SAMSUNG STRIKE BACK

     

Samsung was once heralded as the premier Android manufacturer. The Korean giant's saturation of the market would lead to record profi ts every year, but the past 12 months have been a very different affair. A combination of Sony, LG and Huawei are all making ground on Samsung’s market share, while Samsung's own middle-of-the-road releases have seen profits plummet 20 per cent in a year.

To regain its title as the master of Android manufacturing, Samsung has had to strike back with a range of incredible new devices. In this feature you’ll fi nd all you need to know about the devices that Samsung hope will turn its dwindling fortunes around. There’s a hands-on with the Galaxy Note 4 and the curved-screen Note Edge, as well as a look at Samsung’s foray into virtual reality with the Gear VR and its new smartwatch, the Gear S. You’ll also fi nd reviews of Samsung’s full-metal flagship phone, the Galaxy Alpha, and a new iPad-slaying tablet, the Galaxy Tab S 10.5.

Samsung Galaxy Gear S
Sixth time lucky as Samsung launches its best smartwatch yet

You can’t accuse Samsung of not trying when it comes to finding a smartwatch that consumers want. For the most part, its previous attempts have been notably flawed, but the Gear S shows that Samsung is on the right path. The first thing you’ll notice about the Gear S is the curved screen that helps wrap the entire unit around your wrist. It also runs Tizen, Samsung’s own attempt at an operating system, but takes much of its inspiration from Android.

The Tizen OS has enabled Samsung to put an entire phone display on your wrist, and the nano-SIM options mean you can take calls and respond to emails. Users will have access to a wide selection of apps and the Gear S makes it easier than ever to connect with your Samsung smartphone. The aim with the Gear S is to keep your Samsung devices connected, and although it’ll likely struggle against the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R to sell in its millions, the Gear S will undoubtedly be popular with the hardcore Samsung fans out there.

Bespoke screen
The screen of the Gear S can be customised with up to five widgets being placed on it as well. There’s also a bunch of wallpapers and watch faces to change until they find one that suits them

Make calls
Thanks to the nano-SIM card, users can make calls directly through the Gear S. It also enables users to reply to their emails in full on it as well

Gear S specifications
» Operating system........Tizen OS
» Processor ...........................1GHz dual-core
» Memory ................................512MB RAM, 4GB storage
» Dimensions ......................39.8 x 58.3 x 12.5mm
» Display size .......................Two-inch
» Resolution ..........................360 x 480
» Expansion slot ................N/A
» Battery...................................300mAh


Samsung Gear VR
A mobile Oculus Rift for the masses

The Gear VR is a vision into the future of
technology as a whole. Produced in
partnership with virtual reality kings, Oculus,
Samsung has managed to launch its own virtual
reality headset, but with a twist. Rather than a
standalone device, the Gear VR will require a Galaxy
Note 4 to be slipped into a slim pocket in front of the
headset’s dual-lenses to work.

Using the Note 4's 5.7-inch Quad HD Super
AMOLED screen and the Oculus binocular design,
the Gear conjures a believable virtual reality, ideal
for gaming. Head and arm movements are
recognised for in-game controls, though there are
buttons on the right-hand side of the headset to
control basic navigation.

There is also a slier for
adjusting focus. The Gear VR is the fi rst device of its
kind to go on sale – Oculus itself has only launched
a developer model. Time will tell if it proves to be a
must-have gadget or just a gimmick, but with
exclusive games in the work from the makers of
Monument Valley and The Room this is one to watch.

Through a lens
The Note 4 slips into the front
of the Gear VR’s dual-lenses
to provide the 3D effect for
the users. You’ll also have
access to the Note’s
rear-facing camera if you want
to see the world around you
while wearing the Gear VR

Gear VR specifications
» Dimensions .......198 x 116 x 90mm
» Display....................Optical lens with 96 degrees Field of View
» Sensor......................Accelerator, Gyrometer, Magnetic, Proximity
» Connections .....micro USB to Note 4

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 & Edge
Samsung surprised with not one, but two new Note devices at IFA

IFA, the consumer electronics show in Berlin, Germany, has become the traditional platform for Samsung to announce new Galaxy Note devices. This year was no different, except that they announced not one, but two models. The internals on each are effectively the same, and as you’d expect, tick every box, also including the new metal-edged premium design that's also on the Galaxy Alpha. The back remains a faux leather affair, but this time the stitching has been removed, a nod to consumer feedback after the Note 3 no doubt.

In the hand and in use, the Note devices feel as you’d expect for the latest example of the breed. They are big, although at 5.7 inches Samsung has resisted the temptation to grow the screens still further this generation, opting to boost the resolution instead. The Note series devices have never focused on one-handed use, something that is accentuated by the inclusion of the S-Pen stylus, which turns the phone into a genuine top-class productivity tool.

What typically happens is that S-series devices get a reveal at Mobile World Congress with features that then appear in the Note around six months later, and we can see that this year too. As well as a 16-megapixel camera, the Note gains the heart-rate monitor that seems to be on all Samsung products now (although it’s less of a monitor and more of a one-shot reader) and the Fingerprint reader. A powerful advantage that Samsung holds over its rivals is that many of the components used in its devices are produced in-house. Although the Note 4 will be powered by the Snapdragon 805 in the UK,

S Pen
Samsung's S Pen has also changed considerably in the past year. It's now more precise than ever and users can save text and images to their clipboard with it

Stable images
The Note's new 16-MP camera now includes Smart OIS, which will help add some stability to images. The front camera has also been improved to handle dimly lit conditions

Exynos 5433 based variants will be available in other markets and, of course, Samsung also make its own S-AMOLED screens. Samsung's display team have been experimenting with curved and bendable screens for some time and the former makes its debut in the new Galaxy Note Edge.

Simply, the Galaxy Note Edge is what a Galaxy Note 4 would look like if the screen curved over the right of the device instead of stopping at the bezel. Rather than 1440 x 2560 of real estate as found on the Note 4, the Note Edge offers a 1600 x 2560 resolution, providing an extra 160 pixels that are curved over the edge.

This is used as a launcher bar on the device, or as an alarm clock and status display when the phone is off – it’s a very neat touch and if developers really take advantage of the novel design courtesy of Samsung’s API (which it has already made available), then it could be fantastic

There are however compromises if you choose the Note Edge over the Note 4. Firstly, it’s around 4mm wider, although it is slightly shorter and thinner. This, coupled with the screen, makes it more uncomfortable to hold.

The Edge’s battery is a 3000mAh item, giving away 220mAh in capacity to its conventional sibling. For the kind of customers that use Note devices, this could be important. The design of the device is really geared towards right-handed customers and although the phone can be held upside down if you are left-handed, that would leave the home button above the screen and it would look, well, wrong.

Finally, the power button, which is traditionally on the right on Samsung devices, has been relocated to the top, which is quite a stretch. One thing Edge buyers apparently shouldn’t worry about is durability – Samsung assured us that the Gorilla Glass 3 coated screen is just as strong as the non-curved model

Fast charging
As well as the new Ultra Power Saving mode, the Note Edge can now be fully charged in under an hour. Normally this takes a couple of hours to complete Customise The curved portion of the Note Edge's screen can be customised to display a wide range of notifications, or even used to display a picture taken on the device Price £550-£600

Technical specs
» Operating system ..............Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz
» Processor .................................. Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
» Battery .........................................3220mAh / 3000mAh
» Memory .......................................3GB RAM, 32GB storage
» Dimensions .............................. 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm/ 151.3 x 82.4 x 8.3mm
» Weight ..........................................176g / 174g
» Display size ..............................5.7-inch / 5.6-inch
» Display resolution ..............1440 x 2560 / 1600 x 2560
» Expansion slot .......................micro SD, up to 128GB

Samsung Galaxy Alpha
With the Galaxy Alpha, Samsung has taken a new approach to premium design – but does it pay off?

Device manufacturers have long been telling us that there isn’t any room in its Android ranges for small phones that are truly flagship, premium devices. Sony was really the first to give it a try with its Z1 Compact and now here we have Samsung, well known for its ‘build everything’ approach, stepping into the ring. But hang on just a minute… a small device? This is a 4.7-inch device isn’t it? Well yes… well spotted, but we're afraid this is what it has come to. As flagships creep well past fi ve inches (even the new iPhone 6 is 4.7 inches), this is today’s reality. Make no mistake though, this actually is a cute little thing – at an incredible 6.7mm thick and 115g in weight, you’ll fi nd it hard to believe that the screen is actually as big as they say.

Two things in particular mark the Alpha out as a Samsung premium range product. Firstly, gone are the plastic edges of old – the phone has a proper, chamfered metal edge. Yes, the back is still thin plastic and the dimpled pattern on the front looks rather low rent, but the edging, also seen on the new Note 4, makes a massive difference to the feel of the device. Secondly, we have the price. At an eye-watering £579.95 off contract, the Alpha is second only to the Note range in cost. Ouch.

Delve inside that smart new case and you do get a lot for your money, including an innovative new Exynos chip built on a 20nm processor for performance gains and power saving, 2GB RAM, 32GB ROM, more connectivity than you can shake a stick at (including Cat 6 LTE support) and a brand-new 12-megapixel camera. Of course, all the usual Samsung gimmicks are present – fi ngerprint reader, heart rate reader and S-everything. Surprisingly, the 4.7-inch screen isn’t a Full HD unit, but instead is a 720p S-AMOLED panel. Despite its pentile matrix layout, it is a very nice screen and it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be left feeling short changed in use.

With its diminutive dimensions, handling the Galaxy Alpha is a joy. It’s thin, light and you can slip it into your pocket and barely know it’s there… you’ll quickly fi nd yourself wishing that all phones were made this way. We’ve long suspected that 4.7 inches is the sweet spot for manageable screen sizes and the Alpha does nothing to dissuade us from that assumption. When you power it on and navigate your way through the minefi eld of the blip-blop Samsung setup, general use of the device is just as good. Everything zips along nicely with the impressive new processor under the hood and the device never feels like it’s struggling or getting warm.

The new 12-megapixel camera in the phone reminds us a lot of the camera in the Galaxy S5 – it’s brilliant in good light, likely one of the best phone cameras on the market today. Where it does differ from its sibling however is when conditions become less favourable – on a gloomy day, in a darkened room… it performs better, within the constraints of it still being a tiny phone camera of course! The camera application itself is easy to use and image capture is incredibly fast.

What might put you off the Galaxy Alpha is its software. TouchWiz doesn’t stop you doing what you need to do, and as with most Android devices you can limit your exposure to it, but there’s little evidence of Samsung really improving the experience with subsequent generations of phones. It’s still jarring in places, unfathomably complex in others and overall more opposed to the default Android experience than complementing it.

Sharp shooter
The primary camera on the Galaxy Alpha has an unusual resolution of 12 megapixels with a single colour flash and is accompanied by a forward-facing two-megapixel camera, skipping the high-quality selfie trend. Video can be recorded at up to 2160p resolution

Premium feel
The Galaxy Alpha is thin, light and feels great in your hand. In a world of ever-growing flagships, it feels almost small, despite its 4.7-inch screen, and it makes a Galaxy S5 feel distinctively portly

New chips
The commonly used Qualcomm Snapdragon chips we normally see in high-end Galaxy devices have been eschewed in favour of Samsung’s own Exynos 5 Octa 5430 processor with quad 1.8GHz A15 and quad 1.3GHz A7 cores, seen here for the fi rst time

Design compromise
Samsung might be the king of plastic, but the Galaxy Alpha has a metal edge, as also seen on the new Galaxy Note 4. It’s a positive fi rst step to premium materials, but only a fi rst step…

No SD card
The Galaxy Alpha has 32GB of storage built in, which is particularly useful as, unusually for a Galaxy device, there is no micro SD expansion. It’s also the first Samsung to use a nano -sized SIM card

Fingerprint sensor
The Galaxy Alpha home button doubles as a fingerprint sensor and is ‘PayPal certified’ for quick log in to the PayPal app. Unfortunately, as with other Galaxy devices, it doesn’t work that well, providing more frustration than convenience


Battery life
The Alpha’s 1860mAh battery will last longer than you might expect, but longevity falls short of other flagships

technical specs
» Operating system ..............Android 4.4.4 KitKat
» Processor .................................. Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5430
» Memory .......................................2GB RAM, 32GB storage
» Dimensions ..............................132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm
» Weight ..........................................115g
» Display size ..............................4.7-inch
» Display resolution ..............1280 x 720 pixels
» Expansion slot .......................n/a

Performance
Fast! Finally Exynos comes of age – Samsung’s chips can now genuinely compete with the very best from Qualcomm

Design
Only Samsung could slap a metal rim on its existing design and call it premium. But, it feels good

Features
The lack of a micro SD slot is a worthy trade-off for size, the 720p screen is surprising though

Value for money
A near-£600 phone is rarely value for money in the market, but the Alpha seems particularly expensive to us

Verdict
Samsung is on the right track – it’s a great device, but it isn't enough to reclaim its king of Android crown

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5
Samsung takes straight aim at Apple's iPad Air. Can it finally provide a real ten-inch flag bearer for Android?

Samsung makes two models of its new Galaxy Tab S, and here we are looking at the larger of the pair. The name of this tablet will tell you that it has a 10.5-inch screen. The smaller version has an 8.4-inch screen. What the name won’t tell you is how thin the Galaxy Tab S is. Just 6.6mm. One of the most popular tablets around, the iPad Air, is 7.5mm thick. Look further afield and tablets tend to be more than 8mm thick. This thinness has a real effect on usability. It seems like almost nothing to hold.

And that’s a feeling augmented by the light weight of 465g (the iPad Air weighs slightly more at 469g for the non-SIM toting model). Samsung doesn’t always get design right and here there are a couple of problems. The back has a stippled finish which looks okay, but the colour on our white version was most peculiar. It’s supposed to be creamy white, but to us it looks like that kind of plastic you’ve left in the sun for too long that has gone off colour. Worse, all round the rim is a strip of gold plastic that just looks naff.

The short edge screen bezel is very thin. This helps keep the overall size of the Galaxy Tab S down, but it does mean you risk tapping the screen when you work in widescreen mode. The physical home button that sits along one of the long edges of the Galaxy Tab S has a built-in fingerprint scanner. Samsung has borrowed the operation from its flagship handset, the Galaxy S5.

You may or may not want to use it; either way you’d never know it was actually there. The screen is a stunner. 2,560 x 1,600 pixels based around the AMOLED display technology simply shout out at you to be looked at. The colours are sharp and clear – a key feature of AMOLED is how totally vibrant all the colours are. A utility in the Settings area lets you select different preset modes, and for some applications you can choose a Reading Mode too. Even without using that, text is easy to read. Needless to say, games are a delight to play and video a pleasure to watch.

The specifications are top class. The octa-core processor is stunningly fast, and it has 3GB of RAM helping it along. We didn’t experience stutters or slow downs at all. There’s 16GB of built-in memory, and 10.99GB is free for you to use. This is not a huge amount for people who like to carry lots and lots of media around, but the micro SD card slot lets you add more storage easily enough. Android 4.4 and Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface are in combination here, and so this tablet has a range of what have now become staple Samsung goodies. For example, Multi Window enables you to open two apps at once, and the screen size can just about cope well with this. Not all apps are supported, but plenty are. You can, for example, have a webpage open while checking your email.

Then there’s the Samsung-style notifi cations area, crammed with shortcuts to settings, which means you can quickly turn on and off things like Smart Pause (which uses the camera to pause video when you look away) and Reading Mode (the screen tweaking feature that makes it more comfortable to read text). Meanwhile, a homescreen is occupied by Samsung’s Magazine UX – a combination of information sourced from the web and the device. Imagine having your diary and the day’s news on one screen, for example, along with lots of other information. We are not huge fans of it, and would like to be able to disable this feature, but some people will love it. The Samsung Galaxy S 10.5 even delivers well on battery life, with very good all-round performance. This might just be the best Android tablet around at the moment.

Stunning screen
The AMOLED screen makes for bright, standout colours, and you can select a range of preset options that alter the vibrancy of colours depending on what you are doing

Multi Window
You can open two apps at once, just by sliding the Multi Window tab out from a screen edge with a finger sweep. Then just tap on the dividing line between the two apps to change proportions and access other features

Fingerprint security
There is a fingerprint scanner built into the Home button. You’d never know just by looking at the button, but it can provide a high level of protection for your tablet if that’s required

Eight cores
The processor has eight cores. Four of these run at 1.3GHz and four at 1.9GHz. There is 3GB of RAM too, and in combination these ensure the Galaxy Tab S is extremely capable

Connectivity
Though the S Tab 10.5 represents a major leap forward for Samsung, all the usual ports are here - including microUSB 2.0, audio jack and infrared

Very thin
At just 6.6mm thick the Galaxy Tab S is incredibly small to handle and it feels extremely comfortable. It is light too, so carrying this tablet around should not present any problems

Battery life
Battery life is very impressive with enough juice to see many people through a weekend

Technical specs
» Operating system ..............Android 4.4
» Processor .................................. Exynos 5 Octa 5420 (quad 1.9GHz, quad 1.3GHz)
» Memory .......................................3GB RAM, 16GB storage
» Dimensions ..............................247.3 x 177.3 x 6.6mm
» Weight ..........................................465g
» Display size ..............................10.5-inch
» Display resolution ..............2560 x 1600 pixels
» Expansion slot .......................micro SD, up to 128GB


TECHNO ITEM LIST


10 things to help improve your device’s performance

     

1. Stop syncing
Whether it’s email, social media or photos being backed up, syncing uses a good chunk of your RAM and battery. Be selective and you’ll notice massive improvements in nearly all areas of your phone’s performance.

2. Remove clutter
Use a fi le explorer application, like ES File Explorer File Manager, to clean up loose documents and take a closer look at some of the rogue fi les that are clogging up your device. These apps are great for removing them or fi guring out what they do.

3. Memory cards
Having a compatible memory card in your device can help take some of the strain off the internal storage in several ways. A packed device can make it feel sluggish, unresponsive and generally unpleasant to use.

4. No more animations
To cut the RAM-dependent animations dotted all over your device, venture into the Developer options menu within your Settings and find the Animation tabs located halfway down. Be sure to tick both boxes to disable these animations on your device.

5. Why not root?
Rooting is a great way to explore different options when it comes to performance improvements. It’s easier to streamline background functions and boost overall battery life. There’s plenty of custom ROMs to choose from, bu CyanogenMod remains the bes out there.

6. Battery boosting
The battery life on some Android devices is average at best, so it’s important to get the best out of every charge. Download a battery booster app from the Google Play store and perform a scan to fi nd where it can be improved.

7. Update apps
If you have the automatic update option enabled in the Google Play store, turn it off right now! Why? Well, you’ll find that your Android smartphone is constantly updating apps and will undoubtedly lead to it feeling sluggish and hard to use. That’s not what were after as power users, so get fussy.

8. Manage background data
You’ll be surprised by just how many things are impacting on your phone’s performance if you take a look at what’s happening in the background. Open the Data usage tab in the Settings menu to take a closer look.

9. Malware scares
No matter what type of virus your phone may have, it’ll seriously impact on how your phone functions. Perform regular virus scans of your device and only download apps and other media from trusted sources.

10. Choose to defrag
Defragging is a quick way of removing the junk files that are hogging some of your device’s precious RAM. There are plenty of defragging apps on the Google Play store that will thoroughly scan your phone and remove these files for you.


TECHNO ITEM LIST


AnyMote The ultimate hub for your Bluetooth devices

     

AnyMote is at the pinnacle of home automation thanks to connecting to a range of infrared compatible devices, such as your TV, Blu-ray player, games console, amplifier and even your air conditioner. Users can then manually pair the phone to the AnyMote and have control over each one of these devices.


Working alongside the Smart IR app, users can switch between their different connected products and use the wireless remote function to perform various tasks on them. It cuts out all the wires that would normally be associated with some of these products and you’ll find new features opened up by using the AnyMote. The team behind AnyMote says that its product is compatible with over 800,000 electrical products. If that’s anywhere near true, AnyMote could soon be in millions of living rooms around the world.


At a glance
» Product name AnyMote
» Available from www.colortiger.com
» Price £TBA/$70
AnyMote is the ultimate home automation unit where users can control every one of their IR electrical devices in a single place.

The AnyMote is compatible with a wide range of products that use IR technology. You’ll be surprised at what it works with

Any Android device that has Bluetooth 4.0 onboard will be compatible with AnyMote

Through the app, users can quickly switch between different electrical items without having to manually connect to each one

Users can control the products through the AnyMote by using the Smart IR app. This turns your phone into a remote control with plenty of features

Q: AnyMote is unquestionably an exciting product, but how did you come up with the idea?
A: The AnyMote idea rather evolved from the Smart IR Remote app, which was already published for half a year when we realised it wasn’t enough. Tens of thousands of customers were using our app to replace all their plastic remotes, but more people not owning an IR-capable phone were asking for the same solution too. AnyMote was our way of making a truly smart universal remote available to everyone.

Q: Are you surprised with the level of popularity you’ve seen on Kickstarter?
A: Yes and no. AnyMote Home was built to fill a large gap in our smart-life setup, and we knew people would immediately see the potential. However, we didn’t expect them to react so quickly.

Q: Could you tell us some of the ways AnyMote can be used with your phone…
A: With AnyMote you can have anything from simple virtual remotes that simulate your plastic controllers, to a powerful automation centre that turns on everything when you come home, listens to your voice commands and even reacts to day-to-day events – like pausing your movie when your phone rings. Multiple remotes will now just pass their most used commands to a master remote, which provides easy access to all the favourite commands. You can even go to extremes with it, by using in very niche setups – a remote controller for a DSLR camera in a photo studio, or even a simplifi ed TV remote with huge buttons for the elderly.

Q: What are some of the other products that AnyMote can connect to?
A: It works with anything from the latest generation Smart TVs, to generic no-name Chinese LED lights. Projectors, Apple TV, Xbox One, Yamaha/Pioneer/Denon amplifiers, we’ve got them all covered. Even if they’re not infrared controlled, through our Smart IR Remote app you can control all kinds of Wi-Fi devices like Sonos, XBMC media servers etc. The sky is the limit!



TECHNO ITEM LIST


GALLERY OF PUZZLE GAMES FOR ANDROID

     

1. Kami
Kami is a familiar concept, requiring you to tap at squares of a patterned grid to make them one uniform colour. The paper texture of the squares and origamilike folding animation as they change hue, make it a fun brainteaser.

2. The Room 2
At the other end of the spectrum to Kami, The Room 2 is both devilishly diffi cult and rendered in photorealistic graphics. Dark and mysterious, this point-and-click adventure is full of puzzles that will require hours to master.

3. Cut the Rope 2
Don’t be fooled by the bubblegum bright colour scheme and cartoon graphics, this sequel is very smart. Ramping up the physics-based puzzles, there’s a lot to consider in helping Om Nom reach his candy.

4. Strata
Your goal in Strata is to layer ribbons over a grid and ensure the top layer matches the colours of the grid below. A smooth learning curve helps, but there is no denying this minimalist game is a mind-bending monster to conquer.

5. Hitman GO
The console game franchise has been reinvented as a villainous version of Cluedo. This approach was great for simplifying the controls for mobile, without sacrifi cing the complexity of the puzzles or the elegant in-game visuals.

6. Monument Valley
Full of impossible architecture that doesn’t go anywhere, Monument Valley is like an interactive version of M.C. Escher’s surreal paintings. Your job is to figure out which objects to move around so the heroine can move on.


TECHNO ITEM LIST


The best Google phone: the LG G2

     

We love the product of LG and Google’s partnership, the Nexus 5, but its own G2 has won our hearts


After successfully teaming up with Google for the Nexus 4, LG is back with the G2. The front of the device looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4, although it has no physical or touch-sensitive buttons below the screen.

However, flip it over and the handset has a unique design. We like the fi breglass-style finish, but more notable is the fact buttons are located on the rear below the camera. It’s a strange concept, but something to which we soon became accustomed. KnockOn means a double-tap on the screen will switch it on and off .

LG has impressed us by squeezing a large screen into a small chassis. The G2 is smaller than the Xperia Z1, and only marginally larger than the S4, but it has a bigger screen than both at 5.2in. Matching other topAndroid handsets, it’s got a full-HD 1920x1080 resolution and, although the size means the pixel density is a little lower than some, at 424ppi, the different isn’t noticeable.

The handset is equipped with Qualcomm’s latest smartphone chip, the powerful 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800. Accompanied by an Adreno 330 GPU and a healthy 2GB of RAM, the LG boasts exceptional performance. The phone comes with either 16- or 32GB of internal storage, but there’s no memory card slot for expansion.

The impressive specs continue with the G2’s cameras. The 13Mp rear-facing snapper takes high-quality photos and videos, with optical image stabilisation a great addition. The 2Mp front-facing camera also o ers great imagery, with up to 1080p video at 30fps.

LG has customised the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean interface and installed its own Practical UX interface. This has popping colours, but some areas seem very cluttered – particularly the notifi cation bar, into which LG has crammed everything imaginable.

Things aren’t enough of a mess to put us o the phone, however. And we like the Guest Mode that lets you restrict access to certain apps and content for other users, and the Slide Aside multi-tasking feature for keeping your favourite apps close to hand. It’s packed with handy features, including NFC, an infrared transmitter and the ability to play 24-bit/192kHz audio.

Verdict
LG has trumped the competition with the G2. It offers a great design, excellent hardware and handy software features at a very low price. All that’s missing is a microSD slot.


TECHNO ITEM LIST


HTC’s One Max is a stylish heavyweight

     

HTC took the excellent HTC One and super-sized it. Here are our first impressions


HTC took the excellent HTC One Android phone and supersized it. The One Max is, like its little brother, a beautiful object. The feel of the materials, and the way they fi t together, is impeccable. It’s mainly aluminium, aside from the glass front and plasticky edge.

At 10.3mm and 217g it’s extremely hefty, mind. The HTC One Max is well constructed and feels as though you could use it to shield yourself from flying bullets. It is a solid workhorse that is also stylish. And you won’t need a case.

The One Max is the only phone apart from the iPhone 5s to include a fi ngerprint scanner. You can store up to three fi ngerprints. The One Max is built around a 5.9in Super LCD3 capacitive touchscreen. The display’s full-HD resolution results in a sharp pixel density of 373ppi. It’s great for watching videos and viewing content, but not using one-handed.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 dual-core processor running at 1.7GHz, Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM power the One Max. We found the device perfectly snappy, but perhaps not as impressive as other flagship handsets.

You can choose 16- or 32GB of storage, with a potentially important microSDXC slot offering expansion up to a further 64GB. Like the HTC One, the Max comes complete with comically named ‘BoomSound’ front-facing stereo speakers, near-field communication (NFC) and an infrared transmitter. It also shares the One’s ‘Ultrapixel’ camera, which has fewer but larger pixels than other smartphones. This is a decent smartphone camera that can quickly capture shots and is well suited to low-light.

The HTC One Max runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, but it is heavily customised with HTC’s Sense overlay. The interface is clean, stylish and slick, but the BlinkFeed content-flow feature is an element that you will either love or hate. HTC has opted for a huge 12.2Wh battery and, although the rear cover of the phone removable, the battery is not. With average usage the phone will last one or two days before needing a charge.

Verdict
It won’t be for everyone, but if you want a big phone (and we mean BIG), you could do a lot worse than the HTC One Max. This is a serious performer that is built to look good and last.


TECHNO ITEM LIST


Is Google’s Nexus 5 the best value phone?

     

Google has once again partnered with LG to offer a flagship handset with a mid-range price


Despite a price bump over the £239 Nexus 4, Google’s smartphone remains the cheapest and best-value fl agship phone at just £299. The Nexus 5 has simple and understated style – none of the spangled glass rear of the Nexus 4 that divided opinions and made the phone slide o all manner of surfaces. The handset is also thinner and lighter than before; it feels small for a 5in phone.

The soft-touch matt rear cover is slightly curved, which helps it to sit nicely in the hand, but this is a separate piece of plastic so you’ll find a seam where the two pieces meet. The build quality doesn’t entirely match that of rival fl agship devices and, although we’d prefer a unibody, the Nexus 5 still has a desirable design. The Nexus’ 5in full-HD in-plane switching screen is beautifully rich, clear and responsive, and offers great viewing angles.

Performance is up there with the best smartphones, thanks to the formidable combination of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Storage options have increased from 8- and 16GB to 16- and 32GB, which is one reason for the price increase, but the Google smartphone still lacks a memory card slot.

An 8Mp rear camera comes with optical image stabilisation and, although it takes decent photos, it’s a little way behind its rivals. The video quality in our tests wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, with less detail than we expect from 1080p footage.

With the Nexus 5 comes a new version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android 4.4. Otherwise known as ‘KitKat’, this platform has a redesigned interface and a plethora of new features. On Google’s phone you get a vanilla Android experience, clean, colourful and intuitive. Google Now is at the forefront, only a swipe away from the main home screen.

The visuals are better than ever, with transparent bars, full-screen album artwork and an immersive mode that lets apps take over the entire screen. KitKat is currently exclusive to the Nexus range. The Nexus 5 is an average performer in terms of battery life. Unless you’re a light user it will need charging every night, but wireless charging is a cool way to top up the non-removable battery.

Verdict
The Nexus 5 is a very desirable phone at a surprisingly low price. It’s one of the best-value phones you can buy, but it doesn’t o er the best build quality, camera or battery life.


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Angry Birds Go: a free Mario Kart clone

     

Departing from their usual 2D catapult norm, the Angry Birds are now racing karts in this fun but frustrating game


Angry Birds Go is a fun new free game from Rovio. It’s much like Mario Kart and sees old and new characters racing against each other to earn coins and win gems. There are two main tracks, Seedway and Rocky Road, and each o ers fi ve racing modes: standard race, against the clock, Fruit Splat (hit enough fruit before the fi nish line), head-to-head (vs) and Champion Chase, where you have to beat the bird three times to unlock that character.

And you’ll need to unlock them, since each bird gets ‘tired’ after fi ve races and has to recover. At which point, you can switch to another bird or pay 10 gems to ‘revive’ the one that’s worn out. This is just one of many ways that Angry Birds Go will make money, since you can buy bags of gems from £1.99 to £70. Gems can then be used to buy coins within the game.

Coins are used to buy kart upgrades, and you’ll need these not simply to remain competitive, but also because races have ever-higher ‘cc’ requirements: you won’t be able to enter certain races unless your kart exceeds the minimum rating. You can purchase some karts, too, with prices again ranging from £1.99 to £35. However, you can also buy real toy versions of the karts, called Telepods, which are recognised (and unlocked) when placed over your device’s camera.

Each character has a power-up that can be used once per race, with extra uses costing gems. To start a race, you catapult your kart when the countdown clock says ‘Go’, thereby adding a bit more fun and retaining a link back to the traditional Angry Birds games. You’ve a choice of tilt or tap to control your racer.

Verdict
Kids and adults alike will enjoy Angry Birds go, but you’ll defi nitely want to disable in-app purchases and set a strong password to ensure your kids don’t spend £100s buying gems and karts.


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13 BEST DRIVING GAMES FOR IOS 45 BEST ANDROID GAMES 10 BEST FREE GAMES APP TOP TEN WORST PSP3 GAMES WATCH DOG GAME REVIEW WWE 2015 GAME REVIEW 10 FUNNIEST GAMES ON PS3 10 FUNNIEST GAMES ON PS3

Take control of Sky+ from your phone or tablet

     

The updated Sky+ mobile app o ers near-full control of your Sky+ box from Android


Sky’s updated app puts you in control of your Sky+ HD box from the comfort of your sofa or the other side of the world. Most useful is the ability to set your Sky+ box to remote-record TV programmes when you’re away from home – as long as the box is switched on.

Forgotten to set the fi nal episode of Games of Thrones to record? Still trying to get round Sky’s bug of recording that second back-to-back episode via series link? The free app sorts all of that out for you from your smartphone or tablet. The app provides customisable seven-day listings for all your Sky TV channels, just as you do with Sky’s own electronic programme guide (EPG) on the telly. You can search by title, actor, channel, sport and other factors, learning actor and background info on shows, related news and live Twitter feeds.

Also useful is the app’s ability to let you see what other times a showis airing to help you avoid clashes. When several programmes you want to record are on at the same time, the app o ers a solution. Sky remote lost again? That’s not a problem, as you can use your smartphone as a remote control to Play, Pause, Fast Forward, Rewind and change channels.

You can also manage all of the recordings in your Planner, viewing them by genre; add a series link or delete a programme you no longer want – without interrupting viewing on the telly. Aslong as you’re on the same network as the Sky+ box.

The app also works with Sky’s On Demand service. Using it, you can download programmes to your Sky+HD box. This should save any pauses when downloading shows. Sadly, iPlayer listings are unavailable while Sky negotiates with the BBC, but all the other major players are here, including Sky TV, Sky Sports, 4oD and ITV Player – as well as box sets such as the Sopranos, Alan Partridge and Dora the Explorer.

You don’t need an HD subscription to use the app, but you do need a Sky+ HD box. You’ll also need to log into your Sky account.

Verdict
The Sky+ app has been updated to manage On Demand services, record TV shows and series link while away from home. It can also be used as your TV remote control – indeed it can replace it.


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Avoid getting conned on a used car with HPI Check

     

If you’re buying a secondhand vehicle, HPI Check can help ensure you don’t end up with an old banger


HPI is a company that’s best known for its vehicle checks, and HPI Check is its official app. All you need to run a check is a full registration number. The app is extremely simple to use because it doesn’t need to be complicated. Once you download and open the app there’s just one screen – this is where you enter the car reg and request a check. There’s also a menu bar that has a number of options including history and settings.

The beauty of this app is that if you’re out looking at cars, you can do a quick on the spot check in a matter of seconds – as long as you have a data connection, of course. So how much does it cost and what do you get? Although the app is free, an individual vehicle check costs £16.99, which you confi rm after being given details such as make, model and year. That might sound like a lot, but if you’re going to be spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on a car, then it’s a small price to pay to make sure that you’re not being taken for a ride. It’s a few pounds cheaper than doing it on the website, too, although you don’t get a valuation for the vehicle and there’s no option to buy multiple checks for a lower price.

Once you’ve purchased a check, the app quickly presents you with information on the car; for example, whether it’s reported stolen or has had the number plates changed. There’s plenty of other information, too, such as outstanding fi nance, number of former keepers, and whether the vehicle is marked as scrapped or imported. A particularly handy section tells you the running costs, such as how much road tax will cost and miles per gallon. It’s an extremely thorough check if you can a ord the cost. You can get checks cheaper elsewhere, such as the Auto Trader app, but the information is much more limited.

HPI uses various sources for its reports including the police, the DVLA, insurance companies, finance houses, industry bodies and garages. Verdict The HPI Check is a simple and easy to use app for those looking at buying a used car. The information is comprehensive and presented well making sure you avoid getting conned.


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Create a comic strip and avatar with Bitstrips

     

You’ll almost certainly have seen Bitstrips cartoons in your Facebook news feed, so why not join the latest craze?


What better way to spend a morning hanging around a deserted train station in the aftermath of St. Jude than to create hilarious comics starring yourself and your Facebook friends. This is the service o ffered by free Android and iOS app Bitstrips, and by now you’ll almost certainly have witnessed its popularity through the cartoon adventures plastered all over your Facebook news feed.

Bitstrips is a huge download, but it includes a good number of high-quality cartoons, and you can go into some detail when designing your avatar. You must log in via Facebook, although alternative logins are said to be coming soon. You then create your avatar in great detail, including gender, outfit, hairstyle, build, eye colour and much more. If you like being the centre of attention, you can feature alone in your cartoons, but Bitstrips really is more fun when you involve your friends. If they already have Bitstrips avatars then you can include them in comic strips without their permission; if they don’t, you can create an avatar for them.

The app’s home page then delivers a scrolling list of the latest comics, and you can add new characters at the top of the page. Tap the Create icon at the bottom of the screen to create your own greeting card, status- or friend comic, within which you can choose from categories such as Birthdays and Anniversaries or Pranks and Insults.

Once you’ve selected a particular cartoon, you can edit the character’s facial expressions and add your own speech bubbles, then click to share it online. Also worth a look is the Archives tab, which displays any comics your friends have created, plus your own cartoons on a separate tab. It’s here that you’ll realise just how popular Bitstrips is – and that’s something of a problem. Bitstrips’ servers are struggling to cope with the app’s immense popularity, and the ‘Comic servers are overloaded, please try again soon message’ makes all too frequent an appearance.

Verdict
Bitstrips is more than likely another Facebook fad,
but this comic-creating app is loads of fun and it’ll
have your friends in stitches. It’s worth a try.


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Google Glass: safety, health & security

     

Can wearing connected eyewear put you at risk?

Google Glass is one of the most hotly anticipated new technologies for 2014. Early adopters, known as ‘Glass Explorers’, already praise the internet-connected eyewear’s potential for surgery, firefighting, identifying criminals and much more. However, there are some concerns that wearing Google Glass may compromise the safety and health of its users. A Californian woman’s recent traffic citation for wearing Google Glass while driving reignited debate about the safety of using the device behind the wheel.

Aside from driving, we asked Google Glass explorers, app developers and others – all in the US due to the restrictions of Google’s Explorer programme – to weigh in on the safety and potential health risks of using Google Glass. (Google didn’t respond to requests for comments for this article.)

Is it safe while walking or cycling?
Glass Almanac blog editor and Glass Explorer Matt McGee has walked and cycled while using Google Glass. In general, he says he believes it’s safe. “Glass’ navigation helped me get to some new places while I was walking through Philadelphia and San Francisco this  summer. It was great to use the navigation and get where I wanted without having to look down and risk colliding into people or who knows what,” McGee says. Cycling is “a little trickier”, McGee says; “you’re moving 10- to 15mph and potentially near traffic. So I occasionally have to stop the bike if I need to do something with Glass. But it’s really fun.” On the other hand, Rich Chang, CEO and partner of NewFoundry, a Google Glass app developer, says that walking or cycling while using Google Glass is potentially unsafe. “Many people are already not paying attention while crossing the street because of smartphones and MP3 players.

Adding something that provides visual input is a recipe for increased accident risk.” As for cyclists, Chang notes that Google Glass “a ects peripheral vision and reduces concentration overall”. Cyclists could cause accidents, too, he adds, if Glass fell o while they were riding and they tried to prevent the device from breaking. Meanwhile, David Berkowitz, CMO for digital- and technology agency MRY and a frequent speaker on wearable technology at events such as South by Southwest (SXSW), describes crossing a New York City street while wearing Google Glass as “one of the scariest, riskiest things I’ve ever done”. He adds: “People have to learn to be careful, just like they need to learn to put their mobile phones away while crossing the street. That email or Spotify track can wait.”

However, Berkowitz says cyclists can benefit from wearing Google Glass if they use the device cautiously. “A face-mounted display such as Glass can provide helpful, if not vital, information to cyclists, such as maps, tra c- and weather alerts, and your speed,” he says. “Bike messengers, meanwhile, could use the hands-free, voice-activated mode to learn delivery information and to call customers.”

Google Glass Explorer Charles Webster, who has an MSc degree in industrial engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, says he doesn’t feel that wearing the headset while walking is inherently unsafe. Webster says he appreciates that Google Glass serves up information about restaurants, shops and historical buildings and sites as he approaches them on foot. Like McGee, Webster often uses Google Glass to capture photos and videos of things he sees along his route.

What are the health risks?
Wearing heads-up displays such as Google Glass can contribute to eye fatigue and may cause visual confusion, according to ophthalmologist and entrepreneur Sina Fateh, who has fi led more than 30 patents related to heads-up displays. “The problem is you have two eyes: the brain hates seeing one image in front of one eye and nothing in front of the other,” Fateh told Forbes in March 2013. Heads-up displays can cause such problems as binocular rivalry, visual interference and a latent misalignment of the eyes that results when both eyes don’t look at the same object. The head of the Google Glass project, Babak Parviz, told Forbes that his team takes the potential side e ects of wearing Google Glass seriously.

A professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Eli Peli, has been researching the impact of head-mounted displays for 20 years and has been consulting with the Glass team for two years. Peli told Forbes that Google Glass has “a more advanced design for safety and comfort than any of the previous head-mounted displays I’ve evaluated”. Because Glass has a minimal impact on the wearer’s field of vision, there’s little chance of putting the user at risk of bumping into objects, Peli said. The advanced design of Google Glass means those who wear it while walking won’t be distracted, some experts say.

McGee has yet to experience any pain or discomfort from using Google Glass, but a few other Explorers have told him they can get a headache if they look at the screen for too long. “I think the longest straight time I’ve ever spent looking at the screen is probably about two minutes,” McGee says. “It didn’t cause me any trouble, but I can see how looking at it for longer might be a problem since it’s so close.”

Does it cause brain cancer?
Some have raised more serious concerns: frequent, long-term Google Glass use might cause an increased risk of brain cancer. The jury’s defi nitely still out on this one, however. The Federal Communications Commission sets the maximum Specifi c Absorption Rate (SAR) for mobile phones at 1.6W per kilogram. In documents fi led with the FCC in February 2013, Google said its headset had a 1.34W per kilogram SAR, within the FCC maximum. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Google Glass is designed to be worn on the head, as opposed to smartphones, which are used only near the head during a phone call. “It’s controversial whether electromagnetic radiation exposure has health risks, such as a higher risk of brain tumours,” says Matt Katz, medical director of radiation oncology at Lowell General Hospital. “I would think if Glass was within FCC guidelines, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Theft, security and privacy
Apple has made iPhones more di cult for thieves to hack via iOS 7 security enhancements and the iPhone 5s’ biometric fi ngerprint scanner. Could thieves, always looking for lucrative, easy targets, soon be setting their sights on Google Glass users? (Currently, Google Glass Explorers pay $1,500 for the privilege, although the headset is expected to retail for less.) Although it’s too early to say whether Google Glass will be the next hot target for opportunists, there’s reason not to be unduly concerned. Google was granted a patent in 2012 for an anti-theft system that disables the headset in the event of unnatural or sudden movements.

The movements could relate to Google Glass being snatched o a wearer’s head, for instance. The system can also determine whether the wearer is the Google Glass owner; if not, the headset can be disabled. The anti-theft system can also sound an alarm and contact the police if it’s stolen. Once Google Glass is commercially available, it could stir serious security-related public-safety concerns, says Sedgrid Lewis, an Android app developer with more than 15 years of securityand crime experience related to technology. “Security experts are wary that Google Glass users will be secretly snapping pictures in public places such as airport terminals or banks,” Lewis explains. This could let users obtain images of physical layouts that could help them plan terrorist attacks or robberies.

Google Glass could also be “rooted”, Lewis says, enabling the owner to bypass its security features. “People could then record video footage or audio without the lights fl icking on the glasses. This could lead to all types of privacy concerns.” Like any portable device, Glass presents potential security risks to businesses, given how easy the device is to lose and the sensitive information that can be stored on it, says Nicko van Someren, chief technology officer at Good Technology. It’s also di cult to authenticate the legitimate users of Google Glass or other wearable devices due to the limited user interface, says van Someren. “This makes devices such as Glass more risky from a security standpoint, since thieves might access information on the devices.”

Only as unsafe as its owners
McGee notes that the default mode for Google Glass is o /standby. Plus, if you wear it correctly, it sits above eye level. “It’s never blocking your vision and it’s never interrupting you with information when you don’t want it,” he says. “Even if a call or text message comes in, or maybe a tweet, the alert is audioonly and easy to ignore. Glass never turns on and demands attention on its own.” There are scenarios in which using Google Glass is unsafe, McGee says, but they’re due to the scenario itself and how Glass is used. He adds: “The problem isn’t Glass, it’s the person. Microwaves aren’t safe if you do dumb things with them.” Webster agrees: “Google Glass is unsafe to use for the same things for which tablets and smartphones are unsafe. I wouldn’t watch a cat video on a tablet or smartphone while driving. The same is true for Glass.”


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Spotify Mobile now free on Android devices

     

Spotify users can now stream ad-supported music on
their Android phone or tablet, as well as their PC


Spotify has made freely available its Android and iOS mobile smartphone- and tablet apps. Now any smartphone or tablet user can stream music on the go via Spotify for free. The service was previously restricted to Premium subscribers only, which costs £9.99 per month. Spotify said: “You can now get Spotify on your mobile or tablet, absolutely free. Find the right music and shu e play it on any iOS or Android device.”

The Premium service remains available, and paid subscribers will get unlimited ad-free music streaming and higher-quality tracks than are o ered by the free app. Although any user can now access Spotify for free on their mobile, the service will be supported by adverts in the same way as are the desktop- and online versions of Spotify. The firm believes that offering the mobile version for free will tempt more users to upgrade to the Premium service.

Spotify said users will be able to listen to their playlists and also hit ‘shu e play’ to listen to a particular artist’s entire back catalogue. The firm has started making available Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue, releasing two albums per week. The firm is also dropping the 10-hours-per-month limit that it had previously imposed on users of its free service. While Spotify is available on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, there are no apps for Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry.


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Google to standardise in-car technology

     

At CES 2014 Google announced plans to standardise in-car tech with Android-based Open Automotive Alliance

Car tech has, until now, been largely proprietary with manufacturers doing their own thing with safety features and infotainment. At CES 2014, Google has announced the Open Automotive Alliance with the aim to bring Android to cars by the end of the year. Audi, Honda, Hyundai, GM and nVidia are all OAA partners and are looking to o er drivers a system that o ers openness and customisation.

“Putting Android in the car will bring drivers apps and services they already know and love, while enabling automakers to more easily deliver cutting-edge technology to their customers. And it will create new opportunities for developers to extend the variety and depth of the Android app ecosystem,” Patrick Brady, director of Android engineering said in a blog post. Kia and Renault already use Android-based infotainment systems, while Parrot’s Asteroid Smart is essentially an Android tablet that can be installed in any car that has room for a double-DIN headunit.

The benefi t of a standardised approach, though, is that developers can produce apps for just one platform instead of having to tailor them for Renault, Parrot or any other locked-down system which has its own app store. Other tech companies including Apple and Microsoft are also working hard on bridging the gap between mobile devices and cars.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has called such an integration very important, naming it a key focus. At its last World Wide Developer Conference, Apple introducediOS in the Car, an interface for cars that allows owners of the iPhone 5 or newer devices to make calls, access music, get directions and send and receive messages using the car’s display and controls. Around 20 car manufacturers have shown interest in the system, according to Apple.

There’s also the Siri “Eyes Free” feature which several companies including Honda are beginning to include in some vehicles. It’s similar to iOS in the car, but means drivers can perform tasks by speaking commands instead of using a screen. Microsoft is working with Fiat to develop Blue&Me which is yet another system for pairing a Bluetooth device and allowing drivers to make calls, listen to text messages and play music without taking their hands o the steering wheel. Microsoft also has its hand in the separate Sync project with Ford, which off ers similar features.

The OAA is developing new Android platform features that will enable cars to become connected Android devices. It’s a step in the right direction, but it needs more manufacturers to sign up for it to truly become a standard. Recent IDC research has shown that 75 percent of respondents would prefer to use their current mobile devices to access in-car services. In fact, they wouldn’t leave their smartphones behind even if they could – less than 19 percent of respondents would rather services come directly from the vehicle without mobile device integration. Both BMW and Renault o er such systems with a built-in SIM for direct internet access.

“According to our study, most consumers find it vital to access the phone in the vehicle but also want to maintain their ‘digital identity’ by connecting their current device to the vehicle,” saidSheila Brennan, program manager for IDC Manufacturing Insights’ Connected Vehicle Strategies. “Therefore, automakers that have a strategy that allows consumers to access their own devices service as well as any unique embedded services that come with the vehicle will gain an advantage in the connected vehicle market.” So, 2014 is shaping up to be the year in which Google, Apple and Microsoft compete for the driver’s seat in car tech. Whether infotainment and safety systems will merely become an extension of your smartphone or be fully fl edged systems in their own right remains to be seen.


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After the PC: are phones and tablets a panacea?

     

With PC sales continuing to decline, we examine the trade-o in widespread adoption of highly portable, but ultimately di cult-to-upgrade, locked-down devices

Desktop computer sales have continued their downward trend for the sixth quarter in a row, and the projected future doesn’t look any better for PC makers. Reasons for the slump are complex and varied, but analysts believe one of the most signifi cant causes is that PCs and laptops are now su ciently powerful that they don’t need to be so frequently updated. Plus Windows 8 hasn’t been Microsoft’s most popular OS release, with its preference for touch-enabled hardware potentially causing some people to hold o upgrading from Windows 7.

Online services are also adding value to older PCs, as they expand their capabilities in the cloud. The prolonged fi nancial recession is a strong factor, as customers try to make their money, and old hardware, stretch further. But the sudden and meteoric rise of tablets, allied to the ever-more powerful smartphones that accompany us at all times, has probably had the most tangible impact of all. In the same period that PCs stumbled to sales of around 80 million units, the smartphone market grew by an impressive 39 percent, selling three times as many devices – 258.4 million, according to IDC. Tablet sales also grew to 47.6 million, and this upward trend looks set to continue.

Too many choices?
Perhaps a more obvious sign of how the PC market is in a state of confusion is best represented by the barrage of designs that has emerged since the introduction of Windows 8. Now there are laptops that transform into large, cumbersome tablets, devices whose screens fl ip over or detach to transform into a tablet, and desktop machines that can be leaned back at mystifying angles. So far this has been a mixed bag, with the hybrid nature of the Windows 8 interface still proving diffcult to fully realise on a single device. And Microsoft’s entry to the hardware space has ruffed a few feathers: we’re now seeing companies such as HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer releasing machines that don’t run Windows at all, instead dipping their toes in the waters of Android, ChromeOS and Linux. By its very nature, technology is a constantly evolving medium, but its current path presents some uncomfortable possibilities. With PCs ubiquitous in the workplace, there isn’t a tremendous need for many people to have a powerful system at home. If all you want to do is check your email, spend some time browsing online, and keep up to date with your social networks, a tablet makes a lot of sense.

The cloud effect
Traditionally you’d also want a decent-capacity hard drive on which you could store your photos and music, but now you might instead use any one of the plethora of cloud services, such as Dropbox or Google+, iTunes Match, Google Music or Spotify. This is all good, as it saves the user from needing to think about how a device works or remembering to plug it into their PC to update the media content.

Ease of upgrades
Up until now computers have been pretty much open to use as we pleased. If you were handy with a screwdriver you could also prolong a machine’s lifespan by upgrading its hard drive or RAM. Friends and family members will always turn to the resident techie for help. Whereas in the past these requests would generally be met with a successful result (and hopefully the o ering of babysitting or a cake in return), the only assistance o ered in the case of a dropped tablet will be “take it back to the place you bought it”. It’s a subtle turn of events, but with the glued-shut, irreparable devices that are beginning to replace our trusty old laptops and desktops, we are faced with an increased reliance on manufacturers. This is also becoming a reality on the software side.

Locked in
Unless you jailbreak your iOS device the only place from which you can get software is Apple’s App Store, which is tightly regulated. Microsoft has implemented a similar strategy with the RT version of Windows 8, which runs software only from Windows Store. This has the benefi t of security, but also gives the companies power over the apps you can access. Google’s Play store is more open, but concerns about Android becoming an increasing target for malware has seen Google pressured into ramping up its app security.

Amazon has taken Android and turned it into a portal to its online services with the Kindle range, and Samsung recently showed its hand by staging its fi rst developers conference in San Francisco, focusing on making its devices more interoperable. The Korean giant has also built its own app store into its devices and fi lled the storage with bespoke versions of its own software, presumably to increase your reliance on its products. All this alludes to the main concern: customer lock-in.

The ideal landscape for manufacturers is that you use only their products, buy software only through their stores, and regularly update your hardware. This is evident when you see how some devices work best when paired with other products from the same stable. Want the Samsung Smartwatch? You’ll also need the Galaxy Note 3.

This makes sense from a technology perspective, as the manufacturer can optimise its hardware, but there are too many instances when you feel this restrictive practice has the shareholders’ rather than customers’ best interests at heart. The sad truth as we move into this new era of personal computing is that it’s becoming more diffcult to resist the convenience these offerings present. Once you’ve paid for the apps you like and grown used to how they work, you won’t want to repeat the cycle – or investment – on a new platform. In a few years from now customers will be even more entrenched, held in place by media purchases or services that work only on a particular platform. Mobile devices have ushered in an age in which you need to choose your platform wisely: you’ll be dependent on it for a long time to come.


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Tablets are dominating the PC market

     

Apple and Samsung lead the charge, with Android now accounting for 32 percent of the entire PC market

Research fi rm Canalys predicts that tablets will account for 50 percent of the PC market in 2014. It believes tablets will almost out ship all other PC form-factors combined, including desktops and laptops. The fi rm said shipments will reach 285 million units in 2014, growing to 396 million in 2017. In the third quarter of 2013 tablets made up 40 percent of PC shipments, only half a million units behind laptops. Despite the decline of PC- and laptop shipments, the worldwide PC market grew 18 percent during the quarter – thanks to tablets. Canalys predicts that Android will be the main driver of growth in tablets,accounting for 65 percent of the market.

Samsung will likely be leading the pack, while Apple will continue to be the main competitor outside the Android race. “Apple’s decline in PC market share is unavoidable considering its business model. Samsung narrowly took the lead in EMEA this quarter, and Apple will lose its position to competitors in more markets in the future,” said senior analyst Tim Coulling. “However, Apple is one of the few companies making money from the tablet boom. Premium products attract high-value consumers; for Apple, remaining highly profi table and driving revenue from its entire ecosystem is of greater importance than market share statistics,” said Coulling. But while Samsung and Apple will remain strong in the medium-term, there could be ‘challenges’ as competition hots up, said Canalys. The firm points to the rise of small-to-micro brand vendors in established and high-growth markets, plus international players such as Acer, Asus, Lenovo and HP.

Budget tablets are tempting many consumers and manufacturers with even supermarkets and retailers such as Tesco and Argos offering own-brand devices. “With the cost and time-to-market advantages a orded by their Chinese supply chain, these vendors are eating up market share,” noted analyst James Wang. Microsoft is forecast to take 5 percent of the tablet market in 2014, up from 2 percent in 2012 with its Surface devices.


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JIMDO APP

     

CREATE A WEBSITE USING JUST YOUR iPHONE

“Everything can be done from your iOS device, giving you the power to edit and share no matter where you are”

Today it looks and feels like just about everyone has got their own blog on the go. Having an online presence is more important than ever, which can feel intimidating due to the supposed skill involved in building your own site – but Jimdo is looking to dispel that myth and show you how eff ortless and mobile it can be.

The app invites you to name your site before asking you to select a layout style. From here it’s down to you, with the ability to update your site live, adding new posts, photos and galleries as you see fi t. Everything can be done from your iOS device, giving you the power to edit and share no matter where you are. Of course, as with all apps of this nature that revolve around templates, you do sacrifi ce an element of originality. However, the smart edit bar where you can quickly drop in content is worth it for those looking to quickly establish themselves online.

There are some great touches hidden away though, particularly the ability to jump between mobile and desktop views of your site, giving you a better idea of how visitors across platforms will see your site. You won’t be the next blogging sensation from using Jimdo, but as a productivity tool for building and editing a website on the fly, this is one of the most polished offerings we’ve seen.

Smart, slick and simple. Jimdo makes something complicated eff ortless – the ultimate productivity app aim.

When you create your site, Jimdo presents you with a range of layout options

Once up and running, tap anywhere on the page to edit it

It’s easy to drop in new pages, text and images

iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Free | v1.2.2


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