weight (g)	167.00
Battery capacity (mAh)	3300
Removable battery	No
Colours	Gold, Pink Gold, Black
SAR value	NA

Display

Screen size (inches)	5.50
Touchscreen	Yes
Resolution	1080x1920 pixels

Hardware

Processor	2GHz octa-core
Processor make	Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
RAM	3GB
Internal storage	32GB
Expandable storage	Yes
Expandable storage type	microSD
Expandable storage up to (GB)	256

Camera

Rear camera	13-megapixel
Flash	Yes
Front camera	8-megapixel

Software

Operating System

Android 6.0

Connectivity

Wi-Fi	Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported	802.11 a
GPS	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes, v 4.10
NFC	No
Infrared	No
USB OTG	No
Headphones	3.5mm
FM	Yes
Number of SIMs	2
SIM 1
SIM Type	Micro-SIM
GSM/ CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	Yes
Supports 4G in India (Band 40)	No
SIM 2
SIM Type	Micro-SIM
GSM/ CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	No

Sensors

Compass/ Magnetometer	No
Proximity sensor	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes
Barometer	No
Temperature sensor	No

iPhone 7 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 17:26:00 +0000

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are deeply unusual devices. They are full of aggressive breaks from convention while wrapped in cases that look almost exactly like their two direct predecessors. Even that continuity of design is a break from convention; after almost a decade of Apple’s steady two-year iPhone update pattern, merely retaining the same design for a third straight year plays against expectations. Inside that case, everything else about the iPhone 7 is a decisive statement about the future. The dual cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus promise to usher in a new era in mobile photography. The iconic iPhone home button is no longer a physical button, but instead a sophisticated ballet of pressure sensors and haptic vibration motors that simulate the feel of a button. The new A10 Fusion processor blends two high-power cores that rival laptop performance with two low-power cores that combine with a much larger battery to extend run time by up to two hours. And, yes, Apple has removed the headphone jack.

Removing the headphone jack is an act of pure confidence from Apple, which is the only company in tech that can set off a sea changes in the industry by aggressively dropping various technologies from its products. Floppy drives, optical drives, its own proprietary 30-pin iPod connector, flash, even USB — Apple decides that it’s time to move on, and it has a massive installed base of customers that love and trust the company who make it happen. And now it’s decided that — yikes — the headphone jack is over.
After using the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus for about a week, it’s clear to me that Apple has forceful, but considered opinions about how the next generation of phones should fit into our lives. But it’s also clear that the iPhone 7 is a transitional step to that vision of the future, not a complete expression of it. The question for would-be upgraders is simple: is all of the latent promise in this phone worth the inconvenience of that transition?

Design

There’s really no getting around it: the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus look more or less exactly like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from 2014. They are now water resistant, which is nice, although they’re not fully waterproof — keep them submerged in a meter of water for more than 30 minutes and things might not go your way. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Note 7 are technically even more water resistant, but I think it’s basically a push — you can get these phones casually wet now without catastrophe, and that’s a big win. If you want to go snorkeling with your iPhone, you should probably get a case anyhow.

Apart from the water resistance, there are three main external differences between the 6 and 7: first, the antenna lines on the back have been tweaked and colored to blend into the body on the matte black and glossy jet black models, which is a welcome refinement. (The antennas remain a dull gray color on the silver, gold, and rose gold variants; Apple says there are limits on what colors can be applied.) Second, the camera bump has been enlarged and more artfully curved into the rear casing, which looks particularly handsome on the smaller phone with a single camera.
And third — here it is again — there’s no headphone jack.
But really, once you put the iPhone 7 in a case, it looks exactly like an iPhone 6. And if you get a jet black model, you’ll want to get it into a case immediately — my jet black review unit scratched and scuffed almost instantly, and the only time it’s remained fingerprint-free is when we literally handled it with white gloves for the photo and video shoots accompanying this review. Apple is being unusually open about the propensity of the jet black finish to scratch, but beyond that, I’d get the matte black anyway — it just looks meaner.
The iPhone 6 has always been one of the more utilitarian designs in Apple history, and a smoothed-out camera bump and less visible antennas don’t really change that. Apple’s competition is getting better at making beautiful phones, and nothing about the iPhone 7’s design exceeds the rest of the industry. The iPhone 7 Plus in particular is actually falling behind its large-screened competition; the 6 Plus was always a bit of a surfboard, and new devices like the Galaxy Note 7 fit enormous displays into much smaller, tighter packages. (Too bad about the explosions, though.) This is still a phone that looks best in a case.

Cameras

One of my favorite recurring bits at iPhone introductions is when Phil Schiller notes, correctly, that the iPhone camera is likely the best camera most people will ever own. He’s been saying it fairly regularly since the iPhone 4S came out in 2011, and he said it again last week when he introduced the iPhone 7 camera. This is an incredible fact, as is the fact that a huge number of people now quietly upgrade to a better camera on a fairly regular basis, and then use the hell out of that camera. The explosion in mobile photography is one of the most revolutionary aspects of the entire smartphone revolution, and the general excellence of the iPhone camera over time is a big reason why.
The iPhone 7 represents another upgrade over the iPhone 6S: there’s a new, faster f/1.8 lens, the addition of optical image stabilization, a new four-color True Tone flash, and wider color capture. This all adds up to a decent improvement, but the iPhone 6S was already operating at the top of the scale, bested only recently by the latest cameras in the Galaxy S7 and Note 7. In low light, that faster lens and optical image stabilization means that the 7 significantly outperforms the 6S. But compared to the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 7 is a step improvement, not a major leap.

The attempt at a major leap is on the iPhone 7 Plus. Instead of a single lens and sensor, the 7 Plus has two: the same f/1.8 28mm wide-angle lens as the iPhone 7, and an f/2.8 56mm telephoto lens. These cameras operate simultaneously; they’re always working together. Right now, what this means is that you can switch to a true 2x zoom by tapping on a button, which is very nice. You can also digitally zoom the 1x lens to 2x, where the telephoto takes over, and then digitally zoom the 2x lens to 10x. Digital zoom is still digital zoom; anything past 4x definitely looks like what you’d expect from grainy digital zoom.
And, well, that’s all it really does right now. Zooming is great, but that’s not the only reason to put dual cameras on a phone. Other phones with dual cameras, like the Huawei Honor 8, let you do all kinds of wild focus and depth of field adjustments, and some even let you refocus the image after the fact, like a Lytro camera. The effects can be a little fake-looking, but they’re the sort of thing dual cameras enable. But the iPhone 7 Plus doesn’t do any of that, although a forthcoming software update will enable a portrait mode that blurs the background into what looks like a very nice bokeh.

Performance

The iPhone 7 has the new A10 Fusion chip, another product from Apple’s industry-leading chip design team. It’s a new design with four cores: two high performance cores, and two low-power cores that use less battery power during everyday tasks.
It’s lightning-fast, of course, with early benchmarks indicating that the A10 Fusion is faster than even the A9X in the iPad Pro. But In my super boring day-to-day Twitter / Facebook / Gmail / Slack / Safari usage, the iPhone 7 Plus wasn’t really all that much faster than the A9 chip in the iPhone 6S Plus — likely because I wasn’t pushing the processor enough to use the high-performance cores. It’s impressive that Apple was able to create a more efficient processor that delivers the same perceived performance as the previous generation while using less power, but that also means that in everyday use I didn’t see anything like the performance leaps that were so noticeable in previous iPhone updates.
Still, faster is better, and once app developers start targeting the A10 Fusion, we might see a new wave of apps that harness its raw power. But that’s a familiar waiting game we’ve been playing with ever-faster iOS devices for years now.
Apple claims that a combination of a larger battery that fills some of the space formerly used by the headphone jack, the more efficient processor, and iOS 10 improvements allows the iPhone 7 to run for two more hours than the iPhone 6S, and the 7 Plus to go for an hour longer than the 6S Plus. That was mostly borne out in my day-to-day testing, which saw the smaller phone run for about 10 hours of medium usage and the larger iPhone 7 Plus go for about 12 hours. Under a heavier load, I get the sense that battery life will be more like the 6S models, but those extra hours will be meaningful for those desperate moments on the way home from work.

Conclusion

Down to brass tacks: do all of the new features of the iPhone 7 make up for the inconvenience of the missing headphone jack? This may or may not surprise you, but I don’t think so — not yet.
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are legitimately among the most interesting, opinionated, powerful phones Apple has ever shipped, and the most confident expressions of the company’s vision in a long time. iOS 10 is excellent, the cameras are better, and the performance is phenomenal. And the batteries last longer. These are terrific phones.
These are terrific phones
But they are also incomplete. The most interesting feature of the iPhone 7 Plus’ new dual camera isn’t shipping at launch. Apple’s making a big bet on iMessage and Siri apps in iOS 10 but it hasn’t paid off yet. Apps haven’t been updated to use the Taptic Engine or the new wide color gamut display. The entire ecosystem of new headphones and adapters required to make use of Lightning and wireless audio is just getting off the ground. Only Apple or Beats headphones offer the best wireless audio experience, and you might not like how they sound or fit. By the time developers even come close to hitting the performance limits of the A10 Fusion chip, Apple will be shipping the A11 Fusion Pro with six blades.
The entire time I was using the iPhone 7, I felt like I had a prototype of next year’s rumored drastic iPhone redesign disguised as an iPhone 6. All those bold bets on the future are legitimately exciting, but here in the present using the iPhone 7 in a case feels a lot like using a iPhone 6S with a weirder home button and more adapters.
But they are also incomplete
If you need a new phone right now, sure, buy an iPhone 7. The little one starts at $649 for a mercifully doubled 32GB of storage and ranges up to $849 for 256GB, and the Plus starts at $769 for 32GB and goes up to $969 for 256GB. Make sure you factor in the extra cost of headphone adapters or Bluetooth headphones, because you’ll end up needing them. You’ll be fine, and your photos will be better.
But unless you’re eager and ready to live the early adopter life, you won’t actually be missing out on much if you don’t get an iPhone 7. This is an iPhone that lays a marker in tech history, and it will serve as the foundation for many important changes to how phones work and integrate into our lives. We’re going to remember the iPhone 7.
It’s going to be the next iPhones that actually build a useful future on that foundation.

iPhone 7 and 7 Plus

Good Stuff

Water resistance
Improved cameras
Better battery life
Great display
Taptic engine feedback is neat
Dual camera zoom on the 7 Plus is great

Bad Stuff

Lack of headphone jack is inconvenient
Jet Black model scratches easily
Looks just like an iPhone 6 in a case
Wireless audio ecosystem is immature
#donglelife
iPhone 7 Plus design feels big compared to competition
Other iPhone 7 Plus dual camera features haven't shipped yet

Source: http://www.theverge.com/a/apple-iphone-7-review-vs-iphone-7-plus

Galaxy A9

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 14:01:00 +0000

About This Product

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is the smartphone your life can’t do without. Now it’s unlocked so you can have access to most U.S. GSM and CDMA networks.

Goes where you go.

The new unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 is designed for the way you live, giving you access to most U.S. GSM and CDMA networks.¹ And you can take it virtually anywhere you go, from Mexico City to Paris, and still stay connected.² Plus you can rest easy with Samsung’s standard U.S. limited warranty.
¹Wireless voice, data and messaging services compatible with GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile and CDMA networks such as Verizon, Sprint and US Cellular®. Support for certain features and services such as VoWiFi and hotspot, vary by wireless service provider. See provider for details.

Galaxy A5 (2016)

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 13:59:00 +0000

What is the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)?

Samsung has mastered the high-end with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, but it has always struggled a with affordable devices. This is because Samsung kept skimping on important features to save money.
That changed with 2015’s Galaxy A5, and even more so with the updated 2016 version. The Galaxy A5 (2016) ticks all the right boxes; good screen, fast camera and sleek design. But it’s still not perfect, and some of Samsung’s older issues come bac

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/samsung-galaxy-a5-review#xAV5Pq0Ki94HyA5q.99

Slim in a big way

noreply@blogger.com (Tech Guru) — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 06:12:00 +0000

Slim in a big way

Big screen. Slim profile. So you can get more photos, movies and games on the Quad HD Super AMOLED display, and fit it all in your back pocket.